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Outdoor market logistics

Did my first outdoor market on Sunday: the Shirt and Shirt Market at the Abbotsford Convent. It's a really lovely location for a market, set against the backdrop of the historic Convent buildings and their well-established gardens. The vibe is relaxed and upbeat, with lots of people coming for a late brekky at the Convent Bakery and families incorporating a bit market shopping into their day at the nearby children farm. Being a dedicated fashion market it was also a wonderful opportunity to check out the work of other Melbourne designers and chat with them about the ins and outs of marketeering. Being a bit of a late applicant into this market I found myself scrambling to get myself sorted for the day. Luckily, Dad donated his marquee for me to use. But when I received the market organisers email advising of potential high winds I had panicked visions of my flimsy Bunnings marque sailing off into the sky like an awkward air balloon, so I quickly tracked down a garden supplier and got myself some sandbags to weigh it down, as well as borrowing some 20L water containers to serve the same purpose. By my own admission, I went a bit overboard paranoid with weight thing. My poor little station wagon pulled up to the Convent in the morning, groaning under the weight about 160kg of weights along with all my other gear! It turned out to be a beautiful, clear day with hardly a breath of wind! Still, better safe than sorry, I suppose! According to the regular stallholders, it was pretty quiet day, but a made enough sales to make the day worthwhile and got some pretty valuable experience in what is involved in setting up an outdoor market stall. I came home satisfied but also completely knackered!

   

Market update

Just a quick little post to say that I will be selling my handmade wares at the Shirt and Skirt market at the Abbotsford Convent this Sunday (18th Jan), at the Rose Street Artist Market on Saturday 31st Jan and at the Yarraville Arts Festival on Saturday 14th Feb. Looks like it's shaping up to be a busy start of the year! I also wanted to share my most recent secondhand finds: a beautiful pair of soft leather pointy-toed knee-high boots ($4 from a local garage sale) and vibrant fire-engine red fitted turle-neck jumper a found at Savers. Yes, I know it's the middle of the Australian summer, but when you are a dedicated op-shopper you have to snap up what you find when you find it!

Hope to see you at a market some time soon!