1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,840 I'm Drea. I'm Meg. I'm Tina. And I'm Jess. And this is Pardon My Stash. 2 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:18,240 Welcome to Pardon My Stash, a podcast about knitting with the fiber arts and how awesome it is. 3 00:00:18,240 --> 00:00:23,360 Yeah. Woohoo. Getting a twofer today. Before we get into today's topics, 4 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:26,880 let's talk about what we're working on this week. Drea. 5 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:36,560 I am still working on the minted hat by Andrea Mowry. And I am using Juniper Moon Farm in 6 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:44,640 Moonshine. It's a cream color as my main color. And I'm using Oh Dang by Farmer's Daughter Fibers 7 00:00:44,640 --> 00:00:50,800 in Desert Rose for my like contrast color. So it's like super soft. It's got a nice halo. 8 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:56,800 I'm almost done with it. And I should probably finish it this weekend, but I've been trying 9 00:00:56,800 --> 00:01:05,760 to work on it sparingly. Tina. I'm making beanies because I'm doing that thing where you have a 10 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:11,120 craft show at the end of the week and you have a bunch of crap that you need to finish because I 11 00:01:11,120 --> 00:01:15,280 had a plan for like a billion things and now I have to put it down to like two. 12 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:24,400 So I'm right now I'm making what I'm calling. So it's it's weird. So I'm using Super Bulky right 13 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:33,120 now, clearly. And I'm just the I finished one hat that just kind of looks like if I had to put it 14 00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:38,000 into a description, a Santa hat because it's a little Santa beanie. Yeah, it's like a red top. 15 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:43,520 Yeah. Well, that's the fun. That's the fun part. So I haven't been putting palms on any of them 16 00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:48,240 because I'm going to make the palm optional. Oh, that's good. Pick your palm. So I found a 17 00:01:48,240 --> 00:01:54,240 canister, like a tall vase that's clear from Dollar Tree. I'm going to fill it with the palms. 18 00:01:54,240 --> 00:02:01,920 Oh, cool. So you can see all the palms. Yeah. And then you pick your palm. Anyways. But so this guy, 19 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:07,600 yeah, he definitely I wish he had a palm, but he's cute otherwise. This one I was taking the 20 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:16,160 leftovers of the white or the cream ish that it is. And I was going into the red. So it kind of 21 00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:22,720 looks like it's I think my followers were saying they wanted it to call it frosted berry. That's 22 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:28,880 like the the winner name right now. They went with frosted berry. So here we are. But yeah, 23 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:32,080 it looks like it has little dots and it just looks like a very small gradient. 24 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:36,160 And this will probably be done in like before this episode is done. 25 00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:40,480 And so I'll tell you that that is my favorite thing about working with 26 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:47,360 big yarn. Yeah. But in terms of patterns, like, I don't know. I guess I could shout out my 27 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:54,080 very vital because this one's definitely I use the decreases in very little on this one. And this one 28 00:02:54,080 --> 00:03:03,280 I took the idea of the gradient from like it's on like 3000 beanies. I just picked one that was free 29 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:09,920 because I didn't feel like doing the math. And I took just the gradient part. And then I did the 30 00:03:09,920 --> 00:03:16,080 I'm not doing like the exact it's just a Frankenstein. So it's making my own thing. 31 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:21,920 Franken beanie. But yeah, it's kind of off the cuff. Very cool. What's the yarn? 32 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:31,200 I want to say well, this is all stash yarn. I want to say this is the white or the cream 33 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:38,640 is Lion Brand Woolies and the red is Lion Brand Hometown. Cool. It looks like hometown. Yeah. 34 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:42,480 Yeah, that's definitely hometown this. But this one I want I want to say the way the 35 00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:51,920 keep saying white. The cream is Woolies. Jess, I am currently working on a needle felted cardinal. 