Autumn Has Been Unavoidably Detained...

It's a weird Autumn here in Paradise..no leaves turning beautiful colours, warm days where folks are still in shorts and sandals...
The only evidence of the season so far is cold mornings, and it's a good thing that I make big comfy circle scarves...I needed one  while setting up my booth at the Duncan Farmer's Market this morning...
Thought I'd share a  few pictures of the people selling near me...the colours of all the lovely vegetables and fruit will have to stand in for what is normally going on this time of year..we aren't sure when, if ever, the rains and cold weather are coming, but our lakes and rivers are drying up too...so the only people happy about what is happening right now are the farmers..it's been especially nice for pumpkins...
Right next to me from the local corn maze and pumpkin patch farm is McNab's, and Halley is covering cashiering while Bruce is BSing in the back with another farmer...isn't the colour wonderful?
Then there's Ben's Backyard, with Ben nodding and smiling behind his bumper crop of tomatoes, etc.
Finally there's Dina, who has been at this Market for many, many years..she makes beautiful sheepskin-lined slippers and polar fleece  Canadian Maple Leaf  Flag Coats, baby sized to big adult...
Finally, a glimpse of my Autumn/winter booth (last two images)..no jewelry this time of year, strictly hats and scarves...
To my few but fabulous readers, have a wonderful Thanksgiving..we celebrate ours on October 8th..early I know, but then we are farther from the Equator, and have a shorter growing and harvesting season than the US...

Honeymoon Bay Market...

Here are some images of probably the cutest Market I've ever seen (if not my most successful...)
I went there on Sunday, which in Canada is like the US Fourth of July, sorta..it's Canada Day, and I thought I'd take a drive and check out a new Market...this place is only open on holiday Sundays, the rest of the time, it's just a regular Saturday Market.
It was all built by the same man, little individual rustic spaces with a lot of personality.
The 'church' one has it's own bell, which kids love to  ring when they walk in..although it was hard to get the perspective of the little buildings, the church was the size of a large walk-in closet (not too large) and all the other buildings were small but sweet ..all had shelves and 'windows' for display..unique in my experience..guess, though, if I wanted a decent (financially speaking) market I should come on Saturday, when it's sunny, not overcast and cold like yesterday..apparently, vendors there are quite successful.
The last two pictures are of my temporary spot..wish I'd known ahead of time that I wouldn't need my tent and tables..could have made the inside more inviting...live and learn...

A good lesson for anyone trying out a new Market for their handmade goods..believe it or not, it is always a risk..I have two weekly Markets now, and even though I'm an established vendor in my area, sometimes I do great, other times, no matter crowded or not, I sell nothing..you never know.
I had about an hour's drive (admittedly, scenic...) and really enjoyed meeting many new people and loved the look of the Honeymoon Bay Market, but, financially, it was a total write-off...still, I will probably go back sometime when the weather is better, and on a Saturday, which is supposed to be a better experience.

It's that Time Again-My Top Ten...

Now that I  am back outdoors selling  my hats and jewelry every Saturday (that  it isn't raining)  I would like to share with you, once again, some of my favourite (!) lines, you know, the ones that you hear over and over and over again..some are golden oldies, and some are new, or modifications of oldies..keep in mind that my jewelry and my hats are original designs, no patterns used (or available) and I only make  one of everything.  That, of course, doesn't matter to every buyer, but why would they pay more than the cost of an Asian import if it doesn't?
I can't  be this sarcastic (well, most of the time I control myself) when dealing with people who just mostly aren't very original in what they have to say...but I do try and remember what it is like to be a buyer or potential customer, and to not just look at certain comments from the viewpoint of a seller. So, I'm giving you my answers to obvious ones, and their questions in others..the game is to figure out which is which...
 After all, we may all drive, but at one time or another, we are all pedestrians too - and these all too typical comments couldn't be more pedestrian....

