A Bust

I woke up bright and early this morning, finished packing up the car and was on my way to the fair. The weather was hot and soupy, not the best kind of day for sitting out in the sun. And less-than-ideal for selling hand-knit goodies.

When I got to the field, I was able to pull my car right up to my booth and unload. I was by myself, so that was great. I had decided not to buy a tent this week, I wasn't sure if I would be able to get it up on my own and also wasn't convinced that I needed one. After unloading, I parked the car and came back to set up my table. I was really pleased with how it looked, the colors popped off the white and it really came out the way that I had hoped. I am still thinking of better ways to display my scarves, but the drying rack worked for today. I had a chance to meet my "neighbors;" a man who sold his wife's jewelery, a candlemaker, and three alpacas. Yup, I had llamas as my neighbor. I wasn't sure if this was good or bad luck.

As the fair opened and folks started wandering through, I received such great feedback. It was really neat to hear what people think and notice the things that folks were drawn to. My pom-pom hats were a favorite, as were all of my various hair accessories. After about an hour, I made my first sale. A woman purchased a pom-pom hat and a neckwarmer.....as toilet paper covers. Seriously. I couldn't make this up if I tried! I was thrilled to make the sale, but I little disappointed about their new purpose.

Just as she walked away, the clouds rolled in. Do you think that I was prepared? Did I bring a tarp? How about an umbrella? Trash bags at least? NO. I did not bring any of those things. They did not make it on to my never-ending list. So glad that I decided NOT to get a tent. Lesson learned the hard way. Thankfully, my candle-making neighbors offered one of the sides from their tent which worked as a great cover and kept everything dry. We all hoped that it was a passing shower, but as I checked weather.com on my phone, it quickly became clear that we were in for at least four hours of this. Which might have been fine if I had a tent. Or if we weren't in a soaking wet field. So, after assessing the situation and looking at what the other vendors were doing, I decided to pack it up. Disappointed and soaked to the bone, I treated myself to a milkshake on the way home followed by a long nap. Maybe I'll stick to indoor craft fairs from here on out.