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I figured out where some events are being posted and I have registered as a vendor for a farmer's swap on April 24. *confetti*
Looks like some flea market info is being posted on craigslist, and more events can be found on eventbrite. I've known about/used eventbrite before, I just didn't know if it were still a thing. It was driving me batty trying to search for events because either search is now dogshit or I didn't get the memo when they changed how to use it properly (possible). Because I cannot find what I want. It is always a struggle lately. Search will give me articles about how to sell at craft markets, or craft markets hundreds of miles away, or craft markets 5 years ago, but not actual craft market events happening soon in my area. And yeah sure, there are aggregators where these events are posted, but they require you to pay to see useful info like website or contact info, and they auto-post annual events from years past assuming the event will still happen, and when you do all the work to search the event name and finally find their info page ... cancelled for covid. So it has been pretty frustrating and a time suck. And even freshly armed with craigslist and eventbrite, everything seems to be happening outside my local area. Like I'm in a cultural dead zone. That might be because the county we live in has been very strict about covid, but I know this other county has also been strict and it is hopping over there. We have an arts center I can literally walk to. You would think they would have some kind of outdoor summer craft fair thing on the calendar by now. (Frankly that center strikes me as a bit snobby and obsessed with "ReAL aRt", which means safe stuff their elderly wealthy donors would buy, like landscapes and still lifes and flowers and NO NUDITY. What kind of reputable arts center doesn't have an inexpensive drop in life drawing class? Honestly? It's like a car mechanic who won't do oil changes, so stupid. Anyway there's two ways to make money with art: make and sell art, or sell very expensive classes to people who aspire to be artists in their retirement, or have kids who want to be artists, and make them pay through the nose to be in your fancy sounding art/social club that hosts all events. One is easier and more profitable, and that's what the center is laser focused on. Pay to play. I halfway suspect they suppress outside art related things in the immediate area because this is their "turf". So I don't think much of that center.)
Supposedly there is that flea market just a mile away but I cannot find any hard info on it (it's probably on facebook, where the shadows lie). Supposedly it starts the first saturday in april so I may just wander over there and see if anyone shows up and then grill them for info.
Anyway, I'm going to vend at this farmer's swap. It's held on a farm that serves as as wedding venue and there's going to be live music and it seems well coordinated. It is an established event and it sounds like they get good traffic. I have paid my $60 doolars, we will see what happens.
The tent arrived yesterday and I promptly set it up in the living room. I am pleased. Size is perfect, no surprises. It's 4x4 - big enough to sit under with some storage space. It's a bit more wobbly than I would like, but that's because the legs have a triple extension to keep the folded size compact. At the tallest height it is 5' 10" or 6' to the lowest hem of the canopy roof, so because I am shorter I can lower it a notch to 5'6" and that seems to be more stable, but I'll have to hem the tent walls. It will be fine for drizzles/calm weather. It's the breezy days here that concern me (but all tents are vulnerable to wind). I bought the canopy from the tent manufacturer and I like that they sell replacement parts for every bit of the canopy frame, plus replacement fabric covers. I felt like the cost seemed high, considering it is only a 4x4 tent and I could get a 10x10 for the same price, but there's probably a lot less demand for small canopies so that means higher manufacturing costs per unit, etc. I can't set up a 10x10 by myself, and I sure as hell can't take it on the bus. I figure I'm paying an extra $40 or so for the convenience.
Speaking of the bus, it doesn't go to this farm location and I will need the car. Spouse is having anxiety because he hasn't heard if he's in this April training class, but he knows of two people who got the thumbs up literally the day before ("PS, you need to be here tomorrow and will be there 5 months"). I assume the govt will do whatever is most assholish in terms of conveying information. This is way easier than what we went through when spouse got his current job because I had to plan and execute a 4k mile move through another country in winter by myself at the drop of a hat, so I have already given all my fucks and Uncle Sam can do whatever. I am assuming spouse will be gone in a couple weeks, so I will have the car. If spouse has to wait, then he'll be working that weekend and he will either need to take the day off or rent a car. But I'm assuming I will be vending alone. It's really important that I make sure I can handle everything myself. I don't know where we're moving next, I don't know what transportation will be like, I don't know if we'll have friends/relatives nearby. Huge waterfall? Sharp rocks at the bottom? Bring it on.