36 00:03:53,600 --> 00:04:02,960 I'm just doing it. But I've got a Google picture of a cardinal. And I'm using felt that I got from 37 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:14,640 a rainbow pack from felted sky and an ornament blank that I also got from them. And yeah, I'm just 38 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:22,800 just free handing a cardinal over here. I'm also working on the rose hip sweater by 39 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:28,560 Anna Joanna. Anna Joanna, I think. And a Joanna. And a Joanna. I think so. I don't know. 40 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:33,920 I am working on that, just not right at the second because it's hard to focus on color work and 41 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:42,960 podcast sometimes. So always. Sometimes. So so that is that is waiting. But I am at the 42 00:04:43,760 --> 00:04:50,160 color work on the hem of that. And then once that is done, I will be moving on to sleeves. 43 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:58,800 She's just belted through that. Meg. So right now I am working on two headbands 44 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:08,640 for the aforementioned upcoming craft fair. These are my free pattern. No place in mind headbands. 45 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:14,240 And I'm doing them two at a time on one needle, just trying to get them done faster. So smart. 46 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:17,920 I so I don't know why I didn't do this. I probably banged out four of them. 47 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:23,600 Before I was like, duh, like I could just do this together. No, because now I'm thinking, 48 00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:30,800 oh, I'm so mad at myself. That's fine. No, it's fine. It's not. I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at 49 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:37,040 myself. I didn't do anything. No, you gave me a fantastic idea. I know I just sound mad. It's 50 00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:41,440 me. I'm the problem. No, I just I just thought of it the other day because I'm like, oh, I have a 51 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:47,840 really long circular so I can do this. It's not a problem. I'm just like, oh, I'm going to do this. 52 00:05:47,840 --> 00:05:52,240 It's not I don't think know if it's necessarily faster, but it's like doing two at a time. Yeah, 53 00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:58,160 it's where it's they're getting done. So I have one that is I would say probably three quarters 54 00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:06,400 the way done. And one that is I just started this afternoon and they're both made out of 55 00:06:06,400 --> 00:06:14,560 critical hit dies, barbarian bulky. One is in lip a T Prince and the other is in Blue China, 56 00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:17,920 which is one of our new colors that's coming out this week. 57 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:27,840 You need to stop making nice yarn. I am upset. I'm not going to make crappy yarn just to make 58 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:34,240 just to fit your budget. No, I don't want to know. It's not it's not the budget thing. It's I 59 00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:40,080 literally there is no space after I put like that a bunch of the yarn that there was a couple things 60 00:06:40,080 --> 00:06:46,480 there was like I have a bunch of donated yarn. People throw yarn at me. I think that's the 61 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:50,720 problem. I get thrown yarn just kind of tossed my way. No, I think that happens a lot when people 62 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:55,040 realize you're a knitter and they're like, oh, well, I have this stash that I'm not using or my 63 00:06:55,040 --> 00:06:59,440 my relative is no longer using. And here you go. It's all yours. And you're like, thanks. But 64 00:07:00,400 --> 00:07:05,520 I I'm bursting. I have so early. Yeah, I'm like I'm trying to get through with the machine because 65 00:07:05,520 --> 00:07:11,040 I'm bursting out. But like you guys, I just look at the I'm like blue China. Thanks. I'm just going 66 00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:18,560 to cry. I need to get through everything I have. But we'll be there. OK, I know. I know. If you 67 00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:24,480 ever get the itch, ever get the itch for it. Be sure to check out our website, pardon my stash 68 00:07:24,480 --> 00:07:33,280 dot com for more pictures of our patterns, project and yarns. So with the holiday season coming up, 69 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:38,880 we wanted to talk a little bit about the upcoming holiday craft fair season. They're pretty ubiquitous 70 00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:43,040 in our part of the country. They're probably pretty common wherever you are as well. 71 00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:50,160 We are recording this episode because