Be Nice

 Sure, I will Be Nice because I am not a mean person and just have an informed opinion, despite being portrayed as (choose your own derogatory term.) I have not gone to a Board meeting since I resigned as Secretary in August 2024, so for the record, I am not disrupting anyone's experience. I wrote to the Board, as any member must when they feel the Board needs to hear from them, but was and expected to be ignored. Writing in a blog is my free speech right, so if you don't like my opinions, don't read them. 

I am not part of any group or aligned with any other person in my opinions. I base them on the facts I observe and believe to be true. I don't want to argue with anyone, push my view on them, or in any way disrupt the natural flow of market from which we all benefit. I do not go around on Saturdays stirring up dissension. I respect my neighbors and fellow crafters and I keep my rants to this space, to allow us all to sell beside each other. I would participate in Board meetings again if I felt that truth was being told and the values I hold were being honored. I trust a couple of people are still trying to work that way, but the org as a whole is not. I refuse to engage with the people who have bullied me. 

I was prompted to write mostly by the resignation of our FOURTH Treasurer since this manager was hired, as well as three Assistant Managers and a qualified Promotions Manager. That's just the highlight of our staffing picture. All of the Treasurers, when asked, said the job was overwhelming, and all of them were doing the GM job for free while she got paid bigger and bigger bucks, far beyond what any of us earn, with a Gold Plan health insurance, far better than any of us probably have. Her daughter is also on that Gold Plan. We simply cannot afford to support this level of support while also being mismanaged in myriad ways. And the org has been unable to convince anyone to be Secretary, despite stripping out all of the oversight duties and the membership support that a Secretary must provide to keep the org lawful, communicative, and to keep the public record accurate and true. That is a whole post on its own and I've written it a few times now. So someone yelling at us to volunteer when things are in this state is not the tone that will help. 

Defend the staff all you want. I'm not anti-staff at all, in fact I am pro-staff. I just want a certain level of competence, harmony, and leadership for my fees. I notice the Chair's letter did not address any of the possible motivations for three (only three, such a small percentage of members) people calling for the replacement of the lead professional. Please note, I have never wanted the Membership Coordinator to be replaced. Let's not confuse the drama with the truth. Sadly, she trained herself and has never worked under a really good manager, so if she did leave out of loyalty I would not be happy, but I would hope for her if she did, to work under someone good at their job next time. 

The Treasurer who resigned spelled out a few that he had in mind. I give you his statement:  

5/6/2026 I am resigning as Saturday Market budget committee chair and treasurer effective immediately. I would like to share with you my reasons: 

• In the past Saturday Market staff have done our accounting, usually the manager. Now, staff do basic bookkeeping and data entry, but critical financial, budgeting, and accounting information used to run the business is lacking. The staff and board are relying on volunteers to do what should be staff work. The volunteer treasurer puts in the hours and then meets with the budget committee. They discuss the numbers and make recommendations to the board. Sometimes the board votes against the recommendations when they’re difficult and/or unpopular with management and staff. The budget committee is doing their job, but the board is ignoring the recommendations. 

• We can’t keep raising fees to spend more money. What about our stated mission to encourage new artists? 

• Nepotism exists on our staff. It’s understandable we want to hire those we care about, but nepotism is wrong. It is illegal. It makes honest discussion about ever growing payroll and staffing impossible. And we need to have those honest discussions. 

• I volunteer to contribute my skills and time to a cause I love and to feel good about contributing to a larger purpose. I feel from a financial standpoint we are heading for trouble, and I don’t want to be part of that.

He submitted his statement respectfully but the Chair did not address any of his concerns, but I didn't expect that either. I have a few more reasons, including that anyone who has a different opinion than the Board Chair is vilified, marginalized, and portrayed as a threat or a terrible force that must be shunned. We have over 600 members. One might expect a few different opinions, and a few members willing to put those opinions into the common discourse. One might expect the occasional member who would like to see people held accountable for unethical things they did, or see staff held to their job descriptions, as a minimal expectation of performance. That wouldn't be drama, under real professionals. That would be a discussion of facts, with reasons, and reform if needed. See what happened to the police officer who had a racist discussion? Unacceptable. Yet our manager told one of our esteemed members that she hadn't written a letter she submitted, because her English wasn't good enough. Please note that none of our current staff is bilingual. If there is a language barrier (which there wasn't in that clear and heartfelt letter) than it is on the org, not the members. 

We have a Board, a Personnel Committee, a bit of a Budget Committee left, and some small but I am sure dedicated to their tasks Committees such as HM, Sustainability, and Standards. I have no doubt that most of those volunteers are working hard and doing what needs to be done. As someone who volunteered for most of my 51 years, I know how these things work. I've worked with maybe 20 managers. I've never worked in an atmosphere this toxic. I know just what has been said about me in the office, after instead of thanks after 15 years of hard service, I "left them in the lurch." That was the mildest thing. The office is a professional place where members should never be discussed as gossip, or targets of humiliation and marginalization. I could go on, but this situation is not about me, it's about dozens of members. Not three. Many have gone away rather than deal with this toxicity. 

Not only is my opinion not welcome, I am at risk of retaliation for sharing it, and dismissed with a blanket disapproval of my character, intentions, and hard work for decades. I've been treated much better than a lot of people, so I suppose I should be grateful for that. I have, however, been used, manipulated, lied to, and bullied for the last four years, something that never happened to me in all of the previous decades. Sometimes I had to be the one to stand in the fray, and fire managers who of course had support and people who loved them. We don't all think alike. 

But when it comes to hiring, retaining, and training the good management we are paying for, and deserve, I pitched in to put that in place with my whole heart, and hundreds, maybe thousands of my volunteer hours. I am not deserving of the general vilification of those who disagree and have the courage to take steps that are unpopular. I don't care about popularity. No one is deserving of that treatment for volunteering. It is hard, with many choices that are practical, tough, and needed. Drama about hurt feelings is not a professional response to a professional situation. Drama is now our go-to whenever anything happens. It is driving people away who would make excellent contributions if allowed and respected. The contempt is daunting and undeserved.

I care about affordable fees, benefits, salaries, and the protection of volunteers and other members from manipulation, lies, and attacks on their characters. Not everyone has to think or do things the same way. Discussions are supposed to include diverse opinions and dissent. That is how good policy