Hardcore Hearse Club 2017 Hearse Show

Thank you to everyone who came out to the hearse show at Brauerhouse yesterday. To my family and friends who came out to support me and to all the wonderful people who visited my booth. I had so much fun meeting all of you and re-connecting with some of you I had met before.

Here are a few shots I remembered to capture of some of my new Freaky Fanatics. If I didn’t get your photo with your items please contact me. I would love for you to submit your photos so I can add you to my slideshow and feature you here on my Eulogy Blog. It felt great taking listings down on Etsy this morning due to all the items that you guys bought! Thank you for supporting what I love to do!

As you can see the hearse show is a huge hit among all ages and I am so happy to see that my work is as well! Speaking of huge hits….. this was Elsa‘s first big hearse show so she not only made her car show debut but everyone loved her.

I am sure you will see photos of her all over the internet. People were taking photos of her like crazy. Bitch is gonna be famous before I am ha ha. Just more proof that people love my wacky ideas ha ha. You can’t see it but she is actually rocking one of my logo buttons on her chest and one of my Dead Girl Decay Barrettes in her hair.

I want to take a moment to give a huge shout out to my husband Frank who always does all the heavy labor when it comes to my booth set up and deals with my over organized crazy ass as I stress out all the way up until the show. And lets not forget all his Macgyver ideas to fight weather conditions and always making sure I am well hydrated and feeling ok. On top of everything he always sweats it out to make sure the Frankenhearse is clean, wiped down and looking it’s best for the car show portion of the event! It doesn’t sound like a lot of work but it is. Hearses are BIG vehicles. And he did a great job because we won the Hearse Club’s Choice trophy!

And on top of all that he even drove his RC cars around the lot with my post card on the hood to advertise my booth. Adults and kids were loving it.

I also want to take the time to give a huge shout out to our friends Mike and Ellie who volunteered this year. They came to our house early to help us load up and went home late after unloading everything when we got back home. They also helped us set up/take down, brought water and snacks and helped keep the fort down (literally … it was a warm but windy day). Ellie was even helping me with customers and Mike was even helping Frank with all the Macgyvering. It made a huge difference then the previous year when it was only Frank and I. They even rocked their Living Dead Girl Nicole logo shirts! For those of you who dug the hand made apocalyptic weapons on my undead table those were made by Mike. So if you weren’t able to purchase one at the show contact me and I can get you in touch with him.

I wish I had a chance to walk around and enjoy some of the other vendor booths but with the wind being on random all day it was a matter of making sure nothing flew away or got broken. Plus it was actually a decently busy day so I really wanted to be able to talk to the customers that came by. I will say though I was happy to have Scavenged Parts as our neighbor. We met them at the show last year and I have been following their fun and bizarre finds online ever since. I was however able to take a photo inside the hearse that took Best Of Show. It was beautiful and I was in love.

At the end of the night when we were shutting down Frank was able to turn on all of Frankenhearse’s eerie green lights. It looked awesome leaving the lot. Those lights in the window are from my Dad. We added them on Halloween so this was the first time we were able to use them at a show.

Last but not least I want to give a big thank you to Darlene Daniels who is the President of our hearse club. If you were not aware she is the brains and organization that makes this event such a huge success each year. She works really hard to make it a fun and memorable and every year it rocks more and more!  We get hearses that come in from all over the states to be a part of the show. It’s pretty incredible and it’s all the hard work she puts into the event that makes it happen!

Now I am off to relax and start looking for reference photos for a piece I was commissioned to do .. thanks to the show!

Stay Spooky!
LDG Nicole

Hardcore Hearse Club Show 2016

Just wanted to share some photos from over the weekend during my 1st vending experience at the Hardcore Hearse Club – Hearses Show. I vended both Saturday and Sunday. It was a good thing I did because the heat was so uncomfortable on Saturday that I felt ill from it and had to shut shop down 2 hours early (show ended at 8pm and I closed down at 6pm). From what I heard I was not the only one. I did pretty well seeing I was there an hour earlier then the other vendors for set up and it was already almost 90 degrees at 10 am when we packed up the car earlier in the morning.

I was really happy how well my booth came together and got loads of compliments on it. My husband is such a god sent for helping me set it all up. On top of it taking most of it all down himself when I got sick later on. All day long he made sure I was doing ok, had enough to keep me hydrated, spraying me down with a water bottle and making sure I had a cold rag on my neck at all times. I love that man!