American Thanksgiving is coming up in just a couple of days. 72 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:58,080 This episode is going to air after Thanksgiving and after the craft fair that we have coming up 73 00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:05,200 the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Small Business Saturday. So at the time of recording, we have not 74 00:08:05,200 --> 00:08:11,360 actually done the craft fair yet. By the time this episode airs, we will have. So you could still 75 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:18,480 hear the hope in my voice. So that's how you know. Hey, we had a good year last year. We had a pretty 76 00:08:18,480 --> 00:08:24,720 good year last year. So we wanted to take a little bit of time tonight to talk about just holiday 77 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:31,920 craft fairs in general, what to expect, what experiences we have had at them both as a customer 78 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:37,440 and as a vendor, and just some kind of tips and tricks for if you are planning on attending 79 00:08:37,440 --> 00:08:44,080 craft fair, what you can expect and some do's and don'ts. So let's start right off the bat. 80 00:08:44,080 --> 00:08:50,240 If you are going to go to a holiday craft fair, where do you find them? I find that there are a 81 00:08:50,240 --> 00:08:58,560 lot of local town websites that will post events like that on their community boards. 82 00:09:00,480 --> 00:09:07,360 I have found them on Facebook. Oh yeah. I feel kind of old saying that. No, no. 83 00:09:08,480 --> 00:09:15,680 I don't have Facebook. So funny enough, when we went away last weekend, we were hanging around 84 00:09:15,680 --> 00:09:20,160 our Airbnb with with Mary Ellen. We're like, what are we going to do? And actually that is exactly 85 00:09:20,160 --> 00:09:25,920 what happened is a holiday craft fair popped up on my Facebook and we were like, cool, let's go. 86 00:09:25,920 --> 00:09:29,680 And we ended up just checking it out because we're like, that's family friendly. We can take her. 87 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:35,840 And it was actually, we didn't buy anything. We took some cards. It's pretty decent, but it's funny 88 00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:40,000 that you mentioned Facebook because that's exactly what happened to us. We were looking for it and 89 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:48,080 there it was. Facebook does a lot of like suggestions based on where you are. And if you're 90 00:09:48,080 --> 00:09:55,040 on your local town page, they'll have stuff to post it there too. I find this time of year, I can't 91 00:09:55,040 --> 00:10:03,680 drive like half a mile without tripping over signs for schools or churches or town halls. 92 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:09,360 They're everywhere. And I think they start popping up around the end of October and they 93 00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:14,880 tend to peter out around the second week of December as we're getting up closer to the 94 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:22,640 holiday. Fewer people are planning on coming out and vending fewer places like churches have the 95 00:10:22,640 --> 00:10:30,000 spare time or space to open up to them. And, you know, some people are finishing up their shopping, 96 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:34,240 unless you're my mom, who's been bragging to me for like a month that she's done and things are 97 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:42,640 wrapped. And you know what? Nobody needs that, mom. Thanks. Nobody needs that. Someone referred 98 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:49,120 this to me. I have no idea if it's completely legit, but I've been looking at it so far. It's 99 00:10:49,120 --> 00:10:59,200 called zapplication.org and that apparently has a ton of fares on it. I didn't find any, a ton in 100 00:10:59,200 --> 00:11:06,560 particular our area, but it's nationwide. So it has like every state. And I saw there was a lot more 101 00:11:06,560 --> 00:11:14,400 in other places, which is kind of tracks, you know. But just throwing that out there. I do not 102 00:11:14,400 --> 00:11:20,320 vouch for that. And any like if somebody's like, this is terrible, I'm sorry. It was just recommended 103 00:11:20,320 --> 00:11:24,880 to me and I just started looking at it. But I just thought of that because but they didn't really have 104 00:11:24,880 --> 00:11:30,640 much for Connecticut. I feel like I used to know more about like when the fairs were happening 105 00:11:30,640 --> 00:11:35,680 because my grandparents always did. Because my grandparents always did the craft fairs. 