This year I became a craft show maven. Nearly every weekend since early Oct. I attended at least 1 craft show, sometimes more than one and one weekend, 2 in a single day, which was a bit much. It was a different view from the other side of the table, as a spectator, instead of a vendor.
The main reason for going to all the shows was to check some out in case I wanted to be in them, but others were just out of curiosity. I tried to avoid the busiest times, though some shows were so ill attended that the word busy couldn't have been used at any point. It seems that the shows I was thinking of joining were the small, overlooked ones where the sales didn't even net the entry fee. One at the YMCA was awful, tables jammed in hodgepodge fashion by the pool & basketball court, lots of people barely glancing at what was on offer. The best one was combined with a quilt show at the local senior center; high quality crafts in multiple rooms decorated nicely and handmade quilts, some from the 1920's & 30's all around, even hanging from the ceiling like banners.Another good one was at the Irish Heritage Center, though the sales weren't very good at that one. Not sure why, as the crowd was good sized.
There were plenty of pine cone centerpieces, knitting & other stereotypical crafts at the shows, but well done things too. And some odd items, such as jewelry made out of large coat buttons or teddy bears dipped in wax. The latter reminded me of the figures at Pompeii, but the crafter had no idea what I meant. One lady selling homemade soap had a large cardboard standup of Fabio with a towel drapped around his waist. I just burst out laughing! My purchases were all inexpensive items-- things like notecards, silly pins, a scarf with fish on, a hat with puppy pawprints on. I've always wanted a nutcracker, but the large ones are rather pricey, so I was thrilled to find someone selling small ones at a show this fall.They were all so appealing that I had a hard time deciding, but finally choose this handsome fellow, who stands less than 6 inches tall.
There's a couple shows I missed because I was sick, so hopefully I'll get to them next year. I won't, however, go to as many as I did this year; it was mostly fun, but sometimes too much of a good thing. It did make the holiday season more festive than usual, obviously the effects of all those pine cones....
