A Bonus and a Challenge

I had a market yesterday at Sussex Neighbourhood House. I've done several markets recently--since doing the Make Craft Your Business course. I still have lots to learn and decisions to make about where I want to go with my textile art. Being out and about with my work is one of the best aspects of a market for me. I love to interact with people about my craft and to see how they respond to my work.
Yesterday's market brought an unexpected bonus. I came home with this dress manequin.

I've been wanting a manequin for a couple of reasons. If I'm going to sell my work online, I need a way of photographing it in context. A live model would be ideal. A dummy is the next best thing. As I discovered while trying to snap this pic, even finding a suitable spot in my house without too much background clutter is a challenge. And I'd like this to tone in with the other display props I've been making for myself. So at the very least I'm thinking I'll cover it with calico.

Then there's a question of body image and reality. That's a much bigger challenge--in more ways than one. One of the reasons this manequin was on offer is that she's quite a small size. I measured the waist and bust when I got home. I don't think I've ever been that size as an adult--never!

An obvious use for a dress manequin is to assist in dressmaking. But that's no use unless the manequin's shape and my body shape bear some resemblance to each other. Even if I'm only going to use it for display purposes, I don't want to fall into the trap of portraying an impossible body as an ideal. So the reality of this slim form is going to have to be fleshed out somehow.

I don't have a plan yet, but I have some ideas. I'm thinking of bubble wrap as a first layer. That will keep it light. Then maybe a some quilt wadding offcuts and some old clothes to give me a layer that's good for taking pins. I'll finish it off with a stitched calico shell. Hopefully that will give me a neat finish. I don't have any markets for the next month or two, so I guess I just found myself a challenge to keep me busy. 

Edited to add:
I've just found this tutorial and am adding it here for future reference. It sounds as though the critical issue is that the dress form should be smaller than me. So I'm off to a good start.

Morning After Market

It's the morning after the market and I'm in surprisingly good shape. Yes I'm tired, but that was to be expected. I feel a good momentum to continue with what I've started by participating in the Make Craft Your Business course a couple of months ago.

For those of you who couldn't be there--and for my own future reference--here's how the stall looked.

Apologies for the back-lit shot--that window does actually have a curtain across it and I did try using a fill-in flash, but mostly I was focussed on interacting with people on the day. You can just see the pedal of my spinning wheel on the far right. I spent most of the day spinning and chatting. I had enough sales to be encouraged and plenty of positive feedback. It was also great to see the work of my fellow students and the excitement of their first sales. I had the luck of sitting next to the table with the eftpos machine!

One feature of this market is the free kids craft. There were children galore! I enjoyed handing out tiny bits of soft fluffy wool and explaining how the spinning wheel works.

I have a few adjustments to make to my display before next time. Of course I have new ideas of things to make, but I plan to stick to a slower pace for a little while.

The next challenge will be setting up for some on-line sales.

 

Model Magic

I've been working on paper mache display props for my stall at the Made in Thornbury Market this weekend. I figure paper mache gives me the reality of lumpy-bumpiness and asymmetry that we all enjoy in real life.

This manequin was originally white styrofoam and rather idealistic in it's shape. It then had a  time of being covered in newspaper--I've searched back through my blog and am surprised that I can't find a picture of it in that form. Now it's covered in brown paper and several coats of sealer to go with my new look.

I'm at the sorting and labelling phase of my market preparation. Though I can't guarantee that there won't be a burst of creativity or two yet before Saturday. And in case you've missed it somehow: you're invited! Please come to the market at 99 Leinster Grove, Thornbury. It's on from 10 am til 2 pm.

Good to Go

I spent yesterday slowly getting everything ready for today's market.

I'm particularly pleased with how the CD Drop Spindle kits turned out. So much so that I aim to have a shot at the Rose Brooch kits soon. I think I've worked out a way to package them up neatly and still have the special yarn on display.

I've got my collection of drop spindles packed. I expect to be spinning for a fair bit of the day and I'll burn through the wool too quickly if I do it all on the CD spindle, since that's not designed for a fine yarn. In fact I'd better head out to the studio and pick out some extra wool tops before I go.

Morning Tasks

The House Market is on tomorrow. So my task for today is to get everything finalised. Unfortunately that means paperwork. Not my favourite!

























Thankfully I've got most of the basics sorted from last time, so it shouldn't take to long. Then maybe I can reward myself by making something just for fun.

Ready, Set, Go

Waking to the alarm two mornings in a row is not my idea of fun. I realise that there are lots and lots of people who do that every work day of the week, but not me. After a busy and fulfilling day at school yesterday, I'm off to the market today. Here's the pile of stuff to put in the car.As I was going to sleep last night I kept startling awake to remember one more thing to put on the pile. That's why it's looking so messy and as if it's about to fall over. I'll have to get another box for all the bits and pieces. The next step is to take various stuff out of the car to make room for the pile. When the car's all packed and ready it will be time to drive over to Spotswood. Hopefully at this early hour the traffic will be nice and light, but first, you guessed it, another cup of coffee!