106 00:11:37,680 --> 00:11:42,560 My mom's a big Christmas or holiday craft fair person too. So we used to do them all the time 107 00:11:42,560 --> 00:11:48,800 when I was a kid. Oh no, they vended. Oh really? Yeah. Yeah. They did woodworking. Oh, that's I 108 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:53,920 think one of the fun things about going to the craft fairs is seeing all of the different types 109 00:11:53,920 --> 00:11:57,600 of things that are available there because it's not like going to a fiber fest where you're going 110 00:11:57,600 --> 00:12:04,720 to find the same types of vendors. It's really a hodgepodge. You can get anything a craft. Big 111 00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:13,760 hodgepodge. And I love that. I know. You can get everything from clothes to crafts to um, oh god, 112 00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:21,360 sometimes you can, you know, pottery, the food, you know, I swear every time you go somebody's got 113 00:12:21,360 --> 00:12:28,000 like maple syrup or what? Oh yeah. The one we went to had cannolis. Like people were selling, oh my 114 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:33,360 God, they looked so good. We can get them, but they look good. So yeah, there is the kind of hodgepodge 115 00:12:33,360 --> 00:12:38,000 of holiday stuff. Most of it being holiday themed, but the, yeah. And the other one, the other thing 116 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:43,120 we saw, there was this beautiful inlaid woodwork. Um, it was super expensive. Like we couldn't afford 117 00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:48,880 it, but it was beautiful to see. I agree with that. The woodwork is like the thing probably I like 118 00:12:48,880 --> 00:12:55,760 the most. Cause so it's cool. Well, for one, I feel bad because they're lugging all this heavy wood, 119 00:12:56,480 --> 00:13:02,080 yeah. All the way from one place and all the way back. Yeah. Yeah. Help my grandparents with that 120 00:13:02,080 --> 00:13:07,840 on more than one occasion. Um, but then, but like to, when they have it all on display, it doesn't, 121 00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:12,960 they don't need a fancy display cause the wood does it. It sells itself. Yeah. You don't need to. 122 00:13:12,960 --> 00:13:18,160 And it's worth every penny for sure. It's not like when I see the, I'm like that, that tracks 123 00:13:18,160 --> 00:13:24,400 that this person probably spent hours and days and weeks on this. Like not surprised. I was going to 124 00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:29,440 say for, if you go to a craft fair and you're like, man, I don't know where to look first. 125 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:37,760 I will tell you walk all the way to the back. Seriously. No, I'm serious because once you're 126 00:13:37,760 --> 00:13:42,160 done, you're not going to want to walk back through everything. So just sweep. So yeah, 127 00:13:42,160 --> 00:13:46,960 when you get, and honestly, you could do this for a fiber festivals too. If they're in a big, 128 00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:53,120 like a New York, New England fiber Fest, you just, you go all the way to like the farthest corner to 129 00:13:53,120 --> 00:13:58,560 where you entered and then work your way back. Um, and then as you work your way back, um, 130 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:05,920 try not to get too distracted by people with really, really, really fancy displays. 131 00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:13,040 And the reason why I say that is because sometimes people with really, um, unique items tend to be 132 00:14:13,040 --> 00:14:18,480 like, have like more muted displays. So don't like overlook something just because someone has just 133 00:14:18,480 --> 00:14:23,600 a table and they've laid it out on the table. Like, like don't, don't just like, Oh, whatever 134 00:14:23,600 --> 00:14:28,960 that is. You know, take a, take a peek and, um, you know, and, and please like say hi to people. 135 00:14:28,960 --> 00:14:33,520 Cause a lot of those vendors don't know what to do. They're just like, they, they don't know, 136 00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:38,960 like if they should say hi, if they should bother you, if they should not, um, if you're not too, 137 00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:44,880 uh, you know, uh, shy or whatever, just like, even just a quick, like, Oh, hello, how are you? 138 00:14:44,880 --> 00:14:51,440 And just like, keep moving on. Um, just cause it helps everybody feel comfortable in the situation. 139 00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:56,880 I can't tell you how awkward it is when someone like as a vendor, when somebody like walks up to 140 00:14:56,880 --> 00:15:02,560 your booth, picks something up really, really fast, goes like looking at it and then just like 141 00:15:02,560 --> 00:15:06,720 puts it back down, walks away really fast. I'm like, was that okay? Was that legal? 