With COVID-19 giving everyone fits of fright, regular sales channels for Buckaroo Bling have mostly dried up. Back in May and June, I faced a hard decision when I found out all of my scheduled live events for the summer had been cancelled. I had to decide whether to let Buckaroo Bling completely fold, which meant throwing away all I put into it in the past two years, or figure out how to go with the flow and keep the business afloat until better times come.
After a lot of prayer and mulling different options over in my head, I decided to stay put and see what opportunities come my way. Not long after, in the true spirit of another door opening when one closes, different opportunities began trickling in: a new wholesale online platform, a new marketplace for rodeo related gear, a virtual art fair through a local artist group I belong to... I never thought I'd have so many proverbial eggs in different baskets, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
- Muse, 459 Electric Avenue, Bigfork, Montana
- Mountain Mamas Coffee House, 17 Madison Avenue, West Yellowstone, Montana
- Rodeo Marketplace (online)
- Artists & Craftsmen of the Flathead Market (online)
- Boutiques Connection (online wholesale),
- Privy Shop Small E-Comm Marketplace (online), and of course,
- Buckaroo Bling website.
It took a lot of time and effort to get all of these things going in a mere 3-month span, but one's gotta do what one's gotta do. Let's just hope our winter schedule looks a bit more ordinary than this.
Now, back to that Northwest Montana Fair... As of this posting, Buckaroo Bling is scheduled to be one of the commercial exhibitors (aka vendors) at the Fair between August 19th and 23rd. We'll be indoors, in the Grandstand Building, and are looking forward to seeing some of your faces (mask or not) in person. Fingers crossed old 'rona doesn't interrupt these plans too! If you want to make sure the fair is still happening before you make a trek to Kalispell, keep an eye on our Events page, where you can always find up-to-date information on all our live events.
