Last Weekend's Festival
Last Weekend's Festival
weaving, wood working and the road ahead
Last Saturday was the Rocket City Scottish Festival event outside of Huntsville, Alabama. The weather was supposed to be in the low 80’s with a cool morning. The weatherman, however, apparently doesn’t know his butt from a hole in the ground. It was closer to 90 degrees with 80% humidity at the hottest point in the day. We arrived at 7 am and by 9 am, rivers of sweat were pouring down our backs and my feet were roasting in my flip flops. Around noon, we got a little relief from the sun (no longer in our faces) and a light breeze started up. I knew the heat would be a problem for sales. No one wants to buy wool or think about scarves when it feels like 100 degrees outside. I did my best to assure people that cooler weather was on its way (and indeed, it is cooler this week), but I’m not sure it helped any. I had 4 people (out of hundreds) who bought anything from me.
Total sold items were 4 scarves, one skein of handspun yarn, and 2 lotion bars. I had also sold a scarf a few days before the festival, so I do count that as sales for this event since that scarf had been woven for the festival.
I ended up weaving 7 new scarves in the 5 days before the festival. Only one of those new scarves sold.
While I normally don’t talk about how much/little I sell at events, I think it’s important to be honest about these things. For those who think they want to start selling their handmade items, this information is important. I’ve been selling at festivals for a decade now and I know what to expect when it comes to the weather situation. If it’s cooler (or cold) outside, I sell more items, hands-down, than if it’s still warm. It’s a psychological truth that humans can’t think far past their present state of comfort, temp-wise. It’s similar to going to the grocery store after you’ve just eaten a big meal. Unless you have a list, you won’t buy anything because you can’t imaging that you’ll ever be hungry again after eating so much.
This week, my husband has been in the wood shop, making stick shuttles for me to sell at the upcoming Alabama Fiber Festival on November 2nd. Since I love the shuttles he made for me several years ago, I thought it might be nice to add some to my booth offerings in addition to the fiber I’ll be bringing. The shuttles are made from poplar wood and are finished with Danish oil to protect the wood. We’re also making some drop spindle ornaments too (which can also be used for lace weight spinning). If he has enough time, he’s also going to make a few niddy noddys.
My frame looms from Schacht arrived on Saturday, so I’ll be putting those together closer to the frame loom weaving class I’m teaching on November 9th. I’ve scheduled 9 total classes at the Carnegie Visual Arts Center between November 2024-November 2025. I’m still nailing down the exact classes that will be offered, but they’ll be a mix of weaving, spinning, dyeing, and the like.
Except for custom orders, my rigid heddle loom will probably sit idle until the new year, while I spend more time spinning and at my frame loom.
I can attest to the cold/cold weather clothing purchase aversions. When they start hauling out the "fall looks", including sweaters, in the heart of August in Memphis, I cannot even look at the displays in the relative cool of the stores. I wanted to come see the festival, but you all were too far to make it in a round trip in one day. Maybe next year as a real trip (and hopefully cooler weather!).