clay: pop-up at a harvest faire in a winery was a bust

I had the feeling that we weren't going to find an audience for our ceramic wares at the Verde Vineyards. I had commented to family and friends afterwards that the Real Housewives of Morgan Hill and Gilroy would not appreciate handmade and humble nor quirky and interesting art, and I was right. We almost broke even in sales. However, we did learn. I was glad that I didn't pay for a vendor pass for a canopy or 10' x 10' space. Meral and I were dismayed by some of the mass manufactured stuff that were allowed to be at an "artisan" fair. I think our lone table of ceramics, a soy candle maker, two lapidaries, a photographer selling prints of her work, and a bead jewelry artist were the only ones selling original work. Oh well. We forged on and set up our table. The lady selling clothing next to us didn't even sew or design the pajamas and sweaters and jeans and tops on her racks though she did sell her salsa in addition to jewelry and other accessories, which were definitely not handmade. Our sales table was next to hers.

I had brought four boxes of ceramics, and just of my speckled buff stoneware. I only sold a butter dish and a small vase. And Meral a vase and a bowl. But we were okay with that.

I talked to the social media person at the winery, and there didn't seem to be a lot of advertising for this harvest fair--the hashtag was for Gilroy commerce. The winery is a lovely venue, and there was one food vendor, which is something to consider when hosting and planning our own holiday market. Maybe I can talk to a local brewery to give space for an arts and crafts fair as well as the arboretum’s pump house at our Central Park.

I do like the idea of people being able to imbibe alcohol and snack from food trucks as they shop handmade gifts. Meral and I bought our lunch from the barbecue food truck--smoked brisket, turkey, pulled pork, poblano mac 'n cheese, charro beans and potato salad were their offerings.

I bought me a glass of Chardonnay and Meral a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon to sip with our lunch. I never did break out my Square device for any point of sales, nor was there room for any signage. However, I'll have to make a sign next time of my Venmo code.

I posted this meme on Facebook to announce that me and Meral were hawking our pottery at the winery, but next time I need to create posters and word-of-mouth if we're ever to host a holiday sale.

This adventure may have been a fail, but it definitely gave us ideas on how we can sell our ceramics. And so I'll be researching and creating advertising for a holiday market.