IZZY, WHIZZY, LET'S GET BUSY

Hello everyone

I am notorious for leaving everything until the last minute.  I have somehow managed to create a wonderfully organised personality, which is quite untrue.  I tell myself that my best work is produced 'last minute' but I know that is incorrect, because often it is thrown together in a very unprofessional way.  However, I would like to assure anyone who has purchased work from me or taken (and taking) part in my events that where they are concerned, I am very organised.  Disorganisation happens when I arrive home and shut the door on the world!  Then chaos reigns.

The reason for the title of my post is that life is hectic at the moment and the days/weeks are not long enough.  A long time ago, I posted the question on here asking can I organise craft fairs and still take part in craft fairs organised by others; the questions still remains completely unanswered and having taken part in two fairs recently as a seller, I am still unsure.  The silly thing is that I excuse my self forgetting to take things to a craft fair on the basis that I am too busy!  Er, yes, so is everyone else.  I forget that I owe it to the organiser to do the very best I can by dressing my stall attractively, having a nice range of work to sell, following their terms & conditions and giving myself over to enjoying my time spent at the event (and all the time worrying about the million and one things I have not done).  Oh dear.

I took part in a craft fair in North Camp, Farnborough yesterday.  The weather was atrocious and this affected footfall, which was low.  However, the event was well organised, I met lots of lovely stallholders and I was pleased with my sales - I covered all costs and made a profit so left the event as a happy bunny.  A couple of pics of bags sold at yesterday's event:

My only niggles were my left and right side stallholders - lovely people, but......  If terms & conditions say don't put boxes, shelves, items, etc in the gap between tables, why do some stallholders think it includes 'but you can if you want to' on their information sheet?  To my left was a very big space, which was great because I  moved my table several times to escape the ever-growing pile of display material the stallholders on my right were adding to the gap!  I placed one of my bags on the door to my left only to have the daughter of the stallholder plonk herself down in front of it and lean on it - despite there being a very large space to park her backside elsewhere!  How unfair of me I can hear people say, but come on we are all there to display and sell our work, enjoy the company of others and look back on a successful event - not have annoying memories.  As I said, lots of lovely stallholders, but just a plea for some to remember they are not the only ones in the room.

When I take part in fairs, I take along work to do because even at busy events, there can be time to catch up on making.  I was able to complete a bit of work yesterday, but also had the time to look around me with my organiser's hat on; someone recently suggested I email photographs of a good stall set-up to my stallholders.  I have seen some really well set-up stalls, ones that look beautiful and others that look as though the stallholder walked into the room, threw their things onto the table and left.  One yesterday was a good example (or rather bad example).  No table cover and all storage boxes on display under their table; the table top display was poor too.  Why?  A table cover can be a bed-sheet - clean and ironed it can look very smart.  I suppose this is a little niggle about sellers who complain that they haven't sold anything, nobody went to their stall, etc, etc - come on you lot, you are a shop as far as the world is concerned so if you want to sell, please dress your 'shop window', lay out your goods beautifully and don't have all your boxes, bags, etc on show.  It makes such a big difference and your fellow stallholders will like it too.  Don't let event visitors remember you for the wrong reason.

I digress, I was supposed to be explaining why the post is called Izzy, Whizzy, Let's Get Busy because I must get busy.  A two-day event in two weeks time at the Medicine Garden in Cobham followed by my final event of the year as the organiser, closely followed by a hospital admission to have my knee sorted out.  An early Christmas present?  Fingers crossed.  In between these are lots of Christmas lunches and evenings out with friends and family and getting ready for Christmas at home - mobility will be limited so I will be able to get Richard to do all of the preparation and shopping. As if.

Have a good week everyone - see you soon.

Jill

ON A COLD AND FROSTY MORNING

Hello everyone

Boy, is it cold today!  Is it because we had mild weather in October that the recent cold and frost makes me think we have a bad winter on the way?  Snow is already forecast for the midlands - is it earlier than usual?  I like snow and it is lovely to wake up to find everything covered in the garden - especially if I don't have to go out in it.  Being a clumsy idiot who manages to fall over when there is just a sprinkle on the ground, I would prefer it to fall and then disappear pretty soon after.

I held my second event in the Wilfrid Noyce Centre on Saturday and although it would have been great to have several thousand visitors, the stlalhodlers entered into the spirit of the occasion and created a really lovely busy, buzzy atmosphere.  As always a big thank you to everyone who took part.  Our next event is on 3 December, my last one as organiser for this year and as always I am looking for attractions to encourage and retain visitors.  However, I always say I work hard to get people into the venue, then it is down to the stallholders to turn visitors into customers - even better if they are ones who came back again and again because they are pleased with what they have bought.  Here are a few photographs of some of the work that was on sale at Saturday's event and more can be found on the A Fair to Remember Facebook page:

Like everyone in this country I moan and alternatively congratulate the NHS, but I am always pleased that we have them on our side.  I developed problems with my right knee earlier this year and following several GP appointments, x-rays, hospital visits and an MRI it was identified that the cartilage in my right knee had gone 'mushy' and I was referred to a knee surgeon at the Royal Surrey Hospital.  My appt letter arrived early last week with an appointment for 4 January - then out of the blue on Thursday I received a call saying that as a new consultant was on board, appointments were being offered for this week.  I was offered yesterday afternoon and it meant a tricky day as I was due to be at a funeral in the morning in Bristol and I really didn't want to miss it.  I made both with time to spare, thank goodness and was advised by the knee surgeon that keyhole surgery will be carried out to repair the torn meniscus and it will possibly be in appx six weeks time.  Thank you NHS, I am so pleased that I don't have to suffer for a long time with a very painful knee and, being selfish, hope the operation takes place after my remaining events this year.

I am taking part in three events (two as a seller one as organiser/seller) and have a lot of work to do: bags to decorate with new and popular designs, candles to make and wreaths to make - if time permits.

Have a great week everyone - see you next week.

Jill