I have never been to the southern hemisphere but I have been to a lot of craft fairs and that is its own kind of trip
an essay about art markets
Signs are super helpful, right? Like nobody is puttering down the highway going 30 because there are signs. Many intersections in Portland are confusing because there are not signs.
I was just standing outside my studio sanding bras thinking about market season, feeling excited. Last year my sister and I had a joke about a sign we wanted to add to our shared booth. We kept having this experience where one person would come into the booth and be excited about an item. They’d be considering it and would show it to a person they were at the market with who was waiting outside the booth, their happy face seeking confirmation - I’m loving this. I should go for it, right? And the person outside the booth would be grouchy for some unrelated to us reason: impatience, hunger, pee pee. Their face would shut it down: nah. I actually filmed myself acting this out because it’s important to me that you know what I mean.
We noticed this day 1 and so we started joking that we were going to make a sign about it. NO SEEKING SECOND OPINIONS FROM SOMEONE OUTSIDE THE BOOTH WHO DOESN’T CARE AND ISN’T EVEN PAYING ATTENTION.
I call them markets. You could call them craft fairs. Art bazaars. Commerce functions. They are a subculture. A bunch of artists and craftspeople form a temporary community and display their thoughtfully produced wares and then open the doors to whomever and get just ravaged/celebrated/cash money. You can’t leave a small area, often for days, and also the thing you’re using to collect payment is definitely gonna malfunction. The most recent market I did I could not figure out how to remove the San Francisco sales tax setting from a previous market so I was having to guess prices that would, with tax, become the actual price I was hoping to get.
I tend to survive on food from within the market which once meant that since the only food at that particular market was ice cream sandwiches that is all I ate. It feels like I give up my citizenship to my city, state, and country and become a mere market person. It’s like Alone, but a craft fair.
Something that cracks me up within my own private market vibe is that I labor long and hard on my goods. And then I barely wrap them and they clang about on the car ride. I made a vid of this for y’all too.
At a market in June I was joking with a brand new artist friend (best part of markets is the people) about how much gold there is in the whole experience and how someone could really make comics about it. I don’t feel like I have comics capacity at the moment but I do want to take a stab at capturing the experience. I was wondering what if I just made signs about it all.
I definitely need a sign at the front of my booth that says something like: I AM CULTURALLY PROGRAMMED TO APPEAR RELAXED ABOUT YOUR YOUNG KIDS TROMPING THROUGH HERE BUT I’M QUITE PANICKED, ACTUALLY. It’s not just the goods it’s the shelves. The stability of these displays is faux. (Market displays is a whole other essay.)
For some reason the look of this one type of clay I use, because it has speckles, means I probably need a sign that says: NO IT’S NOT CORK. I KNOW. IT DOES KIND OF LOOK LIKE CORK.
My poor sister definitely needs a sign about her material… which is called jesmonite… which is a type of resin… which she pours into molds… She has to explain that a lot.
There is always a booth selling something artistically flimsy and yes they are completely outselling you. I don’t know what the sign is for that but it’s a true thing.
A subtle sign I already employ is obvious prices. I put my prices on the front of every single item. Hands-free visibility. What I want to avoid is someone being interested, picking up a thing to see what it costs, seeing the number, making a horrified face, replacing the item.
The opposite of that, which I am flattered to sometimes experience, is another vendor wanting to trade with me. The catch here is sometimes I don’t like their stuff. For that I think you just go classic and the sign is something like: SORRY! MY MOM SAID I’M NOT ALLOWED TO TRADE AT THIS MARKET!
I needed that at my June market because a vendor near me wanted to trade. She was selling boho festival dresses and besides being not my vibe they were expensive and also she was intense. I actually mildly hurt my neck avoiding eye contact with her.
I definitely need a sign which says: PLEASE DO NOT WALK INTO MY BOOTH OF MUGS AND TELL ME YOU DON’T NEED ANOTHER MUG THANK YOU!! That happens all the time.
I need another sign which is for my eyes only which says: SALES IS JUST ONE METRIC. It can happen that you forget and that you let the vibe of one market make you think what you do is not good.
You know when you move and there’s a limited window where you enthusiastically meet new neighbors but then the window shuts and you adjust to living near folks whose names you don’t know? It’s the same at markets for me. When I am setting up I want to meet EVERYONE. And truly I feel that way throughout, but what has left me is the startup energy to make it happen. If we haven’t chatted by like midday the first day then we’ll just pass each other and smile until this nomadic community disbands.
Something that happens to me at markets sometimes is people say lovely things. I think I’ve gotten a lot better at taking in kind words but in case I’m clumsy I need a sign that says IF YOU SAID SOMETHING NICE TO ME KNOW THAT I REMEMBER IT VERBATIM AND WILL CARRY IT WITH ME UNTIL THE END OF TIME.
I want a sign about people who happen to have exact cash. Who are you angels? Walk me through your process. I have exactly zero cash ever. I do not bring change to give out because those days are over but sometimes a person will say - oh I have cash. And then they hand me exact bills. I think the sign would be: HOW DO YOU HAVE CASH??????????
Last December Bruno had a mini booth within my booth and people had cash for him, too. He has since spent it on popcorn, chocolate, and a Beauty and the Beast dollhouse from a yard sale. He will be back this season, too; he’s eagerly saving up for a camper van. “A big one.” I am as well. He has me convinced.
I have complained about markets a lot this year and have reduced the number I do. They haven’t been as lucrative and at times have felt not worth the effort. It’s hard to weigh the costs against the benefits when one side is numerical (sales, time spent, distance driven) and the other side is alchemical (relationships, exposure, feeling of community, being inspired, getting in person feedback). I think it’s good to be realistic and it’s good to be critical but also I feel GREAT when I come home from them. I buzz. Even the disasters. I had a weird one in the spring but the few of us there abandoned our booths and got rosé and talked shop and it was ultimately a good experience for me.
This year I feel excited for the rodeo of it all. There is definitely nothing like it.