Market

Hi All,

If you are reading this thank you!

If you've been or are thinking of buying from a small business like mine it is truly appreciated!

I did my first Market a week ago. I was very nervous, scared and felt a little out of my depth. I think whenever Artists whether Art, drama, writing, singing etc because the art form is putting your spirit and soul in your work, is very difficult thing to do. Luckily for me, my partner, my friends (who are pretty much my family), Benito and Milo supported me. I am super lucky!

I had no idea how to present myself, or what was best to do. I ran around making as much as I could, getting all documents needed, packing, making sure there was enough payment options that I forgot to get shopping bags for customers! (Eco ones of course).

All the paintings were displayed, with contact information and prices.

If you do a stall here are my four tips (only from my experience):

• Never expect anything- the lower the expectations the more fun you can have and if you sell brilliant!

• Display your stall to eye height, (which I didn't)

• Spread out your good too and make them stand out!

• Be open to adapting, ideas and moulding.

I am now planning ways for the next stall! covering the above. From a stall running point of view here are some tips (from my experience only):

• Have change on hand

• Lots of caffeine and food as it can be up to a 10 hour day

• Talk to as many stall owners as you can! They are lovely and its great to network!

I also sat painting whilst people walked by. It was a lot more relaxing than I expected and check out the bunny I did!

Throughout the day Benito went for a walk with his Pupa and a friend because the sounds where we were would have been too much for him. Milo stayed with me and got more attention then I think Milo knew what to do with it!

Throughout the day people were asking to pet Milo or " is he ok to stroke? " or " is he friendly?"

Earlier on in the day unfortunately for me, on the way to the market one of my slate paintings snapped so I turned it over and wrote on it "Hi my name is Milo. I am friendly for hugs." We got a lot of people stopping asking about him and giving hugs.

For a dog that didn't approach humans this time last year, he has come miles! and by the end he was skipping as he walked. I can not express how proud I am of my two dogs!