142 00:15:06,720 --> 00:15:12,960 It's just like very like quick. So, um, try to, you know, take your time, especially if you're 143 00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:16,960 going to go to one, you don't want to like be rushing through it anyway. Um, it's supposed to 144 00:15:16,960 --> 00:15:22,240 be a relaxing experience. Yeah. I would say like the same with the fiber Fest, like it's a good 145 00:15:22,240 --> 00:15:29,840 idea to bring a bag. Um, not all vendors have bags, um, to give you. So bring a bag if you're 146 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:35,440 planning on doing some shopping. Um, I like to do the sweep. We always do that when we go to 147 00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:41,760 to. Craft fairs in general, um, do the sweep first, figure out, you know, what you want to buy, 148 00:15:41,760 --> 00:15:47,760 what's in your budget, um, and then go back. But the other caveat to that is 149 00:15:48,880 --> 00:15:55,120 craft fairs are not usually mass production. Um, so if you see something you really like and you 150 00:15:55,120 --> 00:16:01,600 know, you want it might be a good idea to grab it right away because odds are, um, that crafter is 151 00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:06,480 not going to have the same item in stock. So if you, if you see it, you know, you want it, 152 00:16:07,200 --> 00:16:11,600 probably a good idea to grab it right then and there. Also, if you see something, because it is 153 00:16:11,600 --> 00:16:15,920 a craft fair, if you see something and it's like, you really like it, but man, I wish it was this 154 00:16:15,920 --> 00:16:22,560 color of that. It is not rude to ask the vendor, Hey, would you be able to make it like this? 155 00:16:22,560 --> 00:16:27,680 Because nine times out of 10, they'd be like, sure. And then they could like work it out. If 156 00:16:27,680 --> 00:16:31,760 you're like not on a tight deadline to get the item, uh, especially if you're, you're going to 157 00:16:31,760 --> 00:16:37,040 craft fairs in November for something in December, you actually might be able to do like a commission 158 00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:41,280 with somebody and get it in time. You might not get, you're obviously not going to get it that day, 159 00:16:41,280 --> 00:16:46,640 but like, you might still get it in time for the holidays and then you could, you know, have 160 00:16:46,640 --> 00:16:53,360 something in your unique color or style or however you want it done. Take cards. Yeah. Oh, I always 161 00:16:53,360 --> 00:16:58,560 take cards. If people have business cards, they have them there for a reason. They want you to take them. 162 00:16:58,560 --> 00:17:06,720 I like to take pictures of the card and then like an item that I saw in their booth that I liked, 163 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:12,720 like even if I can't afford it or if it's not a right now purchase or if it's something that I want 164 00:17:12,720 --> 00:17:20,000 to commission for later, I'll take a picture of what they have. So I can be like, Oh, right. That 165 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:28,000 guy. Yeah. And that's some, you know, that's, that's always an option too. It's like, 166 00:17:28,880 --> 00:17:32,960 if they have the cards out, it means they want you to take them. Um, Jess grabbed a whole bunch of 167 00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:37,920 cards at the last fair that we went to things that she really liked, but they were not purchases we 168 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:44,720 were going to be making right now. Um, yeah, handmade stuff is expensive. Sometimes it can be, 169 00:17:44,720 --> 00:17:50,080 it can be, it's an investment. It's also a good idea. Like say if you are, um, 170 00:17:51,760 --> 00:17:57,040 a left, God, we used to do this all the time. We went to Brimfield. It's the antique show. Um, 171 00:17:57,040 --> 00:18:04,480 a lot of places will ship to home and in that case you can just order, you can always order online 172 00:18:04,480 --> 00:18:07,840 when you get home and have it shipped there and so rather than picking it up and taking it home 173 00:18:07,840 --> 00:18:12,560 with you, especially if you're traveling from out of state, um, or from somewhere far away, you don't 174 00:18:12,560 --> 00:18:18,240 have the capacity to bring something large home. A lot of places that sell larger items, they expect 175 00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:24,960 that too. Like their items are really for display and then they expect they don't bring their whole 176 00:18:24,960 --> 00:18:30,560 stock. Well, we're not bringing our whole stock to the fair same next weekend. No, absolutely not. 177 00:18:31,120 --> 00:18:37,520 Um, we, we did that last year. That was a mistake. I am not, I am not toting all those shirts. 