December 1st?!!!

It's December 1st, but I'm notgonnathinkaboutit.  I'm getting good at that these days:  not thinking about it.  Like money.  No, I'm not burying my head in the sand; I'm doing what I can, what needs to be done about it . . . and then not thinking about it.  Because, as I alluded to yesterday, if I stressed about it all day long, it would kill me.  Same thing with it being December 1st already.  Anything I can do about it other than try to be really organized for the remaining days before Christmas?  Nope.  So, I acknowledge it and move on.  Moving on . . .

This past Saturday was the annual art festival at the local town hall and, overall and despite the economy, it was a success!  We (artists) all awoke to BAD weather that morning.  For me, it was heavy snow, mid-way down the hill it was slippery, sloppy snow, and down on the highway, it was freezing rain.  We all were understandably worried that the weather would deter customers, but it didn't!  And, truth be told, as the day progressed, the freezing rain down by the lake turned to plain, ol' rain, so travelers really didn't have to worry.  

The neatest thing I noticed about this particular festival was the high percentage of locals it attracted.  I heard that town was packed with tourists, that weekend following Thanksgiving, but there were hardly any at the sale.  That was the down-side.  But, the locals REALLY came out to "shop locally".  I got a lot of "I saw the poster" or "I got your e-mail and came out just because you asked" which was HUGE!  Thank you, thank you!  In particular, it was WONDERFUL to see these two, and it made me realize how much I've missed seeing you and would love to take you up on that offer for a visit to your place to catch up!

The festival couldn't have come at a better time for me, personally, since I had to clear out of my office this month.  So, I really got about half of my two-room space cleared out on Friday when I loaded up for the sale.

Here's the pile of stuff I had to load into the pickup (leaving enough room for the dogs).  I really wanted to take my largest piece to the festival (from its display in the foyer of a local business), but I had ZERO room remaining once I was loaded . . . save the open bed of the truck which, obviously, wasn't appropriate.

I was the happiest I've ever been with how my corner of the town hall looked this time, too.  I'd chosen a new spot (a corner with plenty of wall space), and it really made a huge difference.  That and having lots of stock, of course.

This photo is blurry - I took it w/ my phone - but it gives you an idea.  On Saturday morning, I brought a standing easel to set at the right-hand side of my table between mine & the artist's next to me.  That easel displayed two more prints and two hats.

These were taken after I'd set up Friday night.  I still had the left-most card rack to fill come Saturday morning.  Another interesting, "go figure" thing:  the items I sell the most of at these things are the cards.  This time, I sold almost all my 5x7 & 8x10 matted prints!  You really NEVER can predict these things!!

I sold a couple of my homemade candles and crocheted hats, too!

I've also learned the "trick" to selling hats now, too.  Promise them to someone else or bring an already-sold hat to the sale . . . and it will sell!  Doh!  ;)  At the summertime sale, there was a hat that looked particularly fantastic on this friend's daughter.  I knew that, if it didn't sell (and, really, WHAT were the odds?), I'd give it to her for her birthday.  What was the ONLY hat that sold on that hot summer day?  Yup, that one.

This time, I'd just finished a hat (which, I JUST NOW realized, I never got a picture of, darn it!) that was a custom order for another dear friend's daughter.  She'd (the daughter) picked out the yarn with me when they were visiting a couple of months ago.  Having finished it just a few nights before the sale, I thought I'd take it down so it would "round out" the selection.  And, was it one of the two hats that sold?  Of course.  On the up side, I wasn't 100% happy with how it had turned out, so I don't mind redoing it.  But, that tricky Murphy's Law, eh?!