I once had an online shop and really enjoyed making and selling things for a while. Well, then life happened and I decided to take a short (um, 4 year) break from the shop and also from this blog for the most part. I was busy raising girls, performing and running races and really didn't have the time anymore, but I always felt like I couldn't just let it go. So, I never closed the shop and maybe once a year, I would blog always hoping to come back.
Then, this past winter, I found myself retired from dance, done with marathons and home with girls who were now a little more independent during lots of snow days. What to do? I pulled out all the things I had from my former life and remembered how much I loved it. I opened the online shop but also remembered how I hoped to one day do a craft festival. I made item after item and finally, just went for it and signed up for a festival - one that was low-key and not in an area as busy as where I live just to make it low-stress.
The weekend was crazy! I drove in rush hour several hours with my girls the night before and was up early to set up only to discover that I'd made the mistake I'd dreaded the most and forgotten the most important thing - the TENT. I had a moment of panic and then made decisions - I called my husband who had planned to drive over later and told him he had to come NOW. He was hours way but I prayed he would make it. In the meantime, I set everything else up and along with my dad, we planned to somehow get the tent up and pick it up over everything. Would you believe it worked??
Here is the final result of all the snow days and the late nights that followed.
I'm so very happy with how everything turned out. It all came together exactly how I saw it in my head and it's all very "me".
The vanity tray in the middle was given to me by my grandmother and it made me happy to be able to use it. I also did not do this alone. My father and husband helped me build the shelves and displays and helped with set-up. My mom was there for advice. We call her the "supervisor" but her input was helpful when I needed opinions (and when I didn't). I'm so grateful for all their support.
It was not a terribly successful day for sales since it was probably not my target market and while the festival was super busy, the only thing people seemed to be buying was food. Still, I enjoyed it and was glad for the experience.
I'm already looking into a couple more festivals that might be a better fit and looking forward to the new adventure ahead.
