Last Konstant Kaos Market before Christmas

I am busy finalising some final creations for my last "market" before Christmas. I am lucky that Tori is at childcare today and that I can do this ...

Etsy orders are still coming in, but I am afraid that the Australian postal strike might put a dampener on their Christmas purchases. All I can do is contact them and let them know and pray that it gets there on time.

There has been a lot of talk about news years resolutions, and I, like many other crafters have been thinking long and hard about "directions" for 2010. What do I enjoy making? But what actually sells?

A question was posed at the Northside Makers Christmas get-to-gether "would you compromise your craft if you knew that the item would sell like hotcakes" (or something to that effect), and then the example was given as a "twilight" styled item to take advantage of the craze at the moment.

I tend not to make things again that I do not enjoy making, or that I don't get some crafty buzz from. But on the flip side, I did make over 100 appliqued bibs, because I knew they would sell and pay the bills. So I guess it is all about making that compromise and finding something that people say "yeah! I'd be happy to pay the money for your efforts" .. what do you think?

Wet weather markets - part 2

What is worse than a wet weather market? A gale force market!

Jaylene and I spent about half an hour holding down the marquee asking ourselves whether it would be worthwhile staying ... we tried to put the sides on the marquee, but the wind just kept on picking it up and tried to toss it onto High Street! A few other marquee's found themselves flying away and at one stage one of the Northcote Town Hall people said "It's just not Northcote anymore ... Toto" ... that summed up the evening.

So out came the rope ... lots of it, and we tied it down to everything we could find; the hinge on the town hall door, the tap around the corner. The Town Hall Manager was there with containers of water to help keep down the marquee's. Quite a number of people gave up and went home ... but we soldiered on!

We ended up putting two tables in the middle of the marquee and used the third one as a "rise" to create a point of interest. Table cloths were gaffa taped to the table and then a pricing gun was used to pin everything down. It looked like I was protecting myself against theft, but rather it was more of a wind issue! Several times I had items go flying across the courtyard. But the exercise of having a table that people could walk around worked well, we were in training for our Borders Craft Market experience next Monday night.

At 5.30 we were still not ready despite being there early to set up, most of the time was spent slowly unpacking stock and making sure it was pinned down.

So I add to my list of essentials for windy market stalls:

• Sandbags, or containers of water (those big 10 litre containers that you take camping with you)
  
• Lots of rope, we got a 50m roll of white plastic type rope.
  
• Gaffa tape
• Pricing gun or safety pins to pin down stock to table cloths
  
• Definitely a wind stop jacket of some sort
  

My tubs for stock worked well as something to sit on when it got quiet and certainly easier to pack things away and then clip the top. Because the tub is light as well, it was easier to see things in it in the dark.

Overall a good market night once it got going. Entertainment was interesting, as they had lots of people playing rather than the same set. My treat for the evening was a Grand Manier Crepe from the Crepe Stall! yum

Wet weather markets - eep!

The house is nice and quiet and the cats and I can hear the birds getting excited about the day outside. Tori has gone off to childcare in a good mood and my hubby is off to work as well. Bliss!

It is the lull before the storm!

I am off to the third of my Christmas markets tonight. Last night I spent lots of time packing up stock and making sure that things were labeled correctly and nicely ironed. And of course everything is packed into big plastic tubs ... after the experience of last Thursday night the tubs seem to work very well.

Doing a whole collection of markets in a row forces you to organise your stock differently and think differently about how you go about making your stock. Having markets where it is either very windy or rainy, forces you to yet again to think about how you transport your goods and store them during the market. A bit like packing for a camping trek, wet weather gear on top, things that need to keep dry on the bottom.

A few things that work well for me:

• If I take my raincoat and umbrella there is a lower likelihood of using them
• I take a tarp that I can throw over a table "just in case"
• At the bottom of the tub I have my non-water friendly stock in plastic, just in case.
• Allow extra time for set up ... for waiting until showers pass
• Take a towel or two, for making things dry when they get wet (including you!)
  

Jay has done a great post here about outdoor markets ....

See you at the Kris Kringle Market tonight!

Rain, rain ...

via triniti101

Feeling a bit apprehensive about my market tonight ... we have an outside stall under a marquee ... it will certainly be an adventure. While the idea of more floorspace and hanging space appealed to me, I am now doubting my decision. I am sharing my stall with Finki Handmade.

So what does my list look like at the moment ...

Raincoat (check)
Money for hot chocolate (check)
Umbrella (check)
Humor (check)
Stock that will survive downpours or stock in plastic bags (check)

The positive thing is that if the weather get's it's rain out of it's system then the saturday market might not be that much of a washout ...

Working overtime

With only a few days before my first Christmas market at Northcote Town Hall, the machines are working overtime and so am I! Bags, fabric covers, shoes, pencil cases ... lots of things on the production line.

In addition to sewing, I am also in the middle of marking and reports at school ... I am a crazy woman!

Here are some fabric covered journals that I finished last night with material inspired by the work of the lovely Cathy ...

I've made the fabric covered books large enough to take either A5 diaries, notebooks or sketchbooks (can you tell that I couldn't make up my mind?). I can imagine the recipe card book being used to keep clippings or notes of your favourite culinary delights.

Scrapbook inside

Journal inside


Diary inside.

I was a bit particular when choosing the diary insert, it had to be functional. For me, having a space to write a list makes it more functional.

If you miss me at Kris Kringle, catch up with me at the second Northside Makers Market at Northcote Uniting Church on Saturday 28th November, 2009.