Friday, August 31, 2012

At the Market this Saturday, September 1st!

I am so excited that tomorrow it is September!  That is probably because I loathe August.  I know that is not nice.  But, August is simply defined in my head as: Hot & Humid.  It hasn't been that bad, honestly.  Still, September always sounds more like Fall, which seems more promising.  Odd that July is my favorite month of the year, October shortly following, with April close behind October.
Anyways, there are reason for all of this, but I'll have to share them another time, as I am working hard tonight to ensure I have plenty of stock for tomorrow's Market day!  There will be no Downtown Market next weekend because of Riverfest, so tomorrow is a good morning to come out!
I regret that I have not been able to get my Etsy shop up and running again since the Market has started last May.  But I just do so much work for the Market that it seems too much at the time.   Hopefully, next year I'll be able to simultaneously do both!
(p.s. it is a wonderful "problem" to have and I thank all of my customers for such success!)

Friday, August 24, 2012

Favorite Market Moments #1 & #2

Okay, I am just now starting my list of Favorite Market Moments.  I've had previous ones as well, and as I have time I will post them too.  But I have to just start, so here it goes:

#1 (This one was two weeks ago) A woman walking by said, "Those are the same ingredients I use to make my Laundry Soap."  She was a few years older than me, okay maybe ten-fifteen years...and so I assumed that she'd been making it awhile and was aware of the cost savings and other benefits in making your own laundry soap.   I mean, a lot of people are, they tell me all of the time!  But she stopped, turned, and said, "You know, I think I'll just buy yours and save myself some time."  Surprised me!
But as I thought more about this...I realized:  I know how to make my own bread.  I know the cost savings and the benefits.  But I don't have time right now!  I also know how to do a vast variety of other things.  But we can't do everything we know how to do, or want to do!  So there.  Sometimes we have let others do it for us and pay them for their work.  It's just the way it is.  It makes the world diverse anyway and allows each of us to use our own gifts!

#2 (Last Saturday) I had a returning customer, a sweet girl about the age of 6 or 7?  and her older sister 8? 9?  The younger sister had bought a pair of earrings from me previously and she was wearing them.  I love to see people wearing my work!  LOVE it!  So, naturally I was excited!  They were returning to purchase more and the younger sister bought a wrap bracelet and the older sister, a tie necklace.  I had other customers at the time also, so they paid me and moved to the side so the dad could tie the necklace onto the older daughter.  My heart melted!  This family of four walked away as my crowd was clearing and so I called out to them "Thanks again!  Have a wonderful weekend!."  And I thought to myself, they are like a walking, advertising family for my artwork creations.  It is moments like this that make all of the time and effort worth it.  LOVE it!

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Community Garden Harvest

Here I am raking off the dry grass from the garden
Here we are starting the whole process.  Phil got the LAND and tilled up the garden.











 I was already babysitting Miles this day so I just kept him in Brielle's former sling (lovingly made to fit me perfectly) and he was happy.

This garden is where the tomatoes & squash will be planted.  The lower garden contained the corn.

Planting Seeds!

 I don't have any pictures of the tomatoes growing...but we went back and weeded them a couple of times and they grew (despite the drought) and so did the corn.  We harvested corn first.  I was working at the Downtown Market, so I missed the picking & shucking of the corn but here are their pics:




 Then we all gathered at the Catchims' to clean, bag, & freeze the corn.  FUN, sticky, & an all around good time!


Two weeks later, after taking turns picking tomatoes and delivering them to the Catchims' house, we met back there again to can the tomatoes!

We divided everything equally.

And that is communal gardening!

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

NIGHT MARKET


I am super excited to be vending this Friday Night at my very first ever Jammin' in the Alley/Downtown Night Market!!!  My husband and I have been there for a "date night" before, but this is the first time as a vendor. Most of the vendors have said they generate more interest and sales on Saturday mornings of course, but I'm just going to give it a try for the fun of it.  If nothing else, there is a band called Yesterday! playing and I am hoping they might be a Beatles Tribute Band? 


So....the Market is going WELL!!!  If you are one of those nice people who have picked up one of my cards and have come to my website to see what's going on (or even if you are a regular follower) here's the jest:
I am at the Clarksville Downtown Market *most* Saturday mornings 8am-1pm.  I sell Homemade Laundry Soap (64oz bottles) for $3.00 a bottle and $2.50 if you return a previous jug.  I'm already getting return customers and I'm super excited!  The laundry soap is great and we use it solely and love it.  I also sale Homemade Play dough for $2.00 a bag.  This too is great! (I would only sell something our family loved and used regularly, if that helps.)  It doesn't dry out easily and is made of non-harmful ingredients.  I had requests to make scented play doughs, so I tried it, and people either loved it (and bought it) or said their kids would eat it, it smelled so good!  Ha!  Okay, so I'm not going to make scented for awhile and see if I get any more requests for it.
Last, and my favorite is:  I personally hand roll all of my beads out of recycled papers (I generally use calendars-- to give away my secret).  Then I make them into necklaces, earrings, or wrap bracelets.  The earrings fly off the table.  I most likely will have to raise my price because I cannot keep up with the demand for them.  The braided-tie necklaces that double as wrap bracelets are close behind.  I sell those for $7.  I had a customer from Canada last Saturday (who sells bar soap at the market there) tell me that those same necklaces would sell for $25 at a Canadian Market!  I said, "what?? Is that because of the currency exchange difference?"  She said, "no, no, no.  The dollar value is the same there.  It's just that in Canada there is already and appreciation and awareness of hand crafted items.  And people there want unique." 

I think that the customers who frequent the Downtown Market already hold this view also... OR they soon will. :)