Sunday, November 22, 2009

Good Show!

I was feeling nervous about doing shows after the disaster of the last one. Here's the short version: It wasn't cheap to get in, my borrowed pop-up tent blew over twisting the metal frame and I paid the owner for it. There was only one sale all day which didn't begin to cover the costs. Talk about disappointing!
Since I work a 40 hour a week job, I have a few hours a day to prepare and last week all of these were used to get ready for the Carmel Homecrafters Marketplace yesterday. I had never been to this one before, but it came highly recommended from a friend.
The weather was perfect after rain the day before. My 2 daughters graciously agreed to get up at 5AM so we could leave at 6, and off we went.
Well, this show made up for the last one. Sales were terrific and people were interesting to talk to. I bought from and traded with other artists. As always, I had my inkle loom and was demonstrating weaving. It is especially rewarding to show kids how it works; some have never seen a loom of any kind before and don't even know what to call it. At the end of the day someone bought the guitar strap that I was weaving.
Here is the really funny part, though. One absolutely sweet lady spent a long time shopping, trying on scarves and visiting. What she really wanted was a belt for her jeans. When I showed her the one I was wearing, she asked if she could buy it. Would my pants fall off, she asked? No chance. So I agreed to sell it to her. Then she decided that she also wanted the scarf I was wearing. Fine. I can easily replace them. (I'm glad that she didn't want anything else I was wearing like my sweater or shoes or anything really critical.) She wrote me a check and I hope that it is good, or the joke will be on me.

4 comments:

  1. What a funny story about that woman buying the clothes off your back!!! And your first show sounds absolutely horrible!! I've had shows like that where you sit stupidly smiling and looking ridiculously happy all day and no sales! :D But having to pay for a busted tent! Argggggh! Your work is beautiful!! xo Cait

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  2. Thanks, Cait.
    Here's a twist to the story. At the show from hell, a woman became interested in my work. Today she came by my house and gave me a deposit to do some custom pieces for her. With this, I may even be able to recover my expenses. Maybe I was too quick to call it bad.

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  3. Good to hear that the show went well, and the unexpected custom order from the other show is a real bonus. Clearly I'm not the only person who admires your weaving ;)

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  4. What a compliment....to have some one buy the clothes off your back!!

    Glad that this show went well, and that the other show might still redeem itself! Fingers crossed!

    Sue

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