I laugh now, but Saturday did not start out as expected. With Mom's help, the RV was all packed and ready to go by 7 pm on Friday. I was in bed by 9 pm - early for me - because it was going to be an early start to get out to Rimbey and be set up before 9 am.
With two Farmer's Markets under my belt and, I'm sure, more future locations to come, you are going to have the chance to squish the yummy yarn again!
After being asleep for a couple of hours, Myles - the cat - thought he needed to go outside at 11:30 pm. Not happening. Even with a night interspersed with what I call the 'RV cuddle' - holding him tightly enough under the covers that he can't move and doesn't dare do anything more than breathe and I'm awake on my terms, not his, he yowled until 2 am! At that point, I figured "I'm up. I'll pee." Wouldn't you know, he followed suit in his litter box and promptly slept the rest of the night. Good thing or I would have had one less cat in the morning. Needless to say, I did not get the desired amount of sleep.
In the morning, after making myself presentable and having breakfast, I packed up all the sustenance and electronics for the day and headed out to the motorhome, stowed everything where it belonged, crawled into the cab and turned the key. *crickets* After a few choice words, I made my way into the shop and found the battery charger. It took fifteen minutes to get the battery charged enough to start, during which time I contacted the market organizer to ensure her that I would be there, God willing.
Thankfully, it was all positive from there. I got there in plenty of time and was given a great (permanent for this season) position at the Rimbey Farmer's Market where I managed some decent sales considering no one was expecting a yarn store at the market. On the way home from there, I decided to poke my nose into the Bentley Farmer's Market only to be told that they just had a cancellation and I could have their spot! YAY!
Now I know that my wares are not typical Farmer's Market wares, so I am not expecting sales like I see at the Creativ Festival shows, but I was grateful to have more than covered my booth fees and gas with my first foray into the market scene. The exposure I got was more than I would have received from paying for advertising and I was a little humbled by how few people recognized the store name. I was likened to a drug dealer by the booth beside me in Bentley because, to anyone who glanced toward the sign on the back end of my RV, I was saying things like,"You want yarn? I've got lots of yarn inside. C'mon in."
The plan is to have the yarn offerings change up from week to week so there is always something new for people to squish. That means if you see something you like one week, chances are you won't see them again for up to 4 weeks. That's where the online store comes in. Make a note of which yarns you like, check with your patterns at home, order them at craftylady.ca and, when you check out, choose PICK UP and make a note for me to bring them along to the market so you can avoid shipping charges. If needed, you can even request to have them pre-wound for you. How's that for service!
And of utmost importance to those of you making masks . . . I finally received my elastic!
posted by Lori, excited TCL owner who can't wait to see what this coming week brings!
Congratulations on the pop-up successes! Hope you get more sleep before the next market! :-)
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