Has it really been almost 2 weeks since I posted here? My poor little neglected blog......
In fairness to myself, I have been incredibly busy. And will continue to be so over the next 2 months or so. Here's my schedule, beginning with this past weekend....
20th/21st July - The Folk Forest Fair, Endcliffe Park, Sheffield
22nd July - 1st August - rehearsals daily in London for Re:Sound's Battles Within and Without
2nd - 4th August - performances of Re:Sound's Battles Within and Without; London and the Lake District
3rd August - 25th August - The West End Fair, St John's, Edinburgh
And yes - you may have spotted a bit of overlapping there.....the very wonderful Helen will be setting up and starting off The West End Craft Fair for me. I know I am so, so very lucky to have such a wonderful partner. Not everyone has someone so truly supportive in their lives, and I appreciate it so much!
Right now, I'm actually on the train down to London, my computer linked up to my slightly poorly iPhone so that I can use the internet. A brief moment of repose, albeit with a cello jamming me in and a VERY heavy suitcase full of beads, and of course, a few clothes too....I thought I would take this moment to catch up here. I have stopped into Facebook a few times, but there's something about blogs that is really special. Just a wee bit more personal....I don't want to let it slide.
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| A slightly fuzzy iPhone snap at the end of Saturday - excuse the evening light! |
Firstly, a quick recap of this weekend. As you can imagine, the build up to this busy, busy period has been quite fraught, so both Helen and myself were pretty shattered come Saturday morning, when we got up at 6.30am to head over to Sheffield. So tired that.....I left my phone on the edge of the boot before slamming it closed....oh, woe is me and my poorly wee iPhone, Lacey! It still works, despite a horribly cracked screen. Hopefully I'll be get a new screen put on it, but I can't quite believe I did something so stupid......ah well. Such is life.
Another lesson learned was to get the computer/iPad (how we take our card payments) EARLY. We lost out on a big sale because of this, first thing on Saturday morning. We also held items for 48 hours in case the customer came back, so missed out on making sales elsewhere, and took them out of my etsy shop....now, we all know that life happens, and sometimes, even if you genuinely intend to come back and complete the purchase, you can't. And customers change their minds too. They are allowed to, after all! But it is a good point to be made, to get our electronica fired up and logged in asap - don't miss out due to silly things like that.
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| My view of the stall on Sunday afternoon......nothing to do but play with instagram(!) |
Despite getting off to a bad start, Saturday was a good day for Songbead. But Sunday was a different story.....the weather took a turn for the worse, and despite there still being a lot of people around, they seemed to be hurrying to their destination, rather than leisurely strolling along. We had come prepared for more of the glorious sunshine that we've had over the past 2 weeks, but it had well and truly left Sheffield for the weekend. Sunday was slooooooooow. We made it through, but took less than half of what we did the previous day, which was a big shame, as our expenses were higher this year too.
And now, today, I am heading down to London to sing.....a quick turn around, considering we arrived back in Manchester just before 10pm last night, had to unload the car, eat tea, pack up a few orders, pack for 2 weeks in London, and just unwind generally. I've got that feeling of slightly nervous anticipation - like I'm sitting atop a wave that's about to crash down, and I am hoping it's going to take me with it, and I'll be able to ride it rather than getting sucked into its swirls! This weekend has taught me some important lessons, and made me realise all the more quite how much stock I have to make. I am pretty stocked up with supplies, and I know I have a new bead order for Curious coming soon, so I'll be getting a top up of Czech glass for my own stash too, and anything else I run low on, I know I can top up from the UK, so I'm not too worried about running out of crucial supplies. I have a feeling I will be doing a lot of evening creating after rehearsals over these next two weeks, when time allows.....
