Fun, Beautiful Weather and Great People
After sleeping a bit extra today, I thought I'd tell you about vending Saturday. It was the kind of event that makes me so happy to live where I do. There were about 8-10 vendors for this small event. We had a very yummy homemade lunch put on by the Garden club. The weather was beautiful if a bit warm, but I did have my canopy and a pretty decent shady spot under a tree. I sold a handful of pieces including Cheshire Moon, which is pictured above. That one went to a fellow vendor and herbalist who I really like so that was pretty cool. I don't have photos of the other pieces I sold -- mostly smaller pendants. I also put out an assortment of rocks for people to fondle and buy and sold a few of those. Folks tended to like the ammonites the best. And the people... well I love them. That's pretty much what I love about this town of 1100. Well that and the river and mountains. The people are so wonderful though - strong independent women (and men of course, but this was a highly women oriented gathering). Of all sizes and shapes - some with tattoos, piercings, dreadlocks, kids, partners, doctors, farmers. I don't find myself using words very well right now, but suffice it to say that I love the eclectic nature of folks around here. Lots of herbalists, hippies, farmers, ranchers and everyone in between. It's a community that's rather invested in sustainability and being kind to one another. I really appreciate that, and while I sometimes yearn for the city life and all the culture and activities offered there, I'm happy to call this town my own. Yep.. good old Laytonville, CA.
I got to meet some new people and vend with others that I've known for a bit. There was an open mic with people playing guitar and singing. There were little workshops on composting and the medicinal properties of everyday herbs. The crowd wasn't very big, which could have been better, but the event had gone on a break last year and I think people weren't very aware of it happening. I think next year will be more attended and advertised.
Today I'm utterly exhausted. I did a lot of running around getting ready, then the loading and unloading twice in a day was pretty trying. On top of that I had to get my partner's wheelchair on top of the car because inside it was full with my set-up and merchandise, so by the end of the day, after I was loaded up and getting her chair up there, I was ready to fall over and sleep. It's all worth it though!
I got nice compliments on my set up, which is always great to hear. I'll post some photos of it soon. It tends to change every time I vend because I do it so infrequently. This time, I added some slatted boards - I can't even think of what they are called right now - but they hold dowel rods from which necklaces where hanging. I was thinking it's a bit too busy looking, but I got a number of kind words about them and they were great in the breeze (not falling over). One thing I did better this time was to have my merch all priced before the show. You'd think that's common sense, but I never seem to get there. Well, okay, about 10 things weren't priced but I can handle that! This time Jesse and I got to sit back and watch people more. One thing we noticed was that the big piece of malachite I have was a serious guy magnet. They liked to pick it up and explore it. The women, which is my primary customer, looked around a lot. They tended to come into the booth and look at the left wall first. I'm not sure if that is the natural tendency or if it's because of that side having the sterling silver items, while the other was more gemstone necklace type stuff. I think it's probably the natural tendency. I know someone had talked about how one shops and which way their eye sweeps - but I can't remember which way it is.
Almost everyone who took the time to examine the hanging necklaces went to two of my Goddess pieces - both of which are primarily white and silver. I found that very fascinating. These are the two:
My favorite part of the day though, was at the end. I had decided that I wanted to let go of some of my older wraps - primarily copper wrapped single stones and sea glass. I contemplated selling them cheaply online, giving them to another beginning vendor to sell, and giving them to my local second hand store. Then I realize how much fun it would be to run around and tell everyone that I was letting go of some of my older work for free, and boy was it fun! Some were customers, some were older friends, most of the vendors, and a handful of new people I met. I'm not even sure of how many pieces went because I was running around telling people while Jesse was showing which ones. I'd guess though, that about 20 people or so went through the pile and took at least one thing - sometimes 2 or 3 things. Yey! That made me SO happy. What a perfect way to end the day huh? Of course it left me wishing I could just give my pieces away, which I know is not an unusual thought amongst sellers. I'm still trying to work on that idea - to figure out how I can sell things at a lower price or donate more or something that will get them into more hands and bring smiles to their hearts. I've always wanted to do giveaways, so hopefully that will be one way to go about it. I have a huge grin on my face just remembering the giveaway and the way people's faces lit up when I told them what I was doing.
Okay, on that note, I've got to go throw some dinner together.
Hope you are well!
Shay
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About me...
- Shay Stone
- Simply put, I'm a wire and gem jewelry freak! I like to string, twist, weave, wrap, form, and decorate with gems, wire and other earthy beauties. If you want to know more please click on the "About" tab at the top of the page. To contact me, check my blogger profile (click below) ... Thanks!
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4 comments:
Sounds like you have a wonderful community to enjoy :) and the event you were at sounds awesome too!
Thanks Kim! It's great to see you here :)
Oh that sounds like a ton of fun!! And yes...I too tend to look left first. I think women look left first because of being more right brained. If you are more right brained...your eye sweep is left. If left brained...you look right first. And yes, giving away is soooo lovely. I tend to give away more than I sell. LOL!! Or maybe that's because my work is not good enough to sell. LOL!!
Very interesting Swati. I think a lot of us give away more than we sell. I know it's a tough thing when we need to try not to do that in order to survive and be able to keep creating. It's just way too much fun to give. And YOU!... don't make me come and smack you! -- Your work is beyond good! Love you!
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