Markets Are Weird - And That's Why I Love Them
My first foray into jewelry making was gluing metal studs onto buttons to match the outfit I was wearing to school that day. Don't judge me - it was the early 1970s. Thirty years later I took up wire wrapping, and could I ever wrap a mean loop. Next came torch work... using a flame thrower. I heard 'Honey, please don't burn the house down' more often than you could possibly imagine. But really, this isn't a meet-me story. This is about markets. And markets are weird.
Exhibit A.
The Fear: Selling online was my sweet spot for almost a decade. The thought of selling at markets was horrifying. Not because I didn't feel my jewelry was up to snuff, but because it was so far outside my comfort zone. I was quite certain I couldn’t sell a bottle of water to someone dying of thirst. Having read 'Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway' more often than necessary, I signed up for my first market. SO very sorry I didn’t do that YEARS earlier.
Tetris, anyone?
The Help: My sister is my biggest market asset. She is more than a great help and has a remarkable gift for sales. Not me, though. I'd rather make friends. The husband helps with everything physical and calls himself my sherpa. He has a bit of a look (resting mean face, according to my sister), and the first time he helped me at a market, I swore was the last. Hilariously, the last time he helped people lined up to shop every time I wandered away from the booth.
Shhh... don't tell the husband.
Vendor Friendships: One of the best surprises was new friendships. The Okanagan has a relatively small vendor community, and as we often do the same markets, making friends was inevitable. My sister and I love walking around the venue before the doors open, checking out who's there, what's being sold, and who's selling what food. It seems markets are a very hungry business. Also, it’s quite possible I now own far too many pairs of handcrafted alpaca socks.
That One.
Customer Behaviour: People are so utterly fascinating. Some plant themselves firmly in front of the booth, touch everything, ooh and ahhh, and then wander off. Totally fine and kind of hilarious. Others stand near the table, barely glance at anything, look completely disinterested and more than a little put out, then point at something and announce, "That one." Also fine, and also hilarious as it looked like they hated everything on the table. Everything. On. The. Table.
Hugs are always free.
Customer Friendships: And then there are the friendships we've developed with customers. Another lovely surprise! Some women swan up to the booth wearing everything Silver Echoes, which is hilarious. I often hope they don’t fall into the lake on their way home though, as they’d drown under the weight of all that silver. We have many customers we know by name and several that bounce in looking for a hug. And, if you’re reading this, you know who you are.
tldr: Markets are weird and that’s why I love them.
p.s. A couple of years ago, some woman stood in front of my table, glared at the explosion of sterling silver, barked, “I prefer real jewelry,” and stormed off.
That I did not love.
Yup. All real, lady.
