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A long road
Aug. 11th, 2022 11:35 amIt has been a minute.
When last we heard from our intrepid potters, we'd had to rent a cargo van at the last minute, in order to make it up to our show in Anacortes, WA. What happened?
Well, we got the van, an enormous Ford Transit. I kid you not, we could have almost fit our little Chevy Astro inside the cargo hold of this thing. The compartment was fully ten feet long; with all my stock and display hardware, it was still less than half full.
We left on Wednesday morning; we like to break up the trip north, so we're rested for load-in Thursday evening. Got a motel in Edmonds, just north of Seattle, planning to visit with Denise's cousins, and also check in with my potter friend from Israel, who's visiting Seattle with husband, daughter and grandkids.
Typical for this trip, nothing went according to plan. To begin with, Kay and Al, Denise's cousins, got in a car accident driving back from the midwest, so were in a care facility recovering from their injuries--safety belts do nasty things to your sternum when you hit a tree head-on. Covid protocols meant we couldn't see them in person, though we did manage to connect with their daughter Diana for a lunchtime visit on Thursday before we left. Meanwhile, my friend Debby got her dates confused; they were across Puget Sound on the Olympic Peninsula for the week, borrowing a house, then going camping on the weekend. We could bring the van over on the ferry? Or they could do a walk-on ferry trip back and we could meet downtown.
Honestly, after the week we'd had and a six-hour drive, I really had no energy left. We begged off, took a nap, and had a quiet supper for two at a nice little dumpling place across the street.
It poured Thursday morning in Edmonds, and I was beginning to get a little concerned for our weekend, but it was sunny by the time we reached the motel in Mount Vernon, breezy and lovely, with highs in the low 70s all weekend. Left Denise in the motel at five and drove over to Anacortes for 6 pm set-up. Turns out they managed to clear the street early; I could unload the van and park it, as long as I didn't put up the canopy until after six. Walked over to the office to get my packet, pulled in the van and had everything ready to go right at six. I've gotten used to solo setup--Denise's knee still isn't sound enough for her to help much--and was able to start back by 8:30.
As has been usual for the show, I was right at the southeast end, with no neighbors on either side, which is great exposure--I can hang pots on both sides of my grid panel--but terrible for wind. If I don't take the sides down all around, my booth will literally walk down the street, sandbags notwithstanding. Fortunately, it calms down overnight, so aside from clearing the top shelves of jars and pitchers and taking plates off the grid, I can just close up the walls and depart at night.
Anacortes being a harbor town, I stocked up heavily on sea patterns: Crabs, octopus, otters; seagulls and puffins and even dolphins and sharks. Loaded up one side of the panel with everything ocean. The other had a mirror with African patterns, so I surrounded it with lions and elephants, hippos and rhinos.
The show had gotten a little smaller since the pandemic, so my booth keeps moving north. This year, I was right in front of the Calico Cupboard, a popular local breakfast spot. This had advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, customers waiting for their tables crowded the sidewalk, and would often shop to kill time--I think I made four sales before opening Friday alone. On the other hand, the smell of sausage, ham or bacon wafting out was really distracting. I mentioned to my choir director where we were set up, and he jokingly asked me to bring him a cinnamon roll--it's a favorite spot of his wife's.
Sales were good, busiest Friday with the regulars congregating for first pick. Had a woman who'd come late last year and only scored a crab pie plate. This year, she collected seven crab items, another pie, pasta dinner bowls, plates. Another woman who brought her sugar glider into the booth last year came back to order a plate with his image on it--I'm waiting for the emailed pic. Long time friend Lauren finally found me in the booth--the last couple of times, she only caught Denise--so we got to catch up a little. And Arden, our favorite teen-age pottery fan, dropped in for hugs, an owl tumbler, and to special order a kestrel plate. She first found my booth as a middle-schooler in Edmonds; she graduates high school next year, plans to study Astrophysics and Computer Science at U-Dub in fall of 2023.
I was really glad Denise was up for the trip. When it's busy, it's really busy, and having her to write up tickets and wrap pots while I take credit cards or make change is hugely helpful. At one point Friday, people were lined up four deep, while others were trying to shop. Perils of popularity, I guess.
We did have some quiet time, so got to see the rest of the fair. Denise did a little trading with Sue Coccia of Earth Art International, trading bunny pots for t-shirts and tea towels, and also got a lovely recycled metal pendant with a polar bear. I caught up with artists friends on the circuit, met a new potter, and eventually fell for a sweet little acrylic painting.
It's a bear, of course.
Had to hurry back on Monday; the van rented by the day, and we needed to return it before 3:45 to avoid another day's charge. Hit the road a little after 7, got home at 2:30, unloaded the van and got it back to Kendall in time for me to catch a bus through downtown to pick up my van at the shop and drive it home.
