Well, after so much anxiety and nerves and meltdown and build-ups, it was finally time for the holiday market. I tell ya, it seemed as if it was over just as soon as it started! Those were the fastest moving 8 hours of my life!
Here I am (we are– the Boy is snuggled under that blanket!), booth set up, waiting for the market to open. We had 15 minutes to spare, which was great considering the fact that I still had several things to tag once we got there. I had already practiced my set up at home which turned out to be a great idea because that saved us a lot of time that morning. I mainly just needed to make sure I was staying within my quarters but somehow not having things feel claustrophobic. Which I hate. I’d poured over so many blog posts and articles that said to have all of your items up front; customers don’t like to feel as if they’re walking into a cave. But I liked the “C’mon in!” vibe my little space had. Plus, I had a nice variety of items, so I wanted things to be in their own little sections.
This table was kind of my miscellaneous area, although I had it right toward the front. Here I had candies (which were a big hit) and business cards, smaller gift items, like tea cozies and crocheted ornaments, and individual drop spindles. This was the “hook ’em” table, if you will. And while yes, there were several people who came and snatched candies without so much as a glance, most people were more drawn to the granny square blanket and from there interest and conversations were sparked!
Next was the table completely dedicated to fiber: hand-dyed braids of combed top and spindle kits which included 1oz of fiber. I think next time around I’ll have the fiber on the table where the sign is hanging, but it didn’t seem to matter. Since this wasn’t a “fiber fest”, most people didn’t know what in the world the fiber was– several people tried wearing it as a scarf or tying it around their heads as a headband (which was pretty hilarious). But again, it got the conversation going. People were astounded by the process of me actually dyeing the fiber, spinning the yarn, and then knitting things! Despite the fact that most customers weren’t spinners, some were, and I sold quite a few braids! I was even visited by a mother and daughter who bought fiber specifically to make felted balls for a garland on their Christmas tree! That said though, it will probably benefit me to double up on yarns and finished knits for a non-fiber related show.
Lastly was the table that held the finished knits along with handspun yarns. I had full-sized skeins as well as mini-skein sets (in the yellow bowl) and “KnittingFX” sets (on top of the red bin). Both the yarns and the knits did well, but for next time I hope to have a wider range of yarn weights; most were worsted or fingering. And also, more adult-sized hats! The only hat I had was the one I wore throughout the day (I didn’t plan to, but it was really cold in that building). So of course, that was something that lots of people asked about.
And here I am with my staff, trying to stay warm. Seriously, it was freezing in that building.
So, all in all, it was AMAZING! Things were extremely organized and everyone was so friendly and encouraging. Despite the cold, the atmosphere was great and I am really blessed to have been able to participate. I learned a ton and am looking forward to many more shows and markets in the future! If you’re local to the Denver area, I’ve got one more market this season with the Denver HaHo, Sunday, December 15, 1pm-7pm. Hope to see you there!
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