The show is held in a huge camelot tent structure with a main tent and 2 smaller ones branching off from it. It is advertised as being heated. That was not always true. Fortunately, it was an unusually mild weekend for November, so there was no true suffering until Sunday when the sun went away and the winds kicked up and the rain started. They had not staked down the sides of the tent, so the wind would pick them up and blow cold air right up your hoo ha. Plus, the heat was off. On the plus side, as soon as we bi..mentioned this to the staff, there was a guy outside staking the thing down and the heat came on.
This is a market, so most of what was for sale was appropriate to gift giving, although there was a fine selection of photography, engravings, that paper cutting art I can't spell and watercolors. Mixed in with that was candy and jams and fancy olive oils. Basically, the kind of show where I love to shop and hate to sell.
We needed 3 nights at a hotel, 30 gallons of gas, meals. After you factor in jury fees, booth costs and product costs, I lost money.
The crowds were there but they weren't spending enough. Some folks did really well, not us. The show is trying to be artful, but the crowd they are pulling in right now is looking for a craft show. Nothing wrong with that, but my stuff doesn't sell at a craft show.
Jewelry did well, domestic crafts, puppets, soaps & lotions.
The staff and the volunteers were, as promised, stellar. But they can't make people spend money.
Sunday morning I broke my foot while paying more attention to the strudel booth than the craggy sidewalk. I will be wearing the velcro embellished ski boot for 16 weeks. Right about the time the apps come out for next year. It will serve as a reminder and a warning.
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