Saltwater and Snow Storms: Life Lately

If you've wondered why I've been on the quiet side lately, I'm about to show you. To say that I am beyond exhausted is an understatement. Simply Vintage has done two large markets in a month span and we're plum tired, y'all.

With every show that we do, the work that leads up to the event can become overwhelming quickly. There are late nights, early mornings, 14 days in a row spent in my "workshop", nights where I don't get to put my little man to bed because I'm covered in paint and dust, etc... AND the work doesn't start when the show prep starts. That's actually the tail end of the work. I give you exhibit A:

Seriously. No truer words. There is so much that goes into this hobby of mine and of so many. We hunt, buy, haul, clean (cobwebs come along with the territory), fix, refinish, haul again. And repeat. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I love this hobby, or at least I do on 90% of the days. Don't ask me that question on set-up day.

Our first show was The Pec Thing in Pecatonica, IL. This was my first time in the 20+ years of being a Pec Thing shopper that I was on the other side of the booth. It was so much work and sadly the weather just was not havin' it. We dealt with rain, ruined inventory, 2 inch deep mud, high winds that started pulling our staked tent out of the ground, etc... We finally waved the white flag and tore down 5 hours early on the second day. It just wasn't worth the risk of inventory loss or far worse, impaling someone with our tent should it turn into a kite. There were 9,800 shoppers who came through the gates on Saturday, but when the road your booth is on is 2 inches deep of mud, about 500 of the 9,800 shoppers brave your aisle. Just sad.

Mud and I were pretty much inseparable that weekend. Gross!

Our second show, and much more important show, was The Main Street Market hosted by the talented Urban FramGirl. Think 120+ vendors traveling in from all over the Midwest to create one of the prettiest, vintage shows I've seen. These people are the real deal and make me feel like a vintage chump. I still give it my all and try to hold my own, but I'm always in awe of everyone else's work.

With this being the 2nd annual Main Street Market and our 2nd time participating as well, I was thrilled with the results. We received so many compliments and for hours we were constantly ringing someone up. The traffic was great, the sales were steady and we met some really cool vendors who share our love of all things unloved, forgotten, dusty, rusty but full of promise. It's not for everyone, but if its for you, this event is your jam, I promise!