Monday, July 25, 2011

what i wore: artisan's market vol II

After two busy weekends of weddings and crafting I finally got back to the Artisan's Market this past Saturday! Fraser and I got up bright and early to greet a beautiful sunny day (which is warmly welcomed after weeks of rain, thunderstorms, and wind) and headed down to Galardi Square to set up for the market. I was a little more organized and prepared for this show than the first one so the set up went extra smoothly. Even though we followed the care instructions two of the plastic joints on the canopy rails snapped. Ack! It was only the third time we set it up! Unfortunately Costco isn't carrying our tent anymore, so I'll have to look around to see if we can find a replacement before returning out faulty tent (anyone have any ideas?). Despite that little set back I was super pleased with my table this week. Take a peek:


This week I got moved to the opposite (and nicely sunnier and warmer) side of the walkway and there were loads of other talented vendors this week! I moved around a few things in my display and even added extra flags to my pennant flag to give it a bit more volume and colour:


I also made a plethora of cabochon studs and rings over the last few weeks so instead of just laying them on the table, I got to use my Ikea cupcake stand I bought for my table! I also had my fun glass tile pendants and rings I set up on my ceramic jewelry tree. I put them both on the end of the table with the mirror and am really happy with the added height and colour they add:


The church yard was in full bloom and since my set up was so efficient I had a little bit of time to snap some pictures before customers started arriving. Just look at that blue sky and huge blooms:


The even coordinator Mel even picked a bouquet of white flowers for her Heritage Society Donation table. Aren't they amazing?:


Now if only I had the patience and time to grow such an amazing flower garden! I guess all that stormy rain added to the greenery but I was pretty excited to finally get some sunshine! Plus the nice day gave me the perfect excuse to wear the vintage dress I bought online from owlet vintage (Amber's etsy shop from the Hoot-n-Annie blog)! I made a few minor modifications to the dress when I got it (such as sewing new buttons on the shoulders, sewing up the belt tie, and fuzz busting the little pills off of it) and boy am I ever pleased with my purchase! I've always been a little weary of buying dresses online but this purchase has certainly changed my view on it! The dress fits like a dream and I am in love with the great stripes and colours! I decided to accessorize it with the red coral ring Fraser bought me last summer and my favourite new glass tile pendant necklace (Al the love robot). Check it out:


What fun! Because I was so frozen during the market I did on July 2nd, I opted for tights (which also hide my permo-bruised shins) and was super comfy the whole day. Take a peek at a full body shot of what I wore:


Outfit details: dress = owlet vintage, tights = joe fresh, shoes = payless, necklace = homemade, ring = Fraser bought (my favourite kind of ring), watch = fossil

Okay, so that picture above sort of makes me look like I am floating and legless, but I assure you it is just the lighting. I am still experimenting with breaking into budget fashion outfit posts so if you've got any thoughts of tips for me I'm all ears! Fraser has improved significantly with his picture taking skills (we now just take like 100 pictures and hope at least a few of them turn out) which seems to be working well. Hurrah!

As for sales at the market, there were loads more customers this week than on the 2nd and I got tons of positive comments and new fans! Sales were up from last week and although I wasn't crazy busy by any means, the pace was perfect for me to give ample attention to each customer without feeling rushed/stressed at all. Double hurrah!

Oh! And I even got a special visit from my niece (and family)! What do you think? Can I train Jean up to be my new scientific culture craft show helper?:


Boy is she ever a cutie! Leslie and I even got to play around with some mustaches during the slow parts too:


Haha. Don't we look good with facial hair? Well...not really. I'm not ready to start growing a mustache any time soon but this light coloured one sure does look adorable on baby Jean:


I can't believe Jean is already 10 months old! She's teething right now and pretty much everything you hand her goes straight into her mouth. It's pretty cute but after trying to play with her for a bit I opted to not have baby drool over all my products. Overall, the show went really well and I am already looking forward to next week's market! I do think I need to try to fit some crafting time to make more coffee sleeves though since they are a pretty consistent seller and I only have two left (oh dear!). What do you think? Any suggestions for new crafts or display ideas?

Oh! I almost forgot! Keeping with my "thanks for reading my blog and commenting" summer long weekly giveaway theme this week's winner is Beka from Ginger Urchin! Beka please email me your address so I can get your badge in the mail! And just in case you're drooling with jealousy over free kate-made goodies - not to worry there are still a handful of weeks left to participate in the giveaway and all you have to do is keep being your wonderful self and comment on my blog posts! Yay! Happy Monday everyone!

7 comments:

  1. I love the colourful boxes on the far left side of your display. It all looks beautifully put together. Im always experimenting with my craft stall layout.

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  2. That dress fits you like a glove and you look amazing! What a perfect day to wear it too! I am so glad your first vintage online shopping experience was a good one! Thanks so much for posting the pictures. Do you mind if I post one on my blog??XOXO

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  3. Yup, them pics make me more jealous of all you Saturday off type peeps... Next week maybe I'll wake up extra early and come see you around 8 before I go to work... No promises though lol

    As for the dress, I'm pretty sure I need to find one like that but maybe in pink and yellow colors cuz I'm sunny like that. Love it! Nice work looking all fab for your market day.

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  4. what!?! why aren't those tights gold??! :P you could totally pull it off with that dress!

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  5. I like your idea of using the cupcake holder for display! It looks so colourful and fun ^_^

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  6. My goodness we look good with your mustaches. They seem to really complement people's faces - especially Jean's! Of course, she's amazingly adorable.

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