A Weekend that Spilled Over

 Life is too full sometimes. Market last week was perfect in so many ways, but that part that is not visible on Saturdays to most people is still operating even while we pretend otherwise. Another member was punished in a secret process that resulted in a suspension of selling rights. In the past we protected selling rights for everyone not involved in a serious crime, recognizing that not only is that our main mission and reason for existing, to provide selling space for our members, but that our members have the right to a fair and reasonable process for the times they do make mistakes or get caught up in something that curtails other members' rights. In this Punishment Era, things move swiftly with some people having already predetermined the guilt and outcome before everyone has the chance to participate in a process that honors everyone involved. People make mistakes. They still deserve respect and finding solutions that won't just make things worse. That was increasingly Then and this is disappointingly Now. 

I was trying to explain our traditional culture to someone who hasn't been seeing it, which is a sad part of my present as I feel somewhat sure it is lost in so many ways. Many of us who carry it forward are not being able to convey it, with the false narratives and the short-sighted actions of others who are dominating the org right now. After yesterday I feel more compelled to ramp up fighting for it. I remember that I made a promise to Lotte to bring her legacy forward, and I can't let that drop.  

It was a life-affirming day though, perfect weather and lots of appreciative participants of every kind. I rode home much lighter and had an event to be at by 7:00 pm, which is generally when I get finished, but I ended up having plenty of time to walk down there and enjoy it in a relaxed way. I was so glad I made the effort. A delightful friend launched her book with a layered experience that she had lined up for all of us. She brilliantly staged the violin, drums and recorders, as well as a second poet and a dancer, all around the audience so we felt asked to be part of things, not just observers of them. She even had a comment period at the end where many of us spoke our appreciation and reflections of her nuanced expressions. It was lovely and I walked home with a smile and some cookies that made up for the fact that I had been too busy at the market to get my usual cookies for the week. I'm savoring them slowly.

Sunday was quiet dishwashing time until I went to a memorial for my dear friend George, a 50-year friend who, as it turns out, I knew much less of than I thought. He was revealed as a person who made a special connection with all of us, so that we knew how much we had to contribute and felt honored and supported to do that. His legacy was so strong that it will persist as not many individuals will after their bodies are used up. The stories were not enough, just glimpses, and we had cards to write more for a book I can't wait to read. Still we won't hear everything. I won't tell everything I know, though I've written about our friendship before over the years and may still have more to say.

I remembered that he had built me my first bike cart! I had forgotten that I asked him to do that after my idea for a cart that would make itself into a booth didn't really work out in 1976. He welded me up an aluminum and steel very serviceable cart I used for years. Since I still or again bike to the market, which I have done for the majority of my time selling, his support created a lasting planetary effect. We saved thousands of gallons of fossil fuels over my 51-year retail lifespan. And of course there were ripples. 

I was kind of in the fringes of his big circle but I was his signpainter and screenprinter for most of our history, and he was my longest collaborator. No one really spoke about the fabulous treehouse which is painted like a Romany wagon in the sky, which I painted a lot of gold One-Shot onto, twice. He let me choose the designs and set me free. The first time it took 80 hours and we hadn't discussed money, so I made myself charge him $10 an hour even though that sounded outrageous, and as usual, he never questioned my bill. The second time was just a couple of years ago and a lovely space of time when I was at his house daily watching and being in his life, a time I will treasure. I did it for the cost of materials, so free. I was honored to do that. I was paid in a few peaches, some glorious summer days and a peaceful, enriching space in my life for my memory bank.

To me we had a deep love without attachment or expectations, which is the ideal I reach for in relationships, just love, no complications. No desire, no suffering, the space to disagree or adjust to events and still love. It prompted me to share with a friend who agreed..."I will never be mad at you." Could be true, and if we say it out loud like that there is a bigger chance we can keep it true. I've talked about being lifetime friends with a few people and it didn't always hold, although since life is not over, and distance is allowed, those statements of trust might still hold firm. I suppose they are as firm as my ability to hold compassion and forgiveness and hope. I think we're good there.