1.  Yes, I made all this stuff
2.   Yes, I'll be here next week, if it isn't raining..
       "Hey I came by last week and you weren't here" (it was raining)
3.It's crochet, actually (when they ooh and ah about my 'knitting')
4.  "Oh, I knit too "  (No, they don't, or they would know the difference)
5.  "I'm just looking for ideas" (!)
6. "Oh, my mother/aunt/grandmother knits all this same stuff for me" (see #3 above)
7. " How much is your jewelry/How much are your hats?" (they are all clearly marked, and the hats have big paper tags..sometimes asked after they've been reading all the tags on several hats) and as if they were all a single price...there is no Dollar Store sign in my booth...none....
8.Will you hold this for me 'til next week-I don't have any money....? (of course, without a deposit)
9.  These hats are cute but they're too big (they are looking at newborn sized baby hats)
      These hats are cute but they are too small (see above)
10.  Well, this other vendor is selling hats for X$ less than you..(I always tell them that if price is their only criterion, they should definitely go and purchase from "that other vendor")
Still, love being outside, and actually quite enjoy the social aspects of Markets..great to see friends I've made, and to meet new people, hear some good live music, and eat far too much of all the things I shouldn't...stop by and say Hi...I promise not to bite your head off..

Duncan Market - Alive and Well...

Recuperating (muscles very sore, it's like I'm really not 20 years old anymore ( :o\)
after my first outdoor market..actually had a great time, reconnected with a few old friends and had lots of positive feedback on my hats and scarves from customers, as well as some actually paying customers! Yippee!
It was a cold and blustery day, but I don't mind, just happy to be back outside after the three month winter hiatus..there is something about fresh air, tabletops flapping in the wind, the colours and scents of the market that make it a joy to return  to every season...and of course the opportunity to pet and  gush over everyone's dog..the market is a kind of social place for what we call the dog people, who come here to parade about with their puppies, as well as purchase from our market...I've seen some gorgeous pooches here, and it's an aspect of the market that I enjoy...unintended consequences
Had some great positive feedback from a couple of professional photographers who bought baby hats..and they promised e-mails of  their work  when available..
I'm starting up a "Rogue's Gallery" of pictures of past customers in my hats to display in my little 'shop'...folks always fret about how the hats will look on people when they are thinking of gifts, so having some concrete examples can only help..and it will be fun to have previous buyers come by to show off their pics to others, etc.
Happy Making and selling to all of you....

I Do Feel Guilty..sorta...

Haven't posted in over a week..long time for me, but, really..not much to add to the general creativity going on here in bloggerland..
I am more or less trying to gear myself up to start making jewelry for Spring..and a bit to sell at my weekly (currently indoor) Farmer's Market, but made still another hat instead..well, needed a child-sized one to replace some I sold..
Do you ever get that maker's version of writer's block? Drives me nuts.. keep sitting around, thinking about what I should be doing, but all I end up doing is crocheting..maybe it's guilt-crochet, don't know..other times when I should be crocheting (the Fall) I am obsessed with making jewelry..wish I could control it..
Also, January doldrums are here, full force..I really need some good news, hysterically funny stories..something to wake me up..any suggestions?
(Keep it clean...)

My Guilt is Semi-Assuaged- Part 2...
Read the above, got disgusted with myself and decided to force myself to the jewelry table..
6 pairs of earrings later, here's a couple of the latest ones below...
Too much like work (;oD

Autumn and a Return...

Yesterday marks the first day of real rain all summer - and the lack of singing birds at 4 in the morning, or the hint of chill for my morning view on the balcony, looking out at a fog-tinted sea...The screaming yet oddly welcome blue jay who always appears in early September..the cooler nights and shorter days...
Can the trees, slowly dropping their leaves with infinite seductiveness, be far behind?
It's time for me to gather up all my hats and neckwarmers, and head out to, or should I say back to, the Farmer's Market once again..
Crafting as a business venture has it's own set of weird realities, almost as if the act of creation is in direct opposition to the act of selling..or bartering, as sometimes happens...
I am rather affable with the public, enjoy being outdoors, discussing my creations, and rarely get the kind of nasty critiquing so common with paintings at an exhibit..the competitiveness is confined to a certain extent, so the aspects of trying to earn your way are not so onerous as, say, a factory job, when you are the factory..but it is difficult to keep changing 'hats' (pardon me, please) from creator to salesperson and try and maintain an emotional distance from my work.
I do have 'favourites', and others that I sell with relief, because they make me uncomfortable for whatever reason...I meant them to turn out differently, or the colours weren't quite right..my issues, of course, the hats sell as well as any others..as I always tell reluctant women who say they "look terrible" in hats- you just haven't found 'your' hat yet...
And I will never find mine, thankfully..perfection is an ideal, and not strictly a possibility, and since all my hats are one of a kind, I can never get bored, or obsessed with just one.
As summer turns inevitably to Autumn, I wish you all happy creating, and for those of you that sell your work, a good season...