When last we heard from our intrepid potters, we'd had to rent a cargo van at the last minute, in order to make it up to our show in Anacortes, WA. What happened?
Well, we got the van, an enormous Ford Transit. I kid you not, we could have almost fit our little Chevy Astro inside the cargo hold of this thing. The compartment was fully ten feet long; with all my stock and display hardware, it was still less than half full.
We left on Wednesday morning; we like to break up the trip north, so we're rested for load-in Thursday evening. Got a motel in Edmonds, just north of Seattle, planning to visit with Denise's cousins, and also check in with my potter friend from Israel, who's visiting Seattle with husband, daughter and grandkids.
Typical for this trip, nothing went according to plan. To begin with, Kay and Al, Denise's cousins, got in a car accident driving back from the midwest, so were in a care facility recovering from their injuries--safety belts do nasty things to your sternum when you hit a tree head-on. Covid protocols meant we couldn't see them in person, though we did manage to connect with their daughter Diana for a lunchtime visit on Thursday before we left. Meanwhile, my friend Debby got her dates confused; they were across Puget Sound on the Olympic Peninsula for the week, borrowing a house, then going camping on the weekend. We could bring the van over on the ferry? Or they could do a walk-on ferry trip back and we could meet downtown.
Honestly, after the week we'd had and a six-hour drive, I really had no energy left. We begged off, took a nap, and had a quiet supper for two at a nice little dumpling place across the street.
It poured Thursday morning in Edmonds, and I was beginning to get a little concerned for our weekend, but it was sunny by the time we reached the motel in Mount Vernon, breezy and lovely, with highs in the low 70s all weekend. Left Denise in the motel at five and drove over to Anacortes for 6 pm set-up. Turns out they managed to clear the street early; I could unload the van and park it, as long as I didn't put up the canopy until after six. Walked over to the office to get my packet, pulled in the van and had everything ready to go right at six. I've gotten used to solo setup--Denise's knee still isn't sound enough for her to help much--and was able to start back by 8:30.
As has been usual for the show, I was right at the southeast end, with no neighbors on either side, which is great exposure--I can hang pots on both sides of my grid panel--but terrible for wind. If I don't take the sides down all around, my booth will literally walk down the street, sandbags notwithstanding. Fortunately, it calms down overnight, so aside from clearing the top shelves of jars and pitchers and taking plates off the grid, I can just close up the walls and depart at night.
Anacortes being a harbor town, I stocked up heavily on sea patterns: Crabs, octopus, otters; seagulls and puffins and even dolphins and sharks. Loaded up one side of the panel with everything ocean. The other had a mirror with African patterns, so I surrounded it with lions and elephants, hippos and rhinos.
The show had gotten a little smaller since the pandemic, so my booth keeps moving north. This year, I was right in front of the Calico Cupboard, a popular local breakfast spot. This had advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, customers waiting for their tables crowded the sidewalk, and would often shop to kill time--I think I made four sales before opening Friday alone. On the other hand, the smell of sausage, ham or bacon wafting out was really distracting. I mentioned to my choir director where we were set up, and he jokingly asked me to bring him a cinnamon roll--it's a favorite spot of his wife's.
Sales were good, busiest Friday with the regulars congregating for first pick. Had a woman who'd come late last year and only scored a crab pie plate. This year, she collected seven crab items, another pie, pasta dinner bowls, plates. Another woman who brought her sugar glider into the booth last year came back to order a plate with his image on it--I'm waiting for the emailed pic. Long time friend Lauren finally found me in the booth--the last couple of times, she only caught Denise--so we got to catch up a little. And Arden, our favorite teen-age pottery fan, dropped in for hugs, an owl tumbler, and to special order a kestrel plate. She first found my booth as a middle-schooler in Edmonds; she graduates high school next year, plans to study Astrophysics and Computer Science at U-Dub in fall of 2023.
I was really glad Denise was up for the trip. When it's busy, it's really busy, and having her to write up tickets and wrap pots while I take credit cards or make change is hugely helpful. At one point Friday, people were lined up four deep, while others were trying to shop. Perils of popularity, I guess.
We did have some quiet time, so got to see the rest of the fair. Denise did a little trading with Sue Coccia of Earth Art International, trading bunny pots for t-shirts and tea towels, and also got a lovely recycled metal pendant with a polar bear. I caught up with artists friends on the circuit, met a new potter, and eventually fell for a sweet little acrylic painting.
It's a bear, of course.
Had to hurry back on Monday; the van rented by the day, and we needed to return it before 3:45 to avoid another day's charge. Hit the road a little after 7, got home at 2:30, unloaded the van and got it back to Kendall in time for me to catch a bus through downtown to pick up my van at the shop and drive it home.
