Tempest

[offcntr]

I hate to miss a Market, even when the weather looks sketchy. Especially when I've promised a couple of people the previous week that I'd be there next time. So despite a prediction of 100% chance rain, I started up the van and rolled down town. Weather was actually dry as I set up the booth, though I put up the walls anyway. I remembered the weights this time, but forgot the bag with my show book. It's got the inventory, really helpful when someone asks if I have a particular item--I can look it up in the book first, before digging through boxes. So I stowed everything under cover, then, instead of driving the van to the parking garage, I drove home to get the bag.

Made the round trip in under half an hour, driving through brief rain showers on Delta Highway, but nothing of note, and finished my set-up only ten minutes later than usual, plenty of time to go to Farmers Market.

I delivered the new tip jar to Abdul first thing in the morning; How much do I owe you? he asked. Two lunches, I said, One this week and one next. So I treated myself to a combination plate: beef shish kebab, saffron potato, carrot/raisin rice pilaf with chicken and cooked spinach. So nice to have a hot meal on a damp day.

Had a lot of empty spaces around, nobody on either side of my booth, and only six vendors on our block at all. My first sale wasn't until almost 11, but it was a pasta serving bowl, so it felt like a good start.

Lots of familiar faces--Wilson and Renate, the elderly couple who used to buy small plates for their grandchildren, now just stop by to say hello. It's lovely to see them still out and moving at their age. I also traded hugs with Vanessa, former Market PR manager, now working for the Oregon Country Fair. We talked a bit, she picked up a hummingbird stew mug, said she'd come back for it later, never did. It's kind of a thing, she never does.

Had better luck with Julia; her husband Alan used to be a news host on KLCC in my early days. They've been using one of my large covered casseroles for compost scraps for years now, finally managed to break it, so she bought a new one, with lions on the lid.

My photographer, Jon Meyers, stopped in, testing out a new video camera. We talked about my need for new jury photos, made plans to schedule a shoot after my next firing. He also wanted pictures of the loading process, so I promised to give him a call when it's time to fill up the kiln again.

Sold a lot of work to college and high school-aged young women. A rooster mug, for one's dad, who raised chickens. A hen for another's mom and chickadee mug for dad, after which her boyfriend bought a fox mug for himself. And a high-school girl who absolutely had to have the piggy bank, and paid me $50 in small bills, her Easter money, which did wonders for my change supply after four other customers paid with fifties.

Sun came out by lunch time, and I actually pinned back the front edges of my booth walls to let in the light and give better sight lines to passing pedestrians. Seemed to work, sales were pretty brisk, and I thought we might actually finish the day dry. But around 2:30 black clouds started blowing in, and by 3 pm, the rain had started again. Wind was blustering too, snapped the walls of the booth hard enough that I took down the cookie jars and pitchers from the top shelf. (I'd had them knocked off and broken in the past.) Made my last sale around 3:30, at which point it was bucketing down, so I boxed up the cookies and pitchers and started organizing for take-down.

I was able to keep all the boxes inside, packing up, but they still got a little rained-on going out to the van. The booth, however, was soaked, so much so that rain was leaking in through the roof everywhere, and by the time I got everything in the van, my coat was soaked, my had was dripping, pants legs sodden. The only thing still dry was my socks. Mad props to Carhartt work boots; damn good water-proofing.

Was it worth it? $800 in sales, nearly half cash. For that, I'll drip dry.

Comments

[james]

I find it so funny when customers apologise for paying in small cash! I'm like, I LOVE small bills! It saves me from having to refill my till. Everyone else pays in 20s or hundreds, so they take all my tens and ones.

(People seem to be figuring out that Target will still accept 100s, when lots of small businesses won't anymore, so lots of folks use their hundreds to pay a $6 price. Which I am perfectly happy about! Except for when I request more small bills and no one responds and I have to start giving away all my quarters.)

[offcntr]

I'm flummoxed when they ask, "Do you accept cash?" Are there places that don't? Heck, I still accept checks.