178 00:18:37,520 --> 00:18:43,760 I'm just saying I will bring one of like each design, but like, and then I'll just list the 179 00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:49,120 sizes, but it's just like, Oh no, it's too crazy. And that's another thing too. It's that a lot of 180 00:18:49,120 --> 00:18:54,400 times vendors are bound by space constraints, um, or just shipping constraints of how they're going 181 00:18:54,400 --> 00:19:01,680 to get their merchandise there. So they may not have exactly what you are looking for, um, in stock 182 00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:07,680 at the show, but it is very possible that they have it back at their home base and can ship it out 183 00:19:07,680 --> 00:19:13,200 right away. I know some vendors will do online orders like right there at the store. Um, so 184 00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:19,920 that's always a possibility as well. Um, this is like kind of a tip. I don't know what thing do you 185 00:19:19,920 --> 00:19:25,760 use for your checkout square. Okay. So with square, you can actually set it up. So if you wanted to do 186 00:19:25,760 --> 00:19:32,080 like a commission at like, you could, or customize an option, uh, you can actually do it right then 187 00:19:32,080 --> 00:19:36,480 in there. Oh, see that's sweet. Um, just so you know, you have to go on the web app though. Um, 188 00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:40,640 and this, I guess is a tip to anyone. If you're using square, um, there is an option where you 189 00:19:40,640 --> 00:19:46,160 can kind of, um, I don't remember the exact word for it, but it's when you're on the edit screen, 190 00:19:46,160 --> 00:19:51,360 there's like a way to set up, um, you have the variations option, but then there's also just 191 00:19:51,360 --> 00:19:58,160 options where it's, it's optional items that you can select with it. So for mine, I did like 192 00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:04,080 when I put in, um, the different beanies, I also put as an option, the Palm, like if you wanted 193 00:20:04,080 --> 00:20:09,040 to add on the Palm, um, and then like the different, you know, I don't think I'm going to track the 194 00:20:09,040 --> 00:20:15,600 colors because I have so many Palms. Um, I don't think, I don't think it's wise versus Palm orange. 195 00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:22,880 I will not remember which one is which. So, um, but yeah, I'll just, yeah, just to mark that a Palm 196 00:20:22,880 --> 00:20:29,120 got sold. Palm in general. Yeah. Cause I mean, and, and that's good too, in terms of a vendor, I know, 197 00:20:29,120 --> 00:20:36,400 um, just to make sure that you mark what actually does sell. Um, because like, Hey, if you just don't 198 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:42,080 know what you just sold and then you're like, huh, that was cool. I think I sold a lot of this one. 199 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:45,920 Yeah, I'll make more of that. And then like your hot selling item was something else and you, you 200 00:20:45,920 --> 00:20:54,400 just kind of mix the two pro tip. Yeah. We always do a really, um, extensive inventory sweep, 201 00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:58,000 like right before we did it last year, before the show, we're doing it this year before the show, 202 00:20:58,800 --> 00:21:06,640 just to make sure that we have everything in stock. Um, so we're not putting things on that 203 00:21:06,640 --> 00:21:12,080 we don't have and so on and so forth. But yeah, no, we, we kind of learned our lesson from last year 204 00:21:12,080 --> 00:21:17,680 instead of bringing every single thing that we had, we're only bringing like some of it, a percentage 205 00:21:17,680 --> 00:21:27,040 of it, enough of a, enough of a display. Um, also if they will let you, um, you can also get these, 206 00:21:27,040 --> 00:21:35,120 um, they're like these, uh, many shopping carts. I, um, when I was growing up, uh, my family used 207 00:21:35,120 --> 00:21:41,440 them to bring the groceries home, but you could, yeah, they've got four, it's like four wheels to 208 00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:46,320 two, the two in the back are like heavy duty. Um, and I currently used to have one of those. Yes. 209 00:21:46,320 --> 00:21:53,520 I still have one. I like mine. Um, so, but you can also, if you're someone that like maybe carrying 210 00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:57,920 a bunch of bags is not a happy time for you and you really want to enjoy walking around the craft 211 00:21:57,920 --> 00:22:06,000 show, uh, or fair, um, you really can, uh, extend your energy if you have that little thing with 212 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:10,560 you, cause you can actually just kind of park it with, you're looking at a booth and you don't have 213 00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:15,360 to actively hold everything as you're trying to look at different tables. Oh, bring cash. 214 00:22:17,120 --> 00:22:22,000 Yeah. Don't expect everybody to have a card reader. Yeah. Don't expect the place to always have good 215 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:29,600 wifi. Oh my God. Yeah. Like some places don't have wifi and you know, electronic sales don't 216 00:22:29,600 --> 00:22:35,680 always go through. So don't expect every place to have an ATM either. Right. Especially if it's in 217 00:22:35,680 --> 00:22:41,600 a school or a church, most schools and churches do not have ATMs. So, um, you know, plan accordingly, 218 00:22:42,160 --> 00:22:50,480 think carefully before you decide to haggle. Um, some, and, and I say that with a lot of caveat 219 00:22:50,480 --> 