I generally need a non-verbal day on Sundays so I faded out of the parties before saying proper goodbyes and missed speaking with a few loved ones, but I'll take the next chance to make sure they know I learned something from George and from Kelly. I'm not a natural collaborator...too impatient for the work to get done and laughably selfish and attached to pride in productive work. But they always show me how, by example, and in George's case, he spread that so thickly in his world that it isn't going to be even faded for some time. I got some gladiolus bulbs to plant from their generous sharing so I'll have one more tangible thing left. We will all have many tangible leftovers from his walk among us. 

I still have room and I hope, time, to improve and plan to work at it. As I am capable of doing less physically, I can do more in other ways to make sure my work is honorable, less selfish, and more thoughtful of others. I got lucky when we sat at that poker table so many years ago, and our magnetic attraction had a place to start. We were six months apart, a Scorpio and a Taurus with Scorpio rising, and I believe we harnessed that well. Mostly because of how he challenged me to learn and try, and how he honored me with his trust and support. Even when we disagreed we could see that it hadn't shaken our basis. 

I didn't know he had said goodbye to me but now I see that he had, one day at the market, and if I look back in my journal I'll bet I knew it then. His last few years included a fragility so I knew every time was precious, however brief. He's really my first big friendship loss, not the first loss of course, but the biggest. When I learned he had died I dreamed I was riding on the back of his motorcycle off into wherever, and truthfully, I think I would have followed him anywhere. Along with a large crowd of what can only be described as "us."

He walked among us. Strong and humble, brave. Someone quoted him as saying "If the unknown scares you, get to know it." I'm just going to look forward to continuing to hear from him as he gently fades into whatever his project is at the moment. Making my gladiolus bloom I hope, in some surprising color. 

Drenched, but still happy

 Yes indeed we all got drenched at about 3:00 pm but until then it was a lovely day with sun and plenty of customers. I think sales were pretty good, because there were maybe a third of the booths, clustering together more, and that spread sales farther around. You could see people going around more than once, seeming to be looking for something to buy, for whatever reasons. One guy was carrying flowers and seemed especially pleased so I asked him if it was his birthday, and it was. He was carrying too many things so I gave him a bag, because I knew it would allow him to buy more, which he looked like he wanted to do. And it worked, as he had actually been considering a hat. I was careful to tell him I hadn't known that and didn't do it to get his business, and I didn't. I just hate to see people carrying everything awkwardly and not connecting that with the obvious need for a carrying assist. 

I could give away a lot of bags but am trying hard not to. I'm nearly out of the regular bags and won't be replacing them with commercially made ones. I'll have black bags and small ones for a longer time, so will focus on them and making my load lighter. I saw a woman who had on a shirt of an iris that I had made in the 80's! It was really surprisingly beautiful and she said she hadn't worn it, but found it in her drawers and brought it out. It would make a stunning tote bag so I will see if I can find the old art. I know I would have saved it, or at least a paper print I could make new art from. 

We had some fun conversations about art yesterday. One of the upsides of slower days is more conversing with other artists, birders, botanists, and many types of appreciators. Market is such a lovely place to receive guests and I treasure that social day once a week. The rain can't spoil that although of course it did remove all the customers from the mix. It was especially wet. I had to spread everything out in my shop to dry, every bag and hat, and it is nicely sunny today so I could put the popup and sides and weights outside for a few hours. Those weights seem to never dry. I think I brought home at least ten pounds of water in place of a few pounds of hats I sold. 

I was even wet through my rain pants which I don't remember experiencing before. At least we had a pretty dry setup period which makes the rest work fine. I don't mind as much getting wet at the end of the day, with all of my treats ready for later and all of the satisfaction tucked away. I know I will be going home to a dry and warm house and that makes me feel very lucky.

Got some choice gossip but it's mostly kind of depressing. Apparently many of our young staff does not get any training on how to behave in the workplace or in their off hours with their coworkers. I won't repeat any stories as none of them were firsthand, but an hour or two of expectations and a different setting of the professional atmosphere would greatly benefit these workers as I hope they do not carry those behaviors on to their next jobs. We've lost so much from the days when we did actual hiring processes and didn't have a toxic workplace that members avoid and find out later that they've been roundly trashed in by people they are paying with their hard-earned sales. Where is the Personnel Committee and Board in this scenario where we are now known as a place you would definitely not want to be employed? 

