This weekend was my first time of selling my greeting cards at markets.

It was a very low key entry as it was a fundraiser for a local church’s Community Pop Up Preloved Markets. A neighbour offered some space at the end of her table and I helped sell her jewellery as well. We were one of more than 30 stalls in the church hall and around the grounds. There was a steady stream of people from the moment we started to set up at about 9.00am ‘til about 3.30pm.

I had no expectations, so was pleased to sell 15 cards.

More importantly were the conversations I had and the people I met.

It was a chance to meet other locals (I have been in Melbourne for a year) and to get to put names to some familiar faces.

I met:

• someone who lived in my apartment block in the 1960’s and whose daughter has just moved to my home town in Queensland
• a barrister who uses the library (Supreme Court Library of Victoria) which features in my drawings. It was lovely and surreal to meet someone who has actually been there, and probably knows it better than I do
• someone who would like to commission me to draw a car
• a lady whose son studies birds and may help me to identify the birds nests I have been drawing
• a few people who said ‘you’re the lady with the library display’. So nice they saw the display I have in our local library this month of my sketchbooks (and in August of my drawings and cards)  and connected me with that

.

I learnt a lot about having a market stall. I had about a week to organise this and had great display ideas which I did not have the time to put together. It  was a good experience for a future craft/artisan market I hope to have a stall at early next year.

A wonderful but tiring day and I slept well last night !