I had a lovely time last weekend selling my stuff and generally blethering my head off to any passer by. I was at the Out of the Blue Arts Market last Saturday. The night before I grabbed a couple of stems of cherry blossom or 'sakura' to decorate my stall and ended up trailing a stream of blossom confetti all the way there.
I think the rain on the day may have put a few folk off but it certainly didn't deter the punters for the food stalls which started ahead of the arts market. Once the first rush had died down things were quite relaxed which meant that I had lots of time to get chatting and enjoy some interesting, informative and entertaining conversations:
• A lady who works at the Drill Hall Café came by to say that the shower cap she'd bought from me at Christmas went down very well with her friend. "She wears it all the time!" she said. "I mean - not just in the shower!!" Now that's what I like to hear.
• A wee boy came past, asking how much of my merchandise I'd actually made myself:
HIM: "Did you make that? And that?!"
ME: "Yes, yes I made it all!"
HIME: "And those? Did you make them?" (pointing at my jug a pheasant-eye lilies)
ME: "Well no, you've got me there."
HIM: "Hmm. Do you do anything without flowers on?"
ME: "Eh... well, um, not really."
HIM: "Could you make me one of them without flowers on?" (pointing at my Dotty Miss Daisy tablecloth)
ME: "Yeah, I could do that. What would you want on it instead?"
HIM: "H.F.C."
ME: "Is that Hearts?"
HIM: (with steely glare) "No, HIBS!"
• A lady picked up one of my wildwood flower brooches. I told her I thought it was a primrose. "No it's a cowslip which is why I'm going to buy it!". Apparently, (I did not know this) a primrose is a cultivated cowslip so of course I have now re-titled my brooch. She went on to tell me a lovely story about her Grandmother, who used to post a biscuit tin of cowslips to her mother each spring. She said the place where her Grandmother picked them has no cowslip left in it anymore. I loved her story and told her my own similar one as my Aunty used to post a posy of snowdrops to my Mum in an empty Silk Cut packet. The snowdrops wrapped in damp tissue would come out a little bedraggled but would soon perk up after a wee drink and possibly some fresh air.
On Sunday I was at the Collective for the Craft Sunday Market with A Wooden Tree and Annabel Bartle. I've known Kirsty since I've been doing craft fairs and Annabel and I worked together on this project, four years ago. It was great to see them both and have a right good natter. Although I did so much nattering I forgot to take more photos of their lovely wares!
We were asked to give a poster to advertise our stalls in the lead up to the market. That's my effort at the back there. I couldn't get any pegboard so I drilled my own. Yes I'm mad.
You can see I grabbed a couple of stray narcissi from the park on my way by too.
I loved our tables which were assembled from plastic drinks crates on loan from Barrs. They were quite tall and just the perfect height for getting a good eyeball at everything!
Course I also got the chance to try out The Feral Trade Café. Oh yeah! I'm gonna have to tell you abut that later but I'll be ticking off all the items on the menu over the next few weeks let me tell you!
If you are interested in getting involved with the markets over the next few weeks contact:
jennyrichards@collectivegallery.net
The dates are:
Sunday 1 May - Artist's Multiples
Sunday 8 May - Illustration
Sunday 15 May - Publications
Sunday 22 May - Anything goes