Hugs and Kisses, and Interpretations Thereof...

Last winter, my pal Dana, a great jeweler in her own right, was preceding herself through doorways, and having to stretch her little tees over an increasingly large mound in front, aka, a big ol' baby bump..
In due course, Brodick was born (I'm callin' him Brody for short) and I saw his teensy self at one of my Saturday Markets..proudly ensconsed in Mom's arms..
Dana apologized to me because he wasn't wearing the little hat I'd made for him..she could have fit the entire baby in the hat at that point..
Now, a few months have passed and Dana sent a photo of sweet Brody in his new hat, so I'm gonna share it with you!
By way of explanation, it's a Kiss hat, no, not the rock group, the candy..and because I didn't want any nasty letters from a certain chocolate company whose name begins with an H, I stamped kissing lips on the white 'paper' twist at the top.. look up...♥

Of Silver Linings and Unintended Consequences...

So, went off to my usual winter season indoor Farmers' and Crafters' Market as usual yesterday morning; I normally do okay there, but for some reason, nobody bought anything from me ..skunked...first time...but.. (there's always a but...)

For one thing, two women who were looking over my table asked me if I'd be interested in a very prestigious fibre arts show that was happening in October...absolutely, says I, it's got a waiting list of sellers, and people line up early to get at the best stuff as soon as they get through the door..I was feeling pretty good about that, and suddenly a woman with a big fancy camera came up and said she was from the local paper and would I please pose with my hats, as they were doing a feature on the Market? And she let me have approval of the shot!
About an hour later, a filming crew comes in from Rogers Cable (a local cable show) and started filming my table, and me, because I was actually crocheting at the time...
Yes all of this happened on the same day...no, I'm not making it up, not any of it...
So guess what? I got totally skunked yesterday, and it was one of my best days ever!

The Last Fair of the Year...

Yes, it's finally over..the Christmas season's last Farmers' and Crafters' Market has come to an end, and I'm glad I did it...it was very cold and very clear, felt like snow a bit, you know, when you get that taste on the back of your tongue, and your bones just feel it coming? Not supposed to though, so maybe it's just because it was very Christmassy today...
There were lots of decorations, and I was situated in a booth next to a horticulturalist wanderer who grows this and that, and wanders through the forest picking up this and that, and then creates astounding wreaths and mixed plant and flower bouquets (in the Winter!) so very beautiful that I was sorely tempted...
On the other side was a woman new to me, a massage artist,..yes, I'm conciously calling her that from first-hand knowledge, because when things were slow she "used" me to seduce business from all the strollers and window-shoppers...it was wonderful to be used in such a fashion!
I had my first taste of British-style ginger cake, and very good, tart and not too sweet, it was, too...
I bought homemade "smokie" sausages made from organically raised meat at a price that was competitive with the filler-and-drug-laden ones in regular markets...I've heard they are to die for...
And I sold a couple of things, although really I was lucky to sell at all, not many buyers about, probably too cold, and they were too sensible, to go wandering about the street in mid-December...
There were old-fashioned carolers in full 19th-century costume, walking slowly through the aisles of booths and singing, in harmony, the old carols, and the smiling and hugging, and the Merry Christmasing, just went on and on for the short four hours of the Market...

Now back home and exhausted from hauling heavy stuff back and forth, back and forth, from my truck to the storeroom, in the middle of my apartment block, I can't stop grinning, either...so glad I went and had a chance to experience all that sweetness and goodwill we hear about but rarely get enough of..

And spreading it around is gonna be easy...
May you all enjoy, in whatever fashion the season brings to you, your holiday time, just as I have...