Craft Sales - Promo Gone Loonie

I never go to craft sales.  Ever.  Okay, mostly never.  

Until this weekend.

This weekend I was at a craft sale.  Not just at a craft sale, I was a vendor!

Yes, that's me smiling.  Not such a bad time after all.

No wait, it gets worse.  I shared a very small table with the local horticultural society.  Now all that aside, the company for the weekend was great.  That is after we were done arranging our tiny space so the wilting Christmas Cactus, the Roughrider toque, the two entry boxes, books and related paraphernalia didn't explode off the small space.  But we got it arranged in time for the opening bell.  Did I mention that the wilting cactus belonged to the Horticultural Society?  It provided a laugh or two throughout the event, when we weren't waving plant flies away.

But let's back up, craft sale - I've never had an interest in craft sales.  I hear craft and think knickknack.  I didn't realize how uninformed I was until a well-meaning friend assured me that craft meant another venue for book promotion.  On second thought, maybe it wasn't a bad idea.  I mean from a book buying point of view, I'll buy a book pretty much anywhere.  I've bought books in hospitals, airports, garage sales, online, offline, from street vendors, libraries and, of course, authors - for a book lover I didn't see a craft sale as much of a stretch. So surrounded by some amazing knitting, crochet and other crafts I, the master of "how not to knit", began the latest promotional venture. 

Did you know that there's more to a craft sale than just books?  Nope, I'm serious, there is.  There's all sorts of crafts - imagine that.  Crafts created by some talented people whose output makes my two published novels with others in various stages of pre-published bliss, look like the underachiever.  I've learned that there's a lot of knitting going on during those Rider Games and in the long winter months that follow the end of football season, knitting and crochet and beading and...   And there's more things than kindling that can be done with an elderly crab apple tree in your front yard - beautifully carved pens for one.   The pens and the bookmarks, I purchased one of each - for gifts of course.  Knickknacks?  Well, I was still looking when I had to end my search and return to my table. 

All in all it was a good experience and more importantly, post sale, more people know that this author exists.  And really, that's what promotion is all about. 

And the prize for comment of the day goes to the man grumbling about the entrance fee of a loonie or one dollar.  As he put it; 

"Paid a loonie just to get my wife out of here."

 
On either side of the table - Any craft sales in your future?

Ryshia
www.ryshiakennie.com