One thing that seems to be not reaching those in power is that we live in a small town. All of the artisan communities are connected, with hundreds of us knowing each other, working together, sharing studios and selling next to each other in shows all over the region and in many other places in our own town. You know it is said that 90% of people will talk about their negative experiences and a much smaller percentage will talk about the positive ones. Yes many of us love the market in many ways and promote it and have worked for it, but those glowing testimonials are falling flat when everyone can see that something is terribly wrong.

The food court is now marked up with irregular pink and black paint lines that must look shocking for the six days a week that market is not there. I remember being horrified when a Tuesday market food booth set up on our stage and left grease stains there. All of the safety paint on the irregularities of the sidewalks are sort of excusable, but the idea that the park is practically owned by market is so short-sighted and sad. It is the premier and only downtown park, used by many residents and visitors to downtown. I have always maintained that the city should be able to use it in the ways that serve the city, as long as we can negotiate with them about our needs and make sure we are collaborating on the best use of the space. I complained loudly when a Sunday Streets event marked up the west block with paint for two days, marks that lasted for a very long time. I wish we had a lot more collaboration and that I was still in communication with City staff, as I noticed yesterday as I stood in a puddle along with most people in our neighborhood, that the sidewalk cracks had been filled with asphalted gravel, which meant they no longer drained rain toward the fountain, or anywhere. I bring a broom, but there was too much water yesterday to sweep, and in my space I would be sweeping it into my neighbors' booths. But I can't just email the city and ask them to think about drainage again. I even have a map of the lakes that form I could share with them.

Oh well, just one thing. The poor new food booth had to wait until 11:30 for the ribbon across their front counter to be cut, and looked closed for the busiest morning hours of their first day. Removing it would have been the first thing I did in the morning, but they are new and I'm sure were wanting to start off complying, no matter how confusing that was. It feels repeatedly that no one is thoughtful about the members' ability to make sales, that no one really cares about anything except our payments, which must increase despite the increasing difficulty of our existences. We've lost the real "heart of Beth" as we used to call it, the empathy and knowledge of our experience that leads to decisions that work for the members and not just the org. They're not even working for the org anymore. Policies are having to be made for specific instances, sometimes for one person, for things that used to be understood, with no need to be widespread. Like the letter we got, everyone got, by email that they say they can only use so often, to tell us all to be nice at Holiday Market. We are nice. We are some of the nicest, most mutually supportive people you can find anywhere. Some people in power just do not know us, and aren't trying to know us anymore. They have a warped view of our special place and our amazing culture.

But the worst news I heard yesterday was at farmers. They voted, by a member vote even, to eliminate their seniority system. I'm not sure if they got any benefits out of it except for space allocations, and am not sure how any points they used were counted. I have a memory at one point of how much money you made and paid being integrated into that seniority, but I can't be sure if I got that right, as I'm not a member. But for people like the Bergs, and others, who have invested their lives in the organization, they were disenfranchised. Farmers started long before they became LCFM in 1979, selling with us from the very beginning. Some were even generational farmers, having connections to the old Producers Market that ended in 1959. Farms tend to stay in families if possible. So those older folks just got pushed out by the new and younger folks, who of course voted out that system they weren't benefitting from yet. It would be like taking away all of our member points, which only go back to when points started anyway, which was in the 80s.

Member votes are manipulated and we've seen that happen too, when everyone got to join the survey about closing for a week in November, even those who didn't sell then and had no real stake in the issue. I lost an important selling day, and I'm still shocked by the wording of that survey, pitched as "if you love your staff, you will vote to close." It was the first time I really saw the manipulative ability of this GM and how she would be using it, and I did complain, passionately, about being manipulated. But now it is the norm. Check out the newsletter cartoon. Prepare to be ridiculed if you have an opinion.

It has been that way. Membership organizations are different from other businesses. I also found out that no farmers got to vote on closing at 2:00...and they don't like it. They lost an hour of sales and the long setups and short selling hours just hurt them. I feel like it is a result of adding a Springfield market and stretching their staff out, so they have to cut selling hours to manage their work hours. That's backwards for a membership organization. We are also going in that direction, having lost any sense of balance about who benefits from decisions and policies. This is tragic. I feel for the farmers. There was already a lot of space assignment without choice, and we saw that at Holiday Market too. We saw Standards erosion to fill those HM spaces, and the minutes where the Standards Committee was informed of that choice, were never published. The Chair soon quit. Standards, arguably our most important committee, is also captured now. 

