In a tent near Dickson Street and on Thompson Avenue in Vista, Calif., resident Bob Huddleson offers motorcycle riders helmets adorned with animal skins and horns.
He made his first helmet 12 years ago by drawing a skull face on the front, placing horns on it, then covering the rest in badger skin. Now he makes helmets with skins from beavers, raccoons, foxes, bears and wolverines and uses horns from deer, rams and African springboks.
What better place to sell his unique creations, he said, than at motorcycle rallies, such as the Bikes, Blues & BBQ rally that started Wednesday in Fayetteville.
The annual rally brings in tens of thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts and other visitors. All of them also are potential shoppers, creating a marketplace for about 200 vendors who sell everything from T-shirts to almost anything made of leather.
Last month, Huddleson sold 50 helmets, which average $400 a piece, at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota, largely considered the grandest of motorcycle rallies in the nation.
This is his second year at Bikes, Blues & BBQ. He sold one helmet last year, but like other vendor booths, he doesn’t rely on one product. His booth sells other items such as other hats, key chains and even sunglasses with a hidden video camera.
“You’re not going to make any money just with the helmets. You got to sell other things,” he said.
About 150 vendors use officially designated Bikes, Blues & BBQ spaces, for which they pay the nonprofit organization from $700 to $1,000 each, according to Coleson Burns, assistant event director. The remaining vendors set up shop on the parking lots of private businesses, mostly along Dickson Street.
Many vendors go from one rally to another, Burns said. In Fayetteville, usually about half of the vendors make reservations at the end of each rally for their same spot the following year, he said.
Throughout the year, vendor fees make up a big portion of the rally’s revenue followed by income from corporate sponsorships, he said. For every $3 in vendor fees, the rally makes $1 in sponsorships, he said.
“The vendor money sustains us through the year,” Burns said. “Beer sales is where we make our rally money.”
The money from vendor fees, sponsorship and beer sales are expected to more than cover the rally’s annual expenses, Burns said. The remaining money will go to local charities, he said. The rally distributed about $150,000 among 30 local charities last year, he said.
Las Vegas business owner Michael Snyder sells leather products at his spot near the Bank of Fayetteville on Dickson Street, which he’s had for the last six years. He brought more than 500 pairs of Harley-Davidson shoes, boots and sandals.
“If we sell half, I’d be extremely happy,” Snyder said.
His company sets up vending booths at 18 rallies every year, he said.