FOX DEN ANTIQUES:Arts and Crafts Day (#3)

Here is space #25 near the front door of Fox Den Antiques.Tom, the guy who had spaces on either side of me had some amazing things he had purchased at estate sales.

Tom, the gentleman who basically surrounded me on both sides, turned out to be a very interesting chap with a hobby of hitting estate sales and buying anything that he liked for a $1 and usually ending up with more than he bargained for.

Tom had a great number of prints from modern certified fine art prints by quasi well known artists to Currier and Ives reproductions , Mort Kuntsler(the civil war painter) and even a print of Winslow Homer’s. Tom had so much in fact that he hadn’t even had a chance to look through it and price it. What was really interesting about Tom was watching him work.. he is a master sales man and hardly anyone who walked by didn’t get his full attention and didn’t leave with out buying something. He was fun to talk with too. All in all the day went pretty fast.

I would say it was a better than average day. I enjoyed meeting so many people and probably gave away about 40 business cards. Lori liked my work so much that she invited me to have her hang it in her booth. I agreed and left 17 pieces with her and will bring a few more reproductions on Tuesday I hope.

I guess the biggest surprise of the day was at the very end when I was getting ready to leave and all my display things were packed up. Tom gave me the table I had been praying for. Sure it’s a little wobbly, but that’s no problem I can fix it. Now I have a place to write and a place to cut out my sewing projects. All I have to do is clean out the office so it will fit. Thanks Tom. ( and thanks God for getting that one to me so quickly*grin*)

FOX DEN ANTIQUES: Arts and Crafts Day (#2)

I got my vitimine D for the entire year and a sunburned nose.. More importantly a lot of people who haddn't seen my art had the opportunity today!

By noon the sun began to burn off the fog and facing me was the sun.. something at my age I try to avoid if at all possible. I did get a fine sun burn on my nose and I'm sure my annual shot of Vitimine D that afternoon. I had Art work flowing out of the trunk of my car.

Today I was good will hunting… meaning giving out as many cards as possible and talking to people about art or what ever they had on their minds. Several friends I hadn't seen in years wandered by and talked to me about things that varied from art to the housing boom to polotics. One lady, whose visit I enjoyed immensely even had a light hearted discussion with me about what idioms a real southern lady would use or not use that would be perfectly acceptable today.

By 1 pm there was the first vestiges of the change of the day. There is a tattoo parlor on the next street over. And they were having a live rock band and motor cyclists and road racers started arriving with loud showy roars. For a fleeting second one wondered what one might be in the middle of..

I mentioned to one worried vendor that if any of the motorcycle people had their Ladies with them we would soon have a new wave of customers. It wasn't long until several couples did in fact show up. I thought it interesting that the guys with long hair tucked it up so they looked more main stream.
After a while some lady walked by my spot and asked what was going on with the music( like I know every thing hahaha) I said, " Why didn't you know? Its Ozz Fest!" (yes a few people actually smiled at that hahaha!)

FOX DEN ANTIQUES: Arts and crafts day (#1)

When the sun finally came out I had art work spilling out of the back of my car.

Its 5am Saturday October 30, 2004. I've already had my shower. I'm listening to the radio. It's a Foggy dark Saturday morning. The fog is heavy and WTOP radio is telling those of us who are reluctantly awake that when the fog burns off it will be 80 degrees and their will be intermittent showers. It's a crummy day to have paintings outside.

I'm a trouper I've done this hundreds of times over the years. I know the drill. You go, you drink coffee, you look hopefully at the sky and when there is a break, you pull out three or 4 pieces that can be easily snatched up if it rains, then you do your best to make a sale.

I pulled my car into my vendor spot, #25, right in front of the building. And very close to the front door incase I needed to go inside. It was kind of Lori, the event organizer, to allow me that. My options were to leave, to stay and set up or to wait it out until the weather cleared.

By 8:30 I noticed the misting drizzle was nearly gone although the fog was still thick but clearing. I pulled out the new Fine art reproductions that were framed and the one framed painting on canvas. I had two goals.. to prove that my work was good enough to be hung inside and to test market the fine art reproductions. I made my only sale of the day by 8:45. And discovered that if I had more of those two prints framed and out where people could see them I would have sold more.