I hope the people who have the power to take our market back wake up soon and do it. There are now so many facets to work on that it is becoming a daunting task. I can't do it. What can you do? Must be something. We have an election in June, coming right up.  

A Rainy Market

 Yes, tomorrow looks like a wet day, though there might be a break from 9 to noon so that will work great for those of us who can still go. I debated becoming a "fair weather market" person this season, as taking the popup and weights is a lot harder on my body, but I think I'll do it anyway. There is a certain comraderie on the wet days and the bills still need to be paid.

Things are heavy around the blocks. There seems to be a lot of shock about the fee increases, and many that I spoke to on Opening Day, a glorious weather day, were not selling well at all. One woman sold one card. One man sold nothing until way past noon, and then very little. I did well, and others did too, but it was not widespread. Mostly the first few weeks are about the food booths, anyway, as people come again for their favorites and spend their money there. I looked back at last year and I was making more, but it's too soon to assess my own trends for the season. 

Virtually all of our customers are feeling the economic pinch that is worldwide, still unfolding, and scary as can be. Tourism is down at least 25% and will be impacted for years. Costs are up for every craft, if materials are even available. Metal costs for jewelers are fluid, but investing in silver and gold must be hard when you don't know what your sales will be like. Everything is up. My costs are up 25% for materials, inks, and art supplies. 

I believe the market is making a serious mistake pushing more of the problem onto members. It is the job of leadership and management to find ways to support the members, not just the staff. Increasing our sales with fresh new and well-done promotions is a no-brainer. We're still using things from 2018 in our published ads and promotions. Depending on some unending supply of new crafters is not a strategy that will work when they are at the same time being priced out of selling. It will only take a few weeks of bad sales to make a person quit or just come less frequently. Gas costs are going to be a huge problem for people.  

And Holiday Market costs going up another 10% is just not going to have the desired effect. Even I may considering skipping weekends, though to be honest I don't know if I can afford to. If my sales go down consistently over the season though, I may have to. A half-empty hall is going to be visible evidence of a decline that we won't be able to tell shiny stories about. It was always a risk to take on the extra hall and now the Atrium. What it looked like was that a lot of standards were relaxed to bring in a lot of the new booths, and that erosion takes away what makes us different from any of the many other markets and venues that shoppers can access. They don't need us. We need them. People noticed that we tried to force out Bill Sullivan's artists and authors event. It was a poor reflection on our community care aspect. 

Having higher quality and that direct connection between the maker and appreciator is our strength. That is what is meaningful to people and why they love us. This will just become harder to keep in play if we grow too large and disconnected from that strength that has sustained us through many hard times. We mean something to people. That is what we have to nurture and we absolutely must draw on our experience and history to be consistent with that. New is not always better. 

I have work to do today so can't elaborate on the poor management of the first market of the season...the smoke in the food court is something that should not have happened. It was blowing right into the customers' faces...did no one remember that our prevailing winds are from the west? That's true nearly every week. This was a big issue with DeFrisco back in the day, and they had to put in high smokestacks and do other mitigating things, plus be in a location that minimized harm. These are things that are not "lost" to history. They live in our memories of all of the problem-solving we have done over the fifty-seven seasons and we have plenty of people who hold those memories. They just feel silenced and disrespected so they don't bother to try to help and become targets for retaliation. 

We can't afford this poor management. I know some are stuck in the sunk cost fallacy and think we can't make a change, but we must make a change. We are paying for excellent management in our salaries and benefits. We deserve to have it. This has gone beyond any historical times when we wanted to retain staff to the degree that we put up with things going wrong. Way too many things are going wrong. You don't have to believe me...do your own survey. 

And thank you in advance for coming tomorrow. It is almost never worse than the predictions...every market day is worth experiencing. If I had the time I would have written one of those glowing posts about the enriching, satisfying experience of last week's sunny market. There were so many wonderful moments. 

It is such a joy to have our market. I know I will still believe that tomorrow evening at 7:00 when I am finally finished and can sit down and get into some dry socks and comfy clothes so I can fall asleep in the recliner. I have become a person who takes naps. I am sure I will need one. 

 

 

Next? Who's next?

