Craft fair time

It's that time of year--holiday craft fairs.  Way back in May before I left for Yellowstone I applied to two different fairs.  Luckily we were accepted to both (yes, there is an application and approval process for these craft fairs).  Last Saturday was the first one.  It is a large one that is very popular.

 

Set up time is always the Friday night before the fair.  Since it's at a school you have to wait for basketball practice to be done so it's late at night (at least my idea of late).  Mary and I had great help unloading the car and hauling all our goods into the gym.  Mr. Beans and Irv are very much appreciated for their muscles.

 

We're beginning to have a larger inventory and added a few new products this year.  My Colorado flags made from pallets were a big hit.

 

Another new item is the mason jar solar light and holder.  These are really beautiful and we sold several.

 

Of course we still have our wine glasses and wine bottles.  Mary's wire-wrapped glasses flew off the shelves.  In past years our biggest seller has always been the Grinch mugs.  I had made several in preparation, but they didn't sell like they usually do.  Even so we had our best sales ever which gave us renewed energy to keep going with this venture. 

I had taken a few of my art pieces along to see if there was any interest.  I didn't really expect to sell any because it really isn't the right type of venue.  Much to my surprise someone purchased my encaustic aspens without even haggling about the price I put on it.  It almost brought tears to my eyes to sell a piece of my art to a complete stranger.  The lady who purchased it told me the painting "made her day".  I think I'm a professional artist now.

Anyway, Mary and I have been busy restocking our inventory this week.  This week's fair is a much smaller event so I don't expect our sales to be even half of last week.  It's fun coming up with new ideas and figuring out how to bring them to life.  Even better is spending time with my daughter.  We're working toward a girl's trip to Mexico and we're halfway there.