This time last week I was holding my very first solo market stall at one of Adelaide’s glorious creative markets, Gathered. What an experience!
Admittedly, I’ve been to a number of markets as part of the wonderful Friends With Benefits & Co, but nothing could truly prepare me for how stressed I would be. I really should know by now that working full-time doesn’t leave me with a lot of breathing space when it comes to prepping my artwork. But it’s because of this, I thought it might be helpful to share some of the, ahh, wisdom I have learnt over the past two weeks with my fellow creatives.
Let me start by congratulating Susie and Jenna, the amazing organisers of Gathered. They did such an incredible job and the entire Queen’s Theatre looked awesome; lanterns, flowers, trees and vines were just the beginning. And I cannot forget to mention the pretty incredible line-up of market stalls, like Chloe Jane Candle Co and Erica Sandgren Jewellery. It was a shopper’s heaven right in time for Christmas. In all honesty, I was intimidated by the talent on show to begin with, but their friendly smiles and welcoming chats were just enough to push those feelings away instantly.
The market itself was so much fun: I had the chance to meet a few of my local idols and interact with people from all over the state about my art.
What I was not expecting, though, was the amount of preparation I truly needed to do. A word of advice, never leave it to the day before. I realised pretty quickly that I didn’t have a table or table cloths organised, and to top that off, I was embarrassed by the work I was about to put on show. This is why, bright and early Saturday morning, I decided to head to the art store and by new supplies to bring new pieces to life. On that same day, I pushed myself harder than I knew possible to paint 12 new artworks to display. Apparently I work really well under pressure!
My list of things to do was a mile long and I was quickly running out of time. All I wished for was a list someone could have given me weeks before to highlight those unthought-of items I would surely need.
In the end, my stall came together and I was quite proud of what I had pulled together in such a short amount of time (shoutout to those who helped me along the way, like my wonderful boyfriend who ventured to IKEA). Yet despite this, I knew it could have been better…
So, my gift to you, possible market stall holder of the future, is a list of all the things I realised I needed. Hopefully this will help you prepare better than I had. Lord knows I’ll be using it in the future!
Download it here.
PS. The next Gathered. SA market is coming up in 2016. Contact the lovely ladies in the New Year to find out more. I certainly suggest it’s worth it.
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