Monday, December 12, 2011

richmond handmade holiday 2011

handmade holiday 2011
Holiday art markets have been my entire life lately. Yesterday was my second art market of the month - Richmond Craft Mafia's Handmade Holiday - and it was just as awesome as Holiday Heap in Baltimore.

The event was held at Plant Zero in Richmond, and as soon as I walked into the space to set up, I discovered two of my favorite things - paper lanterns and twinkle lights strung up everywhere! Add to that some delicious, fresh-from-the-oven scones from the Plant Zero Cafe and I was a happy camper before the market even opened to customers.
handmade holiday 2011
handmade holiday 2011
handmade holiday 2011
There was a good crowd throughout the day and my Virginia ornaments and Virginia map illustrations were popular with the crowd in the state capital, though geography continued to vex the general public. The map illustrations were completely confusing to the Maryland crowd last week, and the Virginia crowd did only marginally better. I've always known that Americans suck at geography (I read somewhere that a large percentage of Americans think that Canada is one of the 50 states and that New Mexico is a foreign country), but I was shocked at how many people could not identify the shape of the very state that they live in! And while I don't expect many people outside of DC to be able to identify the DC map, I was surprised at the guesses: "Is this South Carolina?" "Is this Pennsylvania?" Pennsylvania is a rectangle, people!
handmade holiday 2011
A highlight of the day was when my favorite Richmond bloggers stopped by my booth - John and Sherry (and Clara, too) of Young House Love. So fun to get to meet these guys in person! I also got to meet the owners of Luminhaus (the amazing house we vacationed at this summer to celebrate Larry's 40th birthday). I had left one of my Eat More Cheese prints at Luminhaus, and Jennifer Watson came up to my booth and said "You stayed in our house!" and mentioned that she recognized the print.

A big thanks to everyone who stopped by my booth - it was great to meet so many Richmonders!
handmade holiday 2011
I've really been liking my new display and table set-up - it has been tough to maximize my display space using the tiny 6' table we are allotted for indoor markets, and I think going vertical was best way to showcase as many of my prints as possible. It does make it a little more difficult to interact with customers as only my head is showing above the display, and I do have to stand on my feet all day, but I will sacrifice my comfort for my art!
handmade holiday 2011
And here's a behind the scenes view and a dirty little secret - my entire display is supported by paint cans and duct tape. Yes, this display was engineered by a former architect and a civil engineer. Also, note how the paint cans are wearing, yes, dog bandanas. Fancy.
handmade holiday 2011
The other good thing about having a tall display...it hid the fact that my zipper was down during the entire show.  Well, you know, except for the part where I walked around the entire market a few times WITH MY FLY OPEN checking out the other vendor's booths. NICE ONE, Rachel!

Also, WHY DOESN'T LARRY EVER NOTICE THESE THINGS AND WARN ME BEFORE I WALK AROUND IN PUBLIC?
handmade holiday 2011
handmade holiday 2011
All in all, it was a great day and I'm already looking forward to next year's holiday markets. But right now I need to catch up on Christmas... (Though I'd really rather spend the next two weeks baking, reading, and consuming copious amounts of alcohol!)

5 comments:

jennifer said...

Rachel,

So good to meet you at the Richmond handmade holiday! Love your work (especially the rocks and cairns). Would love to have more of your work displayed at Luminhaus (hint hint).

P.S. I would have informed you that your fly was down ... hee hee

Best,
Jennifer

Jillian said...

I just came upon your blog recently and I love your prints! The behind-the-scenes and general art fair reports are very interesting and helpful, as I am looking into trying do my first art fair sometime soon!

Jane @ The Borrowed Abode said...

Woohoo! So glad you enjoyed it. Reading this really makes me wish I'd applied after all. . . but I was worried I'd be too busy.
I am loving the dog bandannas :)

Karen Travels said...

Hahaha, I love what you wrote about Americans and geography! You know how Alaska is usually put in a box in the corner on maps? When I announced I was moving to Alaska, people actually asked me how do I cross into that area or get over that line?!!

(I will admit I was in college before I found out Alaska is the biggest state in the nation though!!)

Let me know if you ever do a New York, Alaska or North Carolina print - I would buy all 3!

Congrats on another great show! Next year baby and I will come up and visit!!

Funnelcloud Rachel said...

Jennifer - Thanks so much - it was a pleasure to meet you. I'd be honored to have my work displayed at Luminhaus!

Jillian - Glad you enjoy the art market recaps. This was my 4th market of the year and I've learned so much. Good luck!

Jane - There's always next year! :)

Karen - Too funny! Americans are shockingly terrible at geography - I just don't get it. You could always turn my Virginia map upside down and call it North Carolina - as one of my customers suggested... ;)