We’ve all heard the sayings “nothing is free” or “there’s no such thing as a free lunch” at some point. So, it’s fair to say that this cultural message is deep in our consciousness, whether we’re aware of it or not. Putting together the High Desert Luthier Invitational has been an eye-opening experience in terms of offering a free show to potential vendors and seeing what their response is.
As a guitar maker, I remember a few instances in the past where I was invited to put up a booth at different local events such as a music festival, a concert, and an art and wine festival. There was no booth fee and I jumped at the opportunities without hesitation, knowing I could meet more people and musicians, pass out business cards, show my guitars and talk about what I do. I certainly had then, and still have, a passion to build my business. It’s been eight years since I’ve even come across a free vendor opportunity. And there were only three, THREE, aforementioned events in the past 25 years I’ve been in the business of guitar making that I came across that were free opportunities.
Naturally, in these instances, I knew I had to provide all the proper gear for my display (tables, pop-up tent, cards, product, and anything else I wanted for my booth to promote my business and show up in what I thought was a professional way). In my mind, it was obvious that the display and product are the responsibility of the business person. Getting to the show is also a responsibility. All of these things incur a cost, and that’s understood. Me complaining about having to invest in my business in any number of ways wasn’t going to do me any good. Growing a business comes with expenses and choices.
When I set about calling, messaging, or emailing a company or builder to invite them to be a part of the High Desert Luthiery Invitational (with no vendor fee), it’s amazing how many times I was asked, “How much is a booth?” and “Are there any hidden fees?” I, feeling momentarily confused, looked at the message I sent, we reviewed the website, and I was perplexed as to how it wasn’t abundantly clear that the show was free to vendors (and the public). “No”, I said, “There are no hidden fees and there’s no booth fee. I have looked at your work and I’d like to invite you to the show. It’s invite-only, you can’t just fill out a form somewhere. Can you come?” I was met with questions like, “Can we sell our products at your show?” Absolutely. “Do you take a cut from any sales?” No. “How many people are coming to the show?” I have no idea - this show is free, we don’t sell tickets nor require you to sell tickets, so there’s no way to track how many people will be there. When I got back to a few people who had these questions, I asked them “did you read my invite?”. Many times they admitted that they hadn’t. Even if they did read it, they had the questions about hidden fees.
Back to the title of this article, why are people so hesitant to accept that something could be a free opportunity and that someone could be wholeheartedly supporting them to grow their business and share their craft? Does free mean it’s worthless or “not worth it”, like when you pick up a free television from Craigslist that only lights up half the display when they told you it worked fine? Do I need to charge people for them to take the event seriously? Currently looking at a now almost full show for the June 2024 High Desert Luthiery Invitational, with vendors coming from several states and taking a chance on the show, I know that there are people of like-mind that believe there are good people in the world who want to support each other without only thinking of themselves.
I was recently told by a local event coordinator and a disgruntled potential vendor that I couldn’t put together any sort of trade show without spending a lot of money and charging admission. Amazing how people feel the need to tell you about something that has nothing to do with them. The fact is, we just put on the first High Desert Luthiery Invitational in December 2023 that was free to the vendors and to the public and was successful in that we had excited visitors and vendors as well as vendor sales. Perhaps most importantly, it started to create more of a community amongst local luthiers that has continued through social media interactions, the creation of a website dedicated to the event, and is now expanding to a podcast featuring vendors for the upcoming High Desert Luthiery Invitational show in June 2024.
We are very grateful to Rio Bravo Brewing in Albuquerque for sponsoring the event in terms of providing the space. Here at Unga Guitars, we happily work hard to make the High Desert Luthiery Invitational happen. It does take some out-of-pocket money to pay for a domain and a website, print and distribute flyers, buy vendor ID lanyards, and other promotional materials for the event. We spend countless hours creating content for promoting the event and creating community such as the blog you’re reading and the newly minted podcast. Maintaining and updating the website, editing podcasts, and posting to social media are all tasks as well. Continuing to reach out to potential vendors and local contacts is a daily job. It’s very gratifying to be able to promote and grow this enriching event that benefits both the vendors and the public. Thank you to all who take it upon themselves to engage in this grassroots movement and mention the High Desert Luthiery Invitational and link to it in their social media posts, website, and so on.
We plan on continuing the High Desert Luthiery Invitational twice a year - in June and December. We even have a vendor who wants to be part of the December 2024 show who is happily driving down from Alberta, Canada for a milder winter experience! It’s amazing to see our community rallying together and we are so looking forward to the celebration of the High Desert Luthiery Invitational in June of 2024!
P.S. Even though you may think there’s no such thing as a free lunch, we’re going to try and obtain sponsorship for meal vouchers for the vendors and other helpers at the show. No promises, but we’ll try. We have people volunteering to do security, MC the stage, and provide a backline for musicians. Let’s not forget the talented local musicians donating their time to provide entertainment and promote their music. We also have a marketing specialist volunteering his time to help us potentially get more exposure to increase awareness of the event. Local writers, photographers, and videographers have and will continue to help promote the event as well.
The High Desert Luthiery Invitational is FREE to the vendors and the public! It will always be free, and we will continue to grow the High Desert Luthiery community to support each other in getting our art out there and letting the public experience and enjoy it as well.
