I have not felt like writing a blog post in a while. It just hasn’t been happening naturally because I haven’t had the time to sit and think about my days at all.
The holiday shopping season is the busiest time of the year for me, and it seems to start earlier and earlier each year. Lately, week days have been spent printing, pressing, labeling, sewing and packing products. Weekends have mostly consisted of setting up at markets at some ungodly hour, selling at markets, and breaking down booths at markets in the evening. I have a strong survival instinct, and so have earmarked any sliver of spare time as crucial recovery time for myself. I didn’t feel like blogging during recovery time. Markets are physically and emotionally exhausting for this forty three year old introvert, and time to rest my feet and head is a must.
Enter two kids whose main purpose in life, it seems, is to make you leave the comfort of your sofa and get back to your duties (“Mooom! There’s a huge, hairy bug in the living room! Mom, I scraped both my elbows and knees AND my head is bleeding! Mom the toilet is blocked again!”), and it has been hard for my laptop to get a proper look in at all.
This is my first calm week in a while, so here is a very overdue catch up on recent markets, and the times in-between in the Noctilunaverse…
The Crafty Arts and Makers Festival
This is actually Crafty Bastards rebranded. Remember that for next year, all of you gorgeous Crafty fans who didn’t realize, and still feel sad about missing out. This was such a fun, and well organized event. From the big opening with a marching band to the arts workshops for shoppers, and an amazing collection of vendors (this is a market where I get a lot of my own holiday shopping done), it was a blast. Unfortunately, the number of shoppers was much lower than usual this year, possibly because of the new name? Please don’t forget for next year Crafty lovers.
Art on the Avenue
My favourite event. Year after year I say this, and it is true. This is a fantastic market. I always finish Art on the Avenue with a big smile on my face and much lighter inventory boxes. Each year I dread the possibility of not being accepted into this show. Apart from it being a very lucrative event, the people in Del Ray are just so nice. The Del Ray community are genuinely fond of makers and small businesses. They chat with you about your process, and appreciate your work. Also, many chubby babies live in Del Ray. It all makes for a very uplifting experience. This is a good market to bring kids to. There are playgrounds and a library nearby, and lots of kids’ activities happening.
The aftermath of Art on the Avenue always consists of frantically printing certain products I have run out of for my next show. This year the most popular product was my black dragon sweatshirts. I also printed some new tote bags for the holiday season. This year, I have added a Diwali theme to my printing line up, and that means rangoli prints and bright colors, and a cheeky shirt highlighting my love for paneer.
URBN Market Pop up at Mosaic
My new local market. The Mosaic District is a favourite hang out for my family, and is only ten minutes away from home so I’m very happy to do markets at this location. This particular pop-up was short and sweet. Lots of shoppers, and a really nice, laid back weekend vibe made the day go fast. I wore my Powered By Paneer shirt to dinner at Choolah afterwards and got a lot of smiles. I think I have found my people!
This was my final October market. So after unpacking and getting my stock back in order, I finally had time to try out those printing blocks from Anokhi with my daughter. She printed herself a tote bag, and I used the blocks on my shopping bags for customers. We restrained ourselves from using them on the walls/furniture/ourselves with great difficulty. They are so fun to print with!
My next Holiday market will be Grump Zoolights at the National Zoo, which is so much fun for everybody. Wear your warm socks and get down there!
I have no markets planned for November. Instead, I am going to have a Holiday Open Studio for shoppers. So in preparation for that, I am giving my studio a giant clean up and overhaul. I’m so looking forward to inviting everyone to this event, but first Diwali (and a giant food coma) beckons. Have a great week and weekend everyone!