One of the main reasons I had to be there earlier then the other vendors is because we were also displaying Frankenhearse. Darlene was a doll and reserved us a special area and it worked out perfectly for unloading! We ended up using the back up tarp to block some of the sun and we were actually shaded by some trees with helped a lot. Having the gas station directly behind us for washroom breaks and ice/drink runs was also very convenient! At one point when I was starting to get sick Frank actually took me over there to stand in the beer freezer while Dad and Diane watched over my booth. They came out and bared the heat with us almost all day! Such troopers!

We made sure to put my new decal on the back of the hearse the night before and were so happy with how it looked.  Wilson Graphics never disappoints!

Despite the heat there were a lot of people there. I was surprised because of the heat but not surprised since this particular hearse show never disappoints and is one not to miss. Lots of hearses, lots of spectators, a decent amount of vendors and the entertainment went on as planned. Unfortunately due to the heat I spent most of the day on Saturday under my shaded canopy with cold rags on my neck and trying to stay hydrated (due to my health issues I have to be very cautious of it). So I ended up missing a lot of stuff going on that day and a few things that evening when we left early but it was better safe than sorry. I was mostly disappointed that I missed my friend, Ron Fitzgerald‘s Illusion act. I was just grateful that the hotel we were staying at was right across the street. When Frank went over there earlier in the day to check us in he cranked the A/C so it had been running in our room all day! That, a cold shower and getting a decent meal in me made me feel so much better!

One of the other awesome things about this show is they never disappoint when it comes to their huge raffle baskets! This year I donated my Tim Burton Framed/Decorated Print and Jack Skellington Dead Girl Decay Barrette! They put it amongst some other really cool items!

Sunday was so much more comfortable weather wise. The only issue we had was with the breeze which we used tarps to take care of the sides of the canopy and we were all good. I also laid my framed portrait prints down and rearranged my set up to accommodate for it. I refilled any gaps from sold items with back up items I had packed away.

We got the same spot both days. Also this shot shows Frank’s RC Traxxas Hearse that he parked near Frankenhearse. When it was not parked he was driving it around the show with my business card on the hood! Did I mention I how much I love that man!

We were also pleasantly surprised to find out that after we had left early the night before, that Frankenhearse had won a prize. We were voted 2nd place hearse for best of show!! Such an honor with so many amazing rides there! Here we are proudly holding our trophy!

With the weather being nicer a lot more of our friends and family were able to come out on Sunday as well. Dad and Diane were there with us all morning and then others arrived later in the day. It meant a lot to me to have everyones support at my first vending event. My sister in law, Melissa captured this adorable photo of my great niece, Violet who showed up rocking an Aunt Nicole original in her hair!

Our friend Cathy captured this great shot of Frank and I in my booth as well..

The best part about vending was all the awesome new people I got to meet that paid my table a visit! Some made purchases, some networked for future events and tons of people took my card to check out the rest of my work online. I am really looking forward to working with some of them in the future. If any of you are reading this… THANK YOU!

Below is a shot that the club received that includes a little girl who insisted her Dad buy my Zombified Clown Mask. I could not be happier that it went to her. She loved it and was spotted wearing it at the show! The 2nd is a shot I took of my very first vending customer! She purchased a Dead Girl Decay Skull pin to match her awesome Cheshire Cat tank! I did not get photos of each of my customers which I am now kicking myself in the ass for. However these 2 pics sum up the range of how great the customers were!

On Sunday since it was much better weather wise I ventured out of my booth and Frank and I decided to get some more Hearse Club gear. But we also got some really killer new things for the house while supporting the other vendors. We got a Frankenstein blanket for our living room and some Frankenstein themed glasses to display on the shelf in our kitchen.

All in all we were exhausted and it was a lot of work preparing for for my first show. The heat wave put a damper on things but I am still very happy that I chose to wait to vend my first show until now. So many have asked me to do it and it meant a lot that my first show was also an opportunity to support our awesome club!

Keep an eye on my Etsy shop for new items! I had made some things to stock up for the show. Some of these items are still available and will be added soon. If you were at the show and want to know if something you saw on my table is still available, feel free to contact me directly! As always I am always available for custom orders as well!

Stay Spooky!
LDG Nicole