This week at market we saw the return of the 1:00 football games, which have not really worked for us, to my mind because people who come to attend the game have to spend SO much on tickets, lodging, and food and travel, that they really can't buy crafts or things that they don't absolutely need. And between the incessant supply of free tote bags being given at farmers via On Point and Kaiser Permanente, and the clear bag policy at the games, tote bag sales have tanked. It's a bit of a dilemma, because of course people need tote bags for shopping at both markets, but several farmers booths sell them (it's allowed) and the free ones are showing up every week now. So sure, people need to carry things, but it's not neighborly to give away free products. I mean, what if I give away produce? That wouldn't last long without some protests from across the street, where few farms are able to sell everything they bring. Growth and success are just as challenging as other factors and farmers have chosen to use corporate sponsors and growth to pay their bills which has pushed many small farms out the door and caused a lot of food waste, which I hope is making its way to hungry people.
Our management decided that LCFM will do their jobs on the two weeks of November between the last outdoor market and the HM, so we can sell, if we want to do it on the farmers terms. I haven't pinned down all the details, and I'm likely to consider it seriously, but just for hats. I expect there would be a very short set-up time with the 9:00 opening time and sorting out how to get a booth with no Tuesday points, but trying to sell tote bags would probably be useless. Yet I really don't want two weeks off in the buildup to holiday shopping. People who mail hats are a significant part of my sales, and they'll just go online if they can't find me.
I personally had my best day at market in a long time...not sales-wise. It was by far my lowest sales day of the season, and it wasn't because I was slacking on my job. I made a new banner for my bandanas and it slowed my set-up a bit, but people just weren't buying. I know two people who had zero or close to zero sales. I guess there's another early game next week, 12:30 this time, against Oklahoma State. Not sure how many travelers we will get from there. Guess we'll find out. But between the weather and competing events, we're seeing a 5-week drop in sales, which I hope is not true for everyone.
I had such a good day because my faith in myself and my life with market was restored by a counseling session I had which reset my ability to handle all of the vulnerability and challenge of what has been going on. I felt cleared of oppressive thoughts and the actions of others, and way more able to be open and strong with the many things I juggle. I realized I care too much about too many people and since I can be of little help with most of their concerns and challenges (and it isn't my job to do) I need to let go of that deep love to the point where I allow them to pick up their own strengths and challenges and step up themselves. This was part of stepping back, letting others rise, and it takes time of course.
It seems to be counter-productive for me to even encourage people to participate because of the many false narratives being spread. I'm not trusted by the new people like I am by people who have watched and heard me working for the common good all these decades. People don't really think there are unselfish givers in the world any more. We've been told everything is a transaction and those who can dominate are more important than those who want to collaborate. Destroying the old hippie history is a goal so those of us who carry it must be pushed out to serve this narrative that new is good and old is tired and over. Those of us who still carry the old values have been silenced but we are still there so it won't succeed entirely. Still, lies and manipulation are powerful.
The false narrative that members hate staff is super powerful and you would think no one would support that story...it is demonstrably false every day. We are a team that needs each other. But staff is defensive and has been told that members are after their jobs and don't value them, so every interaction can easily take a negative turn. One happened at the end of the day this week that was shocking and essentially violent and it is not over and is ugly. The people spreading this narrative need to think again at what they are saying and why. Yes of course not all of us like or support every single staff person or the things they do, but that is not something that can be simplified into a "mean members" narrative. I know all the past staff and the reasons they left, and while there were incidents in every term, there were no clear incidences of mean members making staff quit. There were members doing their duty of care to keep the market alive and get the professional staff we are paying for.
I did get the digital Board packet access returned to me after writing to the Board. However, I no longer trust that it is the full complement of materials that the archives require. I asked that my letter be included in the packet, but it was not. And I asked for everyone's access to be restored, not just mine. So...
I was really glad I had the increased capacity this week so I could stop packing up to counsel my fellow member who really couldn't grasp everything that had just happened to him in his interaction with a staff member. What I saw was that with the false beliefs and no support for either party, neither of them had the skills to work through the situation to any healthy outcomes and no one felt it was their job to intervene. I tried to prevent it from getting much bigger, but I could only advise a cool-down period and the ugliness that was revealed is not going to be forgotten by those who witnessed or engaged in it. I don't see it playing out well. It has already become part of the story that won't just go away.
There are so many cracks in the facade that everything is fine that I know people are falling into those cracks. I was able to counteract my own fears and re-engage with people I have unresolved issues with, because we all value that Saturday experience where we sell next to each other as companionable equals, setting aside the issues that have to be sorted through in the long term and just doing our simple jobs of bringing our wares to the center of town and creating a magical space for others to enjoy.
It's never all about money so when my sales are low I just hope that means other people are having good sales and it's a continuum that extends long past one day. There are always enjoyable encounters that don't result in a sale and I have plenty of those, particularly when I feel safe and open to what comes to my space. I like my banner, which got me to sew something for a change, and it changed how things work in my space, so now I have to rearrange again and get a better balance of display so my more expensive products aren't hidden by my lovely but not as valuable bandanas. I like evolving, especially now when it is tempting to do things the same every week and minimize effort. I am doing the opposite and have to keep leaving earlier every week to make these changes work. I am sure it will settle into something workable.
But this is what is called the shoulder season, past the peak of tourism and summer vacations, into school days but not quite to the return of the student traffic we enjoy. It has generally been our practice to advertise more heavily during that time but we're not seeing that. The advertising budget was cut to accommodate other types of spending and respond to the shocking shortfall of $30,000 last year which was still not fully dealt with as far as I can see. We're still spending more and now will be the months that determine how solvent we can get. There are a lot of factors in play. We only have Saturdays and HM fees to make that money we will need. I'm grateful we have a diligent Budget Committee and I hope that's enough to get us through.
I will work hard to hang onto my increased capacity and reclaim my joy in Saturdays and how full of life they are. Nobody gets to ruin that for me. We've endured a lot as a membership and I will always work for that common good as I have been doing, regardless of people's knowledge of it or appreciation for it. It can't matter what other people think unless it helps fortify what is actually the common good, which of course I am not in charge of and can't fully know. Somehow, I do still have faith in it.
