When It Rains, It Rains…
Oh how I wish that were the case (Alternative title, another reason to not trust AI)… I was there, and I can confirm that the computer is a liar! The rain started to arrive around 10:30 and kept coming in waves, one heavier than the next.
This was the day of my first market of 2026. I had planned and brought a good amount of inventory. Some of which was finished minutes before loading the MINI. I had checked the weather and all looked like it would be a fantastic start to the day, at least for Concord… I didn’t think about the fact that 40 miles northwest could possibly be a whole ‘nother world.
The MINI was all packed the night before, all I had to do was drive to the location. I started the day late, wanting to be on the road for 6:00, I ended up leaving around 7:30, for an 8:00 setup time an hour away… The drive was great, minus one thing, the interior of my car is currently in pieces as I am having shifter problems which require me to disconnect a harness to retrieve my key from the dashboard. That means no cup holders… Not a big deal, right? My coffee mug is fairly airtight with no leaks, that is, when I remember to close the lid. Threw my coffee onto the passenger seat which held a few misc. items of inventory. One onramp to 89 later, and I notice that my car is smelling delicious of coffee and… wet cardboard. There goes half of my morning lifeblood… NBD, I had to find a store anyway where I can get some cash back as I, of course, forgot to get my petty cash from the bank the day before.
The drive was fantastic, I love heading past exit 5 on 89. The whole drive I am looking for an opportunity to stop and get some cash. Somehow, I didn’t find anything. I ended up finding the location of the market and it was… not what I expected.
The location was quaint, to say the least, a small farmhouse nestled in the middle of nowhere. A distance from the main drag, down a hill and basically in a back yard. Who am I to judge, maybe they have a great following that sees visitors to the property on weekends. I mean, this event was advertised locally through local businesses, right?
I proceed down the driveway (literally down as the elevation from the road was about -30′) and notice that I am one of a little more than a half dozen vendors. I found a spot and went to unpack and set up on the uneven surface (the front legs and back legs of my tent were around 9″ difference in height). Had to find a way to make this work as my sticker board is VERY top heavy on the back of a chineseium plastic table and is not very stable. I ended up setting the table perpendicular to my entrance and stood the far legs about 2 clicks lower than the front in an attempt to keep the balance.
I set up my sticker display since it takes the longest time to prepare of my whole setup, and got back into my car to search for some petty cash. Now, I am not used to Claremont, so I was a little naïve in thinking I can find a branch of my bank… or even a business where you can get cash-back before 9AM… Eventually got my cash from a local ATM and found a store which was opening soon to break the larger bills. Waited outside for 9AM to arrive and eventually succeeded in my mission. Got back in the MINI and… my shifter is refusing to crunch into reverse. I am already late for the start of the event and now I am sitting here, dead duck, in a town which seems to be abandoned. One more try and I realize, the parking brake was still on, back up and move on, nothing to see here…
Now when I tell you that this event was being held in the middle of nowhere, I mean it… I drove back and had my eyes opened for the area… I drove right past it twice before I noticed it. If I wasn’t looking for it, I wouldn’t even think there was a birthday party going on at the location, let alone a market…
I park my car with the windows down close to the road where it can be visible that there is something going on… Finish setting my tent up, fighting the wind the whole time. Thankfully some of the other vendors were very helpful offering up some supplies to help defeat the wind.
Touched up some pieces that were affected by my coffee and was finally finished by 10:15 setting up. This is where I sat and waited for anyone to come by and notice my wares. Time to check out the other vendors. There was a person selling TASERs and mace, a few selling 3D Printed items, 2 health tonic vendors, an author, someone selling resin goodies, coffee and food.
As the sky started to change and a light rain started falling, I had to rearrange my booth so that all my pieces were covered in some way. That didn’t leave much room for anyone to browse and most of the thin crowd that came by, just kept on moving. I got a couple of “you stuff is neat” but my tent was now quite crowded as I brought 2 tables and they were now squarely center of my tent to avoid my items getting drenched as the rain was falling quite steadily now, and looking at the radar only told me that there was more behind it.
I lasted until about noon:thirty when one deluge ended before the next one would arrive. My items are mostly wood or paper…Although my stickers are waterproof (once stuck to something that is) and many of my wooden items are treated to be used outdoors… Many are not as they are meant to be hung in a dorm, living room, kitchen, etc. I just couldn’t take that risk and after 3 sticker sales in the 2 1/2 hours I was there, I decided it was time for my hour drive back home.
Let’s hope this isn’t a preview of the rest of the season as I only really have 3 more markets planned. All 3 will be at Rollins Park in Concord, NH.
August 8
September 12
and
October 10
I also have added a sale to my Dashery store (https://manixscreative.dashery.com/) until August 1. I have some new designs and a few more coming soon for gearheads and geeks. Including this pretty RAD Retrowave design!
Thank you for reaching the end of this long-arse bitchfest of a blogpost.
Also, if you know of any wholesale opportunities where I can unload a lot of stickers at once for a local business to sell, or any art markets coming up that don’t charge $100 for a table space, please email me!