There are some other cool events listed on eventbrite I would like to vend at. If I can do one or two larger planned events a month and supplement with drop in flea markets, that should keep me occupied. Of course, now I need to buy an unreasonable number of cups and, you know, make product.
The carved slate board thing turned out pretty good. Good enough for product photos, anyway. As I worked I figured out how to use some of the burr shapes that don't seem useful for engraving metal, like the flat top cylinder and the inverted cone. Hot damn, inverted cones are sweet. They're like a calligraphy nib for carving stone. My new latest thing is carving myself a woodblock stamp. Initially I was going to stamp lettering on these cheap metal dogtags spouse had lying around and use them as business cards. But then I realized the cups I want to work with don't have handles, so there's no way to attach the tags to the cups. Nobody's going to want to wear a bracelet or whatever with this dumb dog tag. So then I thought about using cardboard coasters as business cards and that made more sense. Coasters for cups, coasters are useful. Plus I already have a bunch of blank coasters. So then I thought about printing/stamping a design, and now I'm going to find a scrap of wood around here somewhere and see if I can carve a stamp out of it to print the coasters. I'm also thinking about cutting a sheet of acrylic into a sign I can display. I was going to paint on canvas, but I know from experience that usually means hanging a wrinkled sign, sometimes it sticks to itself, wind blows it around, customers ignore it, like, it's okay but not impressive. I can get a piece of acrylic sized to fit in my rolly cart thing, cut it in the shape of my logo, paint it, and have a more impressive looking, lightweight sign. So I'll either have to cut it with the jeweler's saw by hand, or the rotary tool, or both. I thought about getting a local laser engraver/sign maker but no obvious winner popped up in search. Cutting it myself will be tedious but time is something I do have. I have a large piece of acrylic saved from an old poster frame. It's thinner than I'd like, floppier, maybe I can cut it in two parts and glue the layers together. Maybe that will make a good enough sign.
I got the canopy, I got some fabric to make the table cover and coordinating accents, I got a battery operated light string, I got weight bags for the tent legs, I got an articulated clamp on umbrella (the "versa-brella") for extra shade, and a partial mesh sidewall just for sun coverage (to lighten the load for good weather - the walls are one solid piece that doesn't zip apart like the 10x10 tents do). The sign and how to display it is the big piece I am missing. There might be some connector odds and ends I need to make sure things are secured well. But my portable display setup should be handled.
So I need business cards (or business coasters, whatever) to give away. I have the coaster blanks and stickers I can print with a QR code to stick on the back, I made the coaster design, but need to carve the stamp(s) and print. Since I don't know where we'll be living in 6 months, I made a 2 part design. One part is like a faux seal that says "buy handmade, support local growers, craft & art" and then I have a state stamp to layer on top. So wherever we move, I just swap in a new state stamp. I like pushing the broader message of "buy handmade" over my specific business. Yeah, I'll have the website on there and the QR sticker, so it's not unbranded. But I feel like a "buy handmade" message is more welcome than a business logo. Plus I genuinely think it's important.
I plan on making simple drawstring fabric bags to both protect the product during transport and to serve as a shopping bag for purchases. I already have fabric and string and thread and all that, no need to buy anything.
The big thing to-do at this point is the finalized logo design. Then I can cut the sign, cut the stencils, print the product bags. I can fix up the website.
That's basically everything outside of real actual sellable product. There is a certain peace of mind when all that little stuff is settled and out of the way. For me it just feels like I'm invested and I have a Plan. My brain is less likely to get distracted and squirrelly, or demoralized. Having a real event on the calendar is a huge boost.
I didn't mean for my posts to be so business-business-business-numbers. It's just the only interesting thing I have going on right now. I either bore spouse silly with all these details or I blab here and psychologically feel like I've had a nice conversation. It helps me think things through.
So at the farmer's swap they trade chickens. You know what this means, right? Roosters engraved on cups. Gonna draw some cocks. God I LOVE stupid jokes. I really hope I get some good laughs about cock cups or I will be bored and sad.