 Rough week for me...exhausted after all that effort in the Jell-O Art Show; I worked too hard on props, which looked fantastic, and should have memorized my cues harder. I also had a costume malfunction, which seems the norm for me. I guess doing these things once a year leaves me rusty. It showed. I was slow, needed help, and although people did help me, (packing the car for me afterwards was a completely stellar effort by several people who were really good at it!) I did not meet my own approval, performance-wise. Next year, a less pivotal role perhaps.

But that is over. It took all day Sunday to put it all away, and there are still a few things to wrap up. Today I am expecting a huge shirt delivery. It's rainy, and I was planning to sort things on the sidewalk to fit them into my small space with a minimum of lifting, but it's too wet. I thought about putting up the popup, for some protected space, but it's gusty winds too and we all know how that can go. Plus, then I have wet weights, sides, and the popup to somehow fit into the space so it can all dry. Just have to wait and see how it plays out.

The Board is meeting tonight. There are still topics I should weigh in on, but giving my opinion seems to make things worse, so I'll just stick with this little tiny soapbox. They selected, out of all the possible food booths that might have applied (no one mentioned how many applicants there were) a second Thai food booth and sited it right next to Bangkok Grill. There is a serious duplication policy still on the books, and their menu of "grilled proteins" seems in violation, as we already can purchase grilled chicken, tofu, pork, and beef (at the Afghani booth.) So...guess we'll see how that plays out. It seems in bad faith toward two booths with over-40 year family investments who will have to absorb direct competition. Not how anything was ever done before. 

The other booth, deep-fried wontons, might compete with the other deep-fried foods, but maybe not so much. Anyway, I guess these members are on their own to make it work. Publicity featured the new booths, as it has for the last several years. Today I even read that staff said "We're not going to run out of artists!" which I think is core to what some of the current policies are based on. Raising prices beyond the means of new people or older people is okay, because someone will come along to replace them. Kicking out members the staff or Board can't control or dominate is okay, because there will be new members who can be sucked in until they too become inconvenient. Sigh.

For those of us who have our lives wrapped up in this increasingly unprofitable enterprise, it looks daunting. Another fee increase in June, and HM up another 10%? That's what is being discussed or is already voted in. Everyone I talk to has seen a decline in sales. Without great promotions we don't even look fun and interesting...promotions are supposed to bring us new customers and entice people who might have lost interest. So far I have seen one blurry FB post of a poster that just looks the same as the last few. We need professionals!

The reality is that we are in a decline and those are tough to reverse, without some substantial, visible improvement that draws participants. More of the same is not what will help us right now. Hopefully we will get lucky with weather, won't have to cancel for fires and smoke intrusions, and the mere fact that we are at the center of town will work for us. We'll get some help from farmers, after helping them draw for so long, as they take over our longstanding role of the community gathering place. Let's hope it's real help that doesn't end at 2:00 pm, their new closing time. We will stay open until 4:00 so if people stay with us, maybe it won't be a big change for us.

It's discouraging to feel like there aren't discussions going on about how to mitigate our challenges, but I'm just hoping they are and not making it into the minutes. I have to pass on commenting on the lack of a Secretary and proposal to strip the responsibilities and duties out of the position. Obviously there is a lot that particular officer does for the membership organization that cannot be done by staff and will not be done. There's an oversight role that keeps the org legal and functional with the bylaws and laws of the state and federal government, that brings forward lessons learned from the past, that keeps the org consistent with its values, but it seems that responsibility ended with me and it doesn't look like it will come back any time soon. I was thwarted by a staff that wouldn't support or respect those roles, and that staff is still in place, so the next person would have a slog to even get back to half of what I did.

The organization, the membership, suffers this loss. It's similar to the macrocosm: what will be lost for the short term, and what will not be recoverable? What will take decades to restore? It's a tragedy I will have to just live with as I doubt I will be around to see any restoration. Then again, I am not one to stop hoping.  I've seen a lot of phases in the fifty years I've been there at the tables. It's living and breathing.

Meanwhile, I'm listening for the big truck and the wind and rain and trying to be ready for it. This is likely my last year for this level of work. I've thought that before, and kept going, so I wouldn't want to carve that in stone, but at some point I generally go from still trying to accepting reality. I don't know...reality is so harsh. Where did I put those rose-colored glasses?