Nazareth House Day Two

Saturday in Vredehoek = PERFECT WEATHER !!! Thank you thank you thank you! A couple of nuns swung by and seemed happy to pass on the credit for a windless bright day to a higher power, which is totally fine with me, ladies.

This is how things were rolling on Friday (&*^%ing south easter, remember?):

and this was yesterday:

Phew.

Pretty much the most important aspect of being a vendor at a market is how many sales you make. That’s why you go, right? To make money. Well, yes, one isn’t a charity (some people may be but Jam Tarts isn’t!) and it costs money to rent a space and put up a good display, not to mention time and effort.

The second most important thing, which for me ties directly in to what I’ve just said, is that increased sales depend on cumulative effort over time, which includes networking, making contacts, sharing ideas, advertising, blogging, working with other people (even when they make similar products). My mother once said to me, when I was starting a new business many moons ago, that I had to learn to be ‘harder’ because “it’s dog eat dog out there.”

Well, maybe there are dogs in the cut-throat world of event decorations and manufacturing, or property development (okay, not maybe but obviously) that my mother is familiar with, but I don’t like dogs and I sure as hell ain’t ever going to get involved in any kind of horrible territorial dog dynamic.

The reason I’m going on about this is because I met people at the Nazareth House fair/market who were totally wonderful, supportive, helpful and generous.

Meet Alexia and Angie, the two sisters who together are AngelPai.

I think I can be honest and say that, for all of us, our first thoughts on discovering that we both make crocheted, knitted, and sewn products, was “Oh sh*t.” But it didn’t turn out like that after all. AngelPai’s look and range is different to ours, a bit edgier and geared very cleverly towards children and preteens, and they have a far better sense of how to display things to advantage than I do!

They both fell in love with Megan’s cards and framed illustrations, and suggested that, since her designs fit much better with their range than with ours, they would ‘take them over’, for no reason other than generosity. And made some sales!

Then they volunteered to take Megan’s cards and illustrations with them to their next market, which is in Cavendish Square, Claremont, again out of nothing but generosity of spirit!
And THEN, as if they hadn’t already proved themselves, they offered to take some of my baggage home with them in their 4×4 since I had acquired more stuff during the day (long story) and couldn’t fit it all in Mini-me. Amazing. So much for dog eat dog. I hope I can help them in return one day. (Maybe via this blog?…)

I have more to relay about Nazareth House, but truth be told I am rather tired right now since I got home late last night, so I’m going to end off and get in a quick lie-in. I don’t think Alexia and Angie have a website yet, although they may have a facebook page, so I’ll include a link or contact number for them later.

And finally, last night I almost wished I was still married – I would have been able to deliver in a horrible croak-squeak the news that all husbands dream of hearing from their wives…”Sorry, darling, I can’t talk – I’ve completely lost my voice.”

To be continued…

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