Meanwhile

I've been continuing to work on my various assignments for school this week and suddenly it's Friday again. In the little corners of time I've been working on a few bits for tomorrow's market. These little woolly rosettes have been a focus. They sold really well at the Mothers' Day market and they're quick and fun to make with leftover bits of handspun yarn in likely colours. I don't know if I'll get time to sew them to their pins before tomorrow, so I might just have to take the makings with me to the market. It's billed as an Artists' Market, so I'm going to assume that works in progress will be welcome. The bonus is that if I don't quite have enough of the fancy pins, then I can just attach the ones that are wanted and leave the rest until later.

I'm planning to catch the train again. That means more knitting. Last week I only just managed to catch the train, so I'm making sure I leave myself a bit more time today.

Opportunity-Challenge

I received a welcome phone call from the Substation Artists' Market coordinator this week. I've been accepted for a stall there starting next weekend. One more opportunity to promote my work; one more challenge for my making frenzy. I made a pair of wristies on my way to and from school on Friday. Here's another pair in process:
In case you're wondering, I caught the train to school on Friday. It takes about the same amount of time as it does to drive. It probably costs about the same, by the time I factor in petrol and parking. The stress of peak hour traffic and the crowded train probably cancel each other out. The major benefit is time to knit. As an added bonus I bumped into my friend R on the platform at Flinders St station on my way home. We called her mum on the mobile and stopped off for a quick meal of pizzas at the Lebanese Bakery. I was home by about 6.00pm all fed and ready for an early night.

Sold

I'll have to admit I wasn't too sure about yesterday's market. I was sure of my participation. It's my local Neighbourhood House and I love what happens there. So a chance to support that work, while offering my creations for sale was a definite "yes". But after a week of fairly intense making, I had my doubts about whether I had my focus right. Add to that the perennial dilemmas of pricing and the chores of labeling and packing and you'll see there were some doubts in my mind.

That was yesterday. Today I'm tired, but sure it was a good thing. I sold stuff! To be exact I sold 9 greeting cards, 9 brooches, 2 necklaces and 2 bookmarks. Selling things I've made makes me happy. This is A, one of the Art teachers at the Neighbourhood House. She bought one of my necklaces. She had to go home at lunch time to arrange some household stuff. When she came back, she'd tied up her hair and was wearing it. All afternoon I could see how good it looked on her. And she took a photo of a brooch I'd made to show a friend who likes that sort of thing too.

As well as selling stuff, there was lots of interaction and a chance to talk about what the Neighbourhood House does. And I had my spinning wheel, so at least 50 grams of what would otherwise be boring plain white spinning got done while I was watching people and talking with people and generally having a good time. That's me happy. The next House market is in September, but before I went to bed I looked up some other market opportunities which had been on my "maybe" list for a while. They won't be quite as neighbourly as this one and they'll definitely be more expensive to participate in, but I'd like a chance to build on yesterday's success pretty soon.

Professional Development

My neighbour across the road and two doors up is a highschool textiles teacher. We got talking a couple of weeks ago. She has a particularly challenging VCE class this year and a sadly under-resourced school. There wasn't much I could do except listen. When she mentioned that one of the school's overlockers was driving her nuts I thought I might be able to help. L was sure it was just an issue with the tension, but wasn't sure how to go about fixing it. I suggested my favourite trick of threading the overlocker up with four different colours. L said she'd bring the machine home and I could have a look at it. Agreed. Yesterday afternoon we were finally both free at the same time. Here's how the stitch looked when we sat down to it. First we had to replace one of the needles. To do that we borrowed the sharp eyes of L's eight-year-old daughter. Two middle aged women cramping their necks to peer through multifocals makes good comedy, but it's not very efficient. We also found that the special little tool for the job was still tucked in it's place behind the machine's face plate. Score! Next I adjusted the tension dials one at a time. L sat next to me cutting more and more strips of the cheap yellow fabric we were using for samples. We had quite a little routine going. Meanwhile the eight year old had returned to her colouring in competition. Sensible child.

After a fair bit of fiddling and a break for a cold drink, we arrived at this: That's definitely better. I left L to reconnect the spools of black thread and came home with my prize sample.

Now today is the day of the Neighbourhood House Market. So I need to pack my car with all the goodies I've been making and head off. We've been promised coffee and croissants with set-up, so there's an added incentive to be early.

Occupational Hazards

I dropped in to the Substation Artists' Market at Newport yesterday morning. I've been noticing the building and signage as I've driven past on my way to Williamstown for months now. I'm in the market for a new market opportunity, so why not check it out? Yesterday I actually got there. I found lots of good points:

• a coffee shop with good coffee and homemade yummies in the entrance foyer
• live music in that same foyer--the sound greeted me as I got out of the car
• an interesting, light, spacious, well heated building
• lots of exciting stalls, including some I recognised from other like-minded markets; quality textiles, but no handspun or hand-dyed work--looks as though I'd fit right in
• prices that seemed to reflect the degree of skill and effort involved in making the wares . . .

And then there were these:

Blue and silver chain-mail earings--they had to come home with me! Now that's a hazard I'm open to whenever I check out a good market. There's always something uniquely irresistable to put a hole in my budget. Oh well, I'm happy with that sort of risk!