how the craft show was like logan's run

A few of you might be privy to the fact that I participated in a craft show this past Saturday; the Handmade Arcade, of which there is a link in my 'links I love' list. My Mom even came out to help me with the craft show because I figured I could use her help. I participated in the Handmade Arcade a couple years ago and thought it might be nice to have an extra hand in case things got busy or if I needed to go the bathroom or wanted to take a look at the other vendors stuff. When I last participated in this craft show I was placed next to two women who make very cute handmade monster stuffies, friend or foe, that sold out a couple hours before the show ended. This year I was placed next to a woman who makes very sweet hats, from now on to be referred to as cloches because that's a better description of what they are, out of recycled sweaters. You can check out what I'm talking about at www.giantdwarfdesign.com. I bought one of her cloches when she was selling them a couple years ago. Well, I seem to be a good luck charm to whatever vendor is placed near me because the cloche lady was selling her stuff at such a breakneck pace you would have thought she had invented the cloche. How did I do? Well it was two hours before I sold anything, by which time I was quite morose and had already snapped at my Mom who was only trying to help me. I wound up selling 5 items for a grand total of $135, which doesn't begin to cover all the money I spent on beads, gold and sterling silver findings, however it does cover the $45 entrance fee for the show, and the money I spent on bags, boxes and stickers. My Mom, being a Mom, would say stuff under her breath like - 'the overhead for those hats must be nothing', 'she's priced them very high', 'that's something you can only really sell in the winter' and 'well, you could always make something just like that and just not use a flower'. I know she was just trying to make me feel better but I was starting to seethe with frustration over all the time and effort I put into making 60 plus pieces of jewelry and making cute little price stickers for everything and it was all for naught. Yes, the overhead on a recycled sweater cloche is probably all of $2 tops, so she was making a tidy $33 profit, although I'm overlooking her time spent making the hats. But she's found her perfect niche for craft sales. She's very hip looking with a lovely red bob that perfectly showcases her cloches and, what's more, she's great a saleswoman. She'll help place a cloche on the potential buyer to make sure it's on just so and then she deliberates with the customer over which cloche looks best - the purple with the blue flower or the fuschia with a pink flower? She has other cute items that she sells as well but the flower cloches are like the crack of the craft show - you could see people all over wearing them. The people that bought my stuff were older women, the Mom of one vendor, or men buying gifts for their mothers, so my stuff seems to appeal to the 50 plus demographic. I had Toby pick up my Mom early just because I couldn't stand to have her around while I was moping from my lack of sales. When Toby came to pick me up at 6:30 I was about ready to bawl but he refused to let me throw my own pity party. He just kept shaking his head saying 'It's not that your jewelry isn't good, this is the completely wrong market for it.' He kept writing off the craft show as a bunch of hippies and people who don't bathe, maybe a small portion of the customers. He also said that he didn't understand why I would participate in a show run by hipsters because I hate people like that anyway - I don't like snobby, elitist hipsters who won't deign to talk to non-hipsters like myself. So long post short ... I don't think I'll be participating in another Handmade Arcade since I seem to have eclipsed the vendor age and I don't think I fit the hipster/indie profile anymore, if I ever did. Hopefully Toby will be able to sell my jewelry to the women at work, who seem to love my jewelry, they bought almost everything I made last year. Yes, Toby works for the United Steelworkers, they aren't the Seventh Avenue crowd, but if they appreciate what I make I really can't complain.