00:22:56,240 because I know in some cultures haggling at, um, a craft show or a market that is, that is the 220 00:22:56,240 --> 00:23:04,480 custom, that is the norm. Um, if it is not, if you're not sure, um, be careful about choosing to 221 00:23:04,480 --> 00:23:13,760 haggle with, uh, a craftsperson, um, and take no for an answer if, if they don't want to do that, 222 00:23:13,760 --> 00:23:21,120 if their price is firm. Um, try to remember also guys that this is not, uh, a big box store or a 223 00:23:21,120 --> 00:23:28,160 tag sale. Yeah. This is, this is somebody putting their, their livelihood out on the market. Um, 224 00:23:28,160 --> 00:23:33,920 and try to respect that. And if it's, if the price is, is not what you're willing to pay, um, try to 225 00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:38,800 be respectful about that. Everybody knows, especially if it's knit garments, everybody knows you can buy 226 00:23:38,800 --> 00:23:43,760 a knit garment from a big box store for cheaper. Everybody knows that, um, you're not telling an 227 00:23:43,760 --> 00:23:50,720 artist in anything new. Um, but it is not a nice thing to say ever. Um, if you can make it also, 228 00:23:51,920 --> 00:23:55,840 don't say that to them. Please don't say that to them. Cool story, bro. 229 00:23:55,840 --> 00:24:02,160 Um, just, you know, just remember to be polite. Um, we talked, we've talked extensively 230 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:07,760 on this podcast about the state of the crafting world and how, you know, there have been problems 231 00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:13,360 with fiber Fest. There have been problems with craft fairs, um, with shows shutting down with 232 00:24:13,360 --> 00:24:24,000 vendors and teachers being, um, left out in the cold, losing money. We want artisans, we want 233 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:29,360 crafters to still feel comfortable doing craft shows and vending. Um, and they're not going to 234 00:24:29,360 --> 00:24:35,520 do that if they don't feel it's worth the investment. Um, so remember that these people 235 00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:40,320 who are vending, they have brought their stuff out. They have, you know, taken the risk, financial, 236 00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:48,080 emotional, time, physical, um, to do this. So again, and some people are really cool with haggling 237 00:24:48,080 --> 00:24:56,400 and that is great. Um, but if they're not, you know, take it as it is and you either buy the item 238 00:24:56,400 --> 00:25:02,720 or don't buy the item as is. I always feel like if a craft person is putting a price tag on something 239 00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:08,080 that they have crafted, then that is what they're telling me their time is worth. Right. And I agree 240 00:25:08,080 --> 00:25:12,400 with that. You know, you're paying for their skill. You're, you're paying for the time that they put 241 00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:20,160 into the item and you're paying for the item itself. Like you don't have to do that. You're 242 00:25:20,160 --> 00:25:26,240 paying somebody else to do that. So you should pay them what they feel their time is worth. Oh, 243 00:25:26,240 --> 00:25:33,440 can you please ask before you just take a photo of something? Um, because only because, um, it's not 244 00:25:33,440 --> 00:25:40,480 that nobody wants you to not take photos of their items. Um, the issue is more, um, there's a lot of 245 00:25:40,480 --> 00:25:45,520 people who will kind of go through a craft show and see what's selling and then take photos of those 246 00:25:47,520 --> 00:25:52,080 and then replicate them. I've seen that happen so many times. I have never asked a vendor if I could 247 00:25:52,080 --> 00:25:58,240 take a photo of their stuff. I usually just do it. Most people do. I bet they all think I'm like 248 00:25:58,240 --> 00:26:04,640 some jerk trying to steal their ideas. Well, yeah. I think if you just ask, it's even if you like, 249 00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:09,520 honestly, like as long as you're not, I think it's really obvious when somebody who's just going in 250 00:26:09,520 --> 00:26:14,960 and being like, yeah, I'm just going to see what I like here and do this later. Um, it's pretty 251 00:26:14,960 --> 00:26:20,160 obvious because they come out with their phone. They're not like looking at your items and then 252 00:26:20,160 --> 00:26:25,920 like, wow, this is so cool. And then going like, I really want to remember this. Like there's a 253 00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:29,200 difference between that. And then like somebody like literally with their phone in their hand, 254 00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:34,480 as they walk up to you and you're like, what are you doing? Come on, come on, bro. 255 00:26:35,840 --> 00:26:38,960 No, I know there's a lot of places and we saw this when we were up in Salem last week, a lot 256 00:26:38,960 --> 00:26:45,840 of places will have no cell phone policy and no