Kelly Savino on sun 29 jun 08
OK, so, I know about staking my EZ-up. I know clayarters have said
"EZ-up, EZ down." I have made the cement-filled pvc weights, filled the
gallons with water, done the art fairs even in bad weather without
mishap.
But this time I was just setting up the tent on a lawn for some girl
scouts -- (Molly's troop, to be exact) -- who were going to earn money
for a camping trip by selling parking places at her grandpa's parking
lot, during this weekend's Crosby Festival of the Arts. I just ran some
long thin stakes through the feet, angled inward, then strategically
placed a big cooler in a corner, and called it good.
It went great. Cute girl scouts in uniform waved signs, collected
dollars, sold bottled water, and by lunchtime had made $140.
Then the grey clouds started moving in. I went into the office to pull
up the radar map on the computer, and there was some ugly stuff coming
our way.
I went out to the tent to tell the moms and plan our next step. It
started to pour rain. We decided to call it quits -- but before we could
start packing up, a big gust of wind came up and flipped our table, and
lifted the EZ-up right off the ground. Nobody was hurt, but by the time
we scrambled and pulled it back upright, it had a broken strut, a ripped
canvas, and a couple of badly bent poles.
Worst of all, it had made a deep gouge across the hood of a nice new
Honda SUV. Yep, one of the folks who had paid to park.
When offices open on Monday, we'll start talking to various insurance
folks -- the GSA, maybe, and my own homeowner policy. The leader stopped
to ask the local Honda dealer if they might donate some help for the
scouts and was told to come back after the weekend.
Either way, I am out an EZ-up. At some point I will need to replace it,
and am wondering if anybody has recommendations. I know the archives are
full of preferences but I'm not sure if there's something new left out
of that conversation. I only do a couple of street fairs a year, so I
don't need a big investment, but it has to be sturdy, workable with just
me setting up, and have four sides. Whaddya say?
Yours,
Kelly in Ohio
http://www.primalpotter.com
Susan Cline on sun 29 jun 08
You can get replacement struts, and other pieces, from the EZ-up
website. (I speak from experience.) It's a lot cheaper than buying a
new one. I know the EZ-ups are not the best, but for only 1 or 2
shows/year, they are ok.
Sue Cline
Cincinnati, OH
On Jun 29, 2008, at 10:25 PM, Kelly Savino wrote:
> OK, so, I know about staking my EZ-up. I know clayarters have said
> "EZ-up, EZ down." I have made the cement-filled pvc weights, filled the
> gallons with water, done the art fairs even in bad weather without
> mishap.
>
> But this time I was just setting up the tent on a lawn for some girl
> scouts -- (Molly's troop, to be exact) -- who were going to earn money
> for a camping trip by selling parking places at her grandpa's parking
> lot, during this weekend's Crosby Festival of the Arts. I just ran some
> long thin stakes through the feet, angled inward, then strategically
> placed a big cooler in a corner, and called it good.
>
> It went great. Cute girl scouts in uniform waved signs, collected
> dollars, sold bottled water, and by lunchtime had made $140.
>
> Then the grey clouds started moving in. I went into the office to pull
> up the radar map on the computer, and there was some ugly stuff coming
> our way.
>
> I went out to the tent to tell the moms and plan our next step. It
> started to pour rain. We decided to call it quits -- but before we
> could
> start packing up, a big gust of wind came up and flipped our table, and
> lifted the EZ-up right off the ground. Nobody was hurt, but by the time
> we scrambled and pulled it back upright, it had a broken strut, a
> ripped
> canvas, and a couple of badly bent poles.
>
> Worst of all, it had made a deep gouge across the hood of a nice new
> Honda SUV. Yep, one of the folks who had paid to park.
>
> When offices open on Monday, we'll start talking to various insurance
> folks -- the GSA, maybe, and my own homeowner policy. The leader
> stopped
> to ask the local Honda dealer if they might donate some help for the
> scouts and was told to come back after the weekend.
>
> Either way, I am out an EZ-up. At some point I will need to replace it,
> and am wondering if anybody has recommendations. I know the archives
> are
> full of preferences but I'm not sure if there's something new left out
> of that conversation. I only do a couple of street fairs a year, so I
> don't need a big investment, but it has to be sturdy, workable with
> just
> me setting up, and have four sides. Whaddya say?
>
> Yours,
>
> Kelly in Ohio
>
>
>
>
>
>
> http://www.primalpotter.com
>
Overall's on mon 30 jun 08
Kelly,
That's unfortunate about your tent.
And it scratching a car in the parking lot, too.
Here's hoping the car owner will not be as bad as one could
imagine under the circumstances. Like one of those on the
tv judge shows.
A few months back when I queried this group,
three tents were recommended: Creative Industries,
Craft Huts and up popped a third, The Show Off.
Any one of the three would be the one to choose
to survive what you just experienced.
I was only able to buy one from some of Mom's life insurance.
Why do they call it life insurance when it's there only
when you die?
Sorry, I get distracted easily.
What I would like to add is, another potter e-mailed me a link
to another forum where they had used craft tents for sale and
there was an artist who is near you (kinda sorta). I'm
hoping they will provide you a link to access this forum so
you'll find one of these canopies at a great price.
Something good will come from of all this.
Kim in Houston
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