Originally posted on Williams Design Co's website on April 16, 2023:
My first “show season” has started! Since it is not quite summer yet, we (Abby, Mishka and Sandy-The-Vandy) made the trip to Arizona for warmer weather to start out with. BUT IT WASN’T WARM! Luckily the weather and temperature was manageable, but not what you would expect from a trip to the Phoenix area for the time of year, or any time of year for that matter.
The show was fantastic, however! It began on Friday, and lasted throughout the weekend. Since it was my first show there were lots of learning experiences, such as making sure to have plenty of weights to assure your tent does not become a lawn dart into a fountain. This did not happen to me, but it did happen to someone else at the same show unfortunately. So, on top of making sure the tent was weighed down properly, we learned a bit about efficient setup with the tent, tables, etc. which we will get better at as we go. There seems to be lots of strict rules about open containers or drinking alcohol outside the beer tent areas. I learned this when the taco delivery person tragically informed me that she could not bring a mojito to my tent, but I could drink it in the “beer garden,” (which is just a taped off area of asphalt and sadness with a few fold out chairs). So basically, you have to buy a beer or beverage, and then drink it in beer jail, while you watch with jealous envy as everyone else lives their life on the outside. Bummer! But the show must go on!
We met amazing people, which included other vendors, locals and tourists. I even met a vendor from my hometown in Colorado, and we did an exchange of one of my mugs for a pair of her earrings (Colorado Restrung made from recycled guitar strings!). We stayed in the van in a sectioned off lot reserved for vendors and their RVs. Which worked out perfectly for us and the van, because even though there was not electrical hook ups, there was easy access to port-o-potties to be able to go to the bathroom. So the first show was a success! For the summer happenings I will be at the Tuesday Markets in Tower Grove and the Rockwell Beer Garden Thursday markets in St. Louis, Missouri, The Pecan Festival in Austin, Tx, Pearl Street Arts Fair in Boulder, Colorado, Butchertown Art Fair in Louisville, KY, and hopefully going to do a fair in Durango, Co and Pagosa Springs, Co in the fall. So stayed tuned for all the updates.