photo policy. Um, and it's more the idea of like 257 00:26:45,840 --> 00:26:52,720 shopping around. Like, can I get this cheaper? Like on Amazon or something like that? Like if 258 00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:59,200 I take a picture of it, right. Um, go to Etsy, you can find all the folks that are not actually 259 00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:04,800 crafters that are making knockoffs. Hooray. That are killing all that. Well, and there have been 260 00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:12,960 problems of people like taking, um, popular craft art art and things like that. Um, and then they 261 00:27:12,960 --> 00:27:17,520 posted on Etsy or they posted on Facebook and they pretend to be selling it and it's a scam. 262 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:23,840 That has happened to, to artisans before. Um, so I can, I can totally understand why people would be, 263 00:27:23,840 --> 00:27:28,960 would be anxious. Well that, that, yeah, that's, that's happened a lot. That is what happened. Um, 264 00:27:28,960 --> 00:27:36,080 a few years ago with, uh, blue brick and wingspan. Oh, uh, somebody took a picture of her, her way of 265 00:27:36,080 --> 00:27:40,960 it was not her pattern. Um, it was the wingspan pattern with blue brick fiber arts, um, 266 00:27:40,960 --> 00:27:48,400 um, ibis. Um, and it was going viral at the time and somebody else put it, put an ad for it on 267 00:27:48,400 --> 00:27:56,080 Facebook and people were buying quote unquote the yarn and the pattern from this scammer. 268 00:27:57,040 --> 00:28:01,520 And they were just taking their money. They weren't actually like, they weren't going to 269 00:28:01,520 --> 00:28:06,160 fill any of those or no. So then of course it makes the designer look bad. It makes the 270 00:28:06,160 --> 00:28:13,680 dyer look bad and it's not their fault at all. So, um, yeah, that's, that's a thing. Um, go with an 271 00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:18,320 open mind. Oh, I always, one of the, well, one of the worst things I think people can do is, is go 272 00:28:18,320 --> 00:28:22,320 to a craft fair and assume that they're all the same. Like I've been to a holiday craft fair. 273 00:28:23,040 --> 00:28:27,600 I know what I'm going to find. Um, I'm looking for a very specific item. You probably are not 274 00:28:28,560 --> 00:28:33,440 going to find a specific thing that you're looking for. That's not really what a craft fair is for. 275 00:28:33,440 --> 00:28:38,000 I always go into a craft fair going, Ooh, I wonder what I'm going to find. I know it is. 276 00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:42,240 It's kind of like a treasure hunt. Like you don't know what you're going to find. Um, but if, if 277 00:28:42,240 --> 00:28:47,120 you are going shopping, if you're like, I know that my, my sister in law likes X, Y, and Z, 278 00:28:47,120 --> 00:28:51,920 and I'm going to look for that, the crafter. No, that's not it. Look for that online. Um, 279 00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:55,840 unless it's something like, you know, I know your mom likes gnomes. I'm probably going to find like 280 00:28:55,840 --> 00:29:00,640 8,000 gnomes at a craft fair. She has 8,000 gnomes. I know, but I could find a new one that she 281 00:29:00,640 --> 00:29:05,840 doesn't have. That's the thing. You're going to find an original one. Right. If you go into it 282 00:29:05,840 --> 00:29:10,880 with that or like, you know, like, like your mom likes snowmen. Yeah. Oh, like, so I'm going to 283 00:29:10,880 --> 00:29:16,880 look for something snowmen that's original and something that you'll have a great time doing that. 284 00:29:16,880 --> 00:29:25,600 A broad search, a narrow search is going to be harder. Yeah. So broad searches, open minds, um, 285 00:29:25,600 --> 00:29:32,880 and talk to people, talk to, talk to craftspeople. Like, as speaking as a vendor, we loved it last 286 00:29:32,880 --> 00:29:38,480 year when people came and asked us questions about our yarn, um, or about Jess's little crocheted 287 00:29:38,480 --> 00:29:44,560 creations that she had for sale. Like we love that even if people don't buy it, it's still really 288 00:29:44,560 --> 00:29:48,960 nice to hear if you like something, even if you have no intention of buying it, it's, it's out of 289 00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:54,000 your budget or you have no reason to buy it. You just like the way it looks like, please, 290 00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:59,760 tell the vendor because that's going to make their day. Like even if, even if they, you know, buy it, 291 00:30:00,400 --> 00:30:02,640 it's just nice to hear that your stuff is liked. 292 00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:10,000 That's all the time we have for this episode for additional content and opportunities to connect 293 00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:15,920 with the cast. Check out our website at pardon my stash.com. Be sure to tune in next time for more 294 00:30:15,920 --> 00:30:25,040 fun friends and fiber at Pardon My Stash.