July Events
The weary mermaid has landed home once again and is having a week off (*gasp* vacation?). July has proven to be a very busy month between Fort Niagara, Falcon Ridge prep, and Falcon Ridge, but I've survived!
Niagara was a nice event, as usual, with none of the nasty weather we've experienced in the past. Our only complaint was with our assigned spot... we think we missed a lot of traffic because people didn't realize there was another row of sutlers where we were. My sales were fine, but Abe was less than impressed. Oh well... next year is their 250th, so it will be set up differently. When we weren't keeping shop, we hung out with a really nice bunch from the French camp as well as Abe's parents, and just really enjoying the time. We didn't make it to the Clarkson House for dinner this year, so we may have to visit it twice next year. OH! And I received my birthday present from my sweet baboo... I now have a new knife, and a Glen McLaine at that! It's gorgeous and I'll try to get pictures up soon. After the event, Abe and I went to Niagara Falls again, but this time we walked over to the Canadian side. It's much nicer over there in regards of view and surroundings, but it was expensive. After that, we journied home in preparation for the end of the month.
I just returned home from Falcon Ridge Monday evening, which was a very profitable event for me. Most of the stuff from my last slide show found new homes. I also had a blast hanging out with my friends Cindy and Rachel, who graciously agreed to help me with this event (Abe was at a different event). The big downside of this event was weather. It started raining about two hours after I arrived Wednesday afternoon and rained until the following afternoon... very muddy. After that, we had great weather until Sunday afternoon. Sunday gave us a storm for the record books... rain, wind, thunder, lightning, and (I kid you not) hail the size of golf balls. I felt like I was in a hurricane. Cindy, who was staying with her parents in a nearby town at night, couldn't get to the festival that day and Rachel and I had to hold the tent down for fear that the stakes would give way and the tent would fly off into the storm. When the thing finally passed, the craft area looked like a disaster zone... mangled EZ-Up frames, tarps and canopies everywhere, and two of the large festival tents had come down. I was one of the very lucky few with no damage whatsoever. Between Rachel and my efforts and the staked ratchet straps on the tent, the booth was fine. My shelves were staked down with 18 inchers, so they didn't move. I only had one piece fall off my shelves, but it didn't even crack. I'm very lucky and I know it. However, after that storm we decided to pack up and leave. Abe and I plan on going again next year (I made more on Saturday alone than I make at most period events) and we'll know what to do in preparation for anything Mother Nature throws at us.
As for pictures, sadly, I don't have any. The memory card in my camera had a malfunction right after Niagara, so I lost all of the photos I had taken. I have a few shots of my booth from Falcon Ridge that I'll post at some point, but I'm going to wait until I have some more stuff before I create the next slide show. For now, I'm going to enjoy my short vacation before getting back on the wheel to fill some orders, experiment with some ideas, and build stock for September's events (Brandywine and Carlisle), in addition to doing some wedding stuff.
Oh, and Abe's pulling out the the Virginia Highlands Festival Sunday... it's not doing well for the period sutlers and he's got too much to do at home.
Niagara was a nice event, as usual, with none of the nasty weather we've experienced in the past. Our only complaint was with our assigned spot... we think we missed a lot of traffic because people didn't realize there was another row of sutlers where we were. My sales were fine, but Abe was less than impressed. Oh well... next year is their 250th, so it will be set up differently. When we weren't keeping shop, we hung out with a really nice bunch from the French camp as well as Abe's parents, and just really enjoying the time. We didn't make it to the Clarkson House for dinner this year, so we may have to visit it twice next year. OH! And I received my birthday present from my sweet baboo... I now have a new knife, and a Glen McLaine at that! It's gorgeous and I'll try to get pictures up soon. After the event, Abe and I went to Niagara Falls again, but this time we walked over to the Canadian side. It's much nicer over there in regards of view and surroundings, but it was expensive. After that, we journied home in preparation for the end of the month.
I just returned home from Falcon Ridge Monday evening, which was a very profitable event for me. Most of the stuff from my last slide show found new homes. I also had a blast hanging out with my friends Cindy and Rachel, who graciously agreed to help me with this event (Abe was at a different event). The big downside of this event was weather. It started raining about two hours after I arrived Wednesday afternoon and rained until the following afternoon... very muddy. After that, we had great weather until Sunday afternoon. Sunday gave us a storm for the record books... rain, wind, thunder, lightning, and (I kid you not) hail the size of golf balls. I felt like I was in a hurricane. Cindy, who was staying with her parents in a nearby town at night, couldn't get to the festival that day and Rachel and I had to hold the tent down for fear that the stakes would give way and the tent would fly off into the storm. When the thing finally passed, the craft area looked like a disaster zone... mangled EZ-Up frames, tarps and canopies everywhere, and two of the large festival tents had come down. I was one of the very lucky few with no damage whatsoever. Between Rachel and my efforts and the staked ratchet straps on the tent, the booth was fine. My shelves were staked down with 18 inchers, so they didn't move. I only had one piece fall off my shelves, but it didn't even crack. I'm very lucky and I know it. However, after that storm we decided to pack up and leave. Abe and I plan on going again next year (I made more on Saturday alone than I make at most period events) and we'll know what to do in preparation for anything Mother Nature throws at us.
As for pictures, sadly, I don't have any. The memory card in my camera had a malfunction right after Niagara, so I lost all of the photos I had taken. I have a few shots of my booth from Falcon Ridge that I'll post at some point, but I'm going to wait until I have some more stuff before I create the next slide show. For now, I'm going to enjoy my short vacation before getting back on the wheel to fill some orders, experiment with some ideas, and build stock for September's events (Brandywine and Carlisle), in addition to doing some wedding stuff.
Oh, and Abe's pulling out the the Virginia Highlands Festival Sunday... it's not doing well for the period sutlers and he's got too much to do at home.