Springtime in Paradise....

 The weather seems to be changing rather rapidly here in Paradise...although it is, of course, still a rainforest, with the requisite almost constant drip drip drip of early Spring...
We are now 'applying' as we have to do every year, for our little spot of  retail at the weekly Farmer's Market that  I attend, sometimes haphazardly (because of the weather)...
This year, have to decide if I want a permanent spot by paying seasonally, or if I want to drop-in...
Last year I had a permanent spot, but it proved to be a bit of a disaster...the powers that be decided to emphasize another section of the Market, naturally, the one I wasn't in, and it cost us much of our foot traffic...
It's a very difficult thing to find the spot that works for you in a large Market, but very frustrating to  be inadvertently sidelined, while paying the same amount as everyone else..this cost me last year, so trying to prevent a recurrence this time around by requesting a different location, although, technically, we are not allowed to do that.  *Sigh* not sure what will  happen, but stay tuned...
I have switched from  selling only hats and scarves to fewer of those, while still emphasizing baby hats, and added jewelry, which I'll sell alongside my crocheted items until Fall is upon us...
Surprisingly, at least to me,  still sell quite a few hats even in the  hot hot heat of summer..I assume, to tourists, who know that when they need them, they won't be here...
I also have applied, as usual,  for a  weekly Wednesday Market in a nearby town famous for its murals,  busloads of tourists there...
You  need to figure out where  (and when) your most successful  Market is - what works for you.
Social media (can you say "Etsy") has never worked for me...I leave a few things there, mostly to have a 'website' to refer to when applying at one-time fairs and holiday craft markets, etc. but really, I rarely sell anything there..I tried ArtFire (don't ask) and Zibbet, too, which I like for the wonderful people who run it, but never had a single sale from there, so just letting my 'shop' lapse, and I'll stick with a much-reduced 'studio' on Etsy for practicality's sake...
Many of the other Bloggers I follow seem to do quite well online, don't know their secret, but for me, it's strictly face-to-face that works...so, since I actually enjoy retail (I hear the screams out there!) guess I will continue until I am too decrepit to put up a canopy or haul boxes, etc, in and out of my truck....

Outdoor Farmer's And Crafter's Market Re-Opening...

Despite the fact that it's still chilly and the weather is, to put it generously, serendipitous in this stretch of the woods, my Saturday Market is reopening the Saturday after next, and I couldn't be happier..
I've decided to put a bunch of my older stock on sale (hats, scarves, etc.) so watch this blog in the coming days and I will start posting pictures and prices of sale items... these items will be on sale online as well as in person at the Market, same deal applies to prices that shipping to the US and Canada will be included in the sale price..
The pictures currently posted are not sale items, but just my newest creations..
I'll probably start marking down the hats online in the coming week, so after March 13th, you can check online and see if the one you coveted is on sale.
Custom work and regular prices will continue as well.

Random Stuff #2- Of Birds, Crafting and generally Chasing our Tails...

I'm feeling less than enthusiastic these days about being an online seller of my handmade goods, but I realize that it isn't just me...
If you spend any time in the Forums of handmade sites, the issue seems to be everywhere..is it Google, is it Etsy, the Fates, the economy...?
My own theory is that things have reached their 'natural' plateau...and that very few of us are gonna survive this downturn, because too many of us are working on attracting the same scarce dollars...
Okay, I admit I'm one of the 'lucky' ones...no kids, no one to support but me, and have a small pension for survival money, so I at least don't have to walk away, but can wait it out..

Ultimately, I think that's what we all have to do...and, by the way, it isn't just online sales that are affected...I am down now to once a month for my 'weekly' Market that was bringing in enough to make it worthwhile for the expenses, but not since January has it been profitable, or, at the least, a break-even situation. I do feel that a more level playing field will result by Fall of this year; in the meantime, have to find a part-time alternative..

Are many of you hooked on the live bird cams, so prevalent today online? I have an Eagle Cam (link at end of this posting) from a location about an hour South of here, near the ferry terminal that brings vehicles and passengers from Vancouver and the Lower Mainland over to this Island...and it's so exciting to watch-now in my mind, that's true reality TV..
I also an linked to an Owl Cam-from San Marcos, California, and just today a bluebird cam from Texas....amazing how engaging these creatures are.

When I think about what bird parents deal with, day after day, determined, not swayed by scarcity or exhaustion, it makes me a bit ashamed about my own whingeing...it stops now...well, I'll try...


http://www.cbc.ca/bc/features/eaglecam/