Wednesday, April 18, 2012

the Flea Off Market of artisans

Over the weekend I attended my first craft/artisan fair in a long time. It is located downtown Louisville and called the 'Flea Off Market'. Sellers of a variety of goods can rent a space for the afternoon. It is held once every month during the spring and into late summer. I didn't have enough to rent my own space but my friends did - in fact, they kindly let me rent a part of their own space during the fair.
Welcome all to the coolest market around!
They had sellers of ~ fresh baked food, vegan snacks, vintage clothes & items, books & vinyls {records}, handmade goods and live music. My friends at Trivium Arts let me have a tiny table space in their booth. And it was tiny since most of my goods are quite small ~ but none the less, a big 'thank you very kindly!' to them for giving me a chance to sell at a fair again.
That's my wee spot, a few hung items and a homemade sign to greet people
The weather was cloudy and spots of rain through out most of the day. But still, the people came out to support handmade! I sold one item while there, a plush dolly named Polly. A little girl couldn't quite decide what goods of mine to take home. Her mom said just one, so she picked the largest item I had *laugh* 
The surrounding booths and cool crowd
I hadn't done a craft fair in several years. I don't think I displayed my small bagged items very well, I need to work on that. Plus my stuff didn't quite fit with the cool hipster crowd of shoppers. I mean, I loved the time spent there - awesome group of folks. But my stuff? All bright, pastels and cuteness didn't really fit the vibe. In the future I might try for smaller indoor fairs where my stuff might be better suited. 
My friend at Trivium Arts hand painted and handmade goods
So that was my big weekend out! I had a lot of fun, meet some great, talented people and spent time around other artisans & crafters. I hope more people are discovering their own local artists at craft fairs and markets. It's a great way to support local, meet new people and make new contacts (if you are selling things).