Originally posted on Williams Design Co's website on July 2, 2023:

Showtime! We headed south to Austin, Texas! We loaded up the van full of all our supplies, inventory and of course our dog Mishka. The show was in the downtown area of Austin called the “Pecan Festival,” named for the street it was on, not for harvesting actual nut pecans (as I previously thought). We stayed in a hotel downtown which had an incredible view. The show was Saturday and Sunday, so we set up bright and early on Saturday morning, lugging our stuff by wagon through the downtown streets (so it was the workout for the day). Meanwhile, our dog found an entire hot chicken sandwich on the ground and we didn’t realize it until she had basically swallowed it whole like an anaconda in an attempt to keep us from stopping her… it worked. We made it to the market, and we were space “1” so we were right in the very start of the market which made for an absolutely prime spot for the patrons coming in and out.

We started to sell ceramics before the market even officially started and the sales didn’t stop until we shut down at the end of the day. The festival goers were amazing, and very generous towards the small businesses. So much so, that I ended up nearly selling out of the inventory I brought on the first day, with just a few items left. Luckily the festival staff were understanding and excused me for the second day. It was bittersweet, because on one hand, I was proud that my work was so appreciated and loved, but the other part of me was disappointed that I didn’t prepare properly and missed out on a whole day of sales and enjoying the people and the market. Again, being that it is my first year of doing markets and selling my work, it is understandable that there will be a learning curve. And unfortunately, that means learning a lot the hard way. But here’s to lessons learned, and on to the next market!

But in more positive news to finish off the blog, I got to see an old friend that I hadn’t seen in over a decade and she and her wife came and helped run the booth for the entire day on Saturday. We also got to try some amazing Texas BBQ, which is my favorite of all the BBQs! Sorry to my current state of Missouri and that Kansas City BBQ! Austin is such a fun place, cool city, and the some of the best art supporters around, I highly recommend the area/show for anyone, including vendors.