What Does a Model Horse Swap Meet Look Like?

     Yesterday was the Tolland Country Model Equine Swap Meet in Vernon, CT. I have never been to a model horse swap meet so I didn't know exactly what it would be like, but I had some ideas. We started out working out some details on the group chat for the event. I said I would change up my customizable tag sale signs for the event. These signs were some of the best thing I ever invested in ($6 for a set of two, with the metal legs) I should start printing in bright red maybe...

    Originally I was thinking, I don't need an 8 foot table. That is a ton of space and I didn't think I could fill it. Silly me. Even though I am used to packing all my sales stuff onto the end of my show table, it doesn't mean that I don't have a ton of stuff that I am trying to sell (or should be trying to sell..). So I quickly went from "I don't need this much space" to " I need more space!" But I did eventually work it out. Anne Giles was my table neighbor and she was better prepared for the day. I borrowed some masking tape and taped the food displays to the front of the table, along with Breyer accessories I was selling. That saved a lot of table space! It is also an idea to plan to repeat at shows. In the end I managed to fit everything on the table in a not-too-crowded way. Still, it's sort of like a flea market, you need to take your time looking at all the things being offered. 

      I took some photos of the room while I was sitting behind my table. You can get a good idea of the size of the space that way. 

     I should have walked around and gotten more photos. Sara Roche posted a ton of photos of everyone's tables on Facebook. This was definitely a cool event. 

     The majority of what I saw available was Breyer. Lots of Breyers of every size and price point. I myself was selling some Breyers, among other things. 

     I thought this setup was really well done. Excellent use of space. I believe this was Kelly Martin's table. She did have a bunch of Hartlands (I think) in boxes. I have never seen that before! Sara Roberts had some Hartlands as well. I took many many walks around the room and managed to see something new every time. There were definitely lots of Breyers, but also some Stones, Hartlands, chinas, resins, safari animals and so on. I loved it!

      So my sum-up of the day and the answer to the question, what does a model horse swap meet look like? It looks sort of like a craft or vendor fair, but all related to model horses. It looks like a room full of friends who don't get to spend enough time together, having much more time for visiting. It looks like an excellent way to spend a Saturday. I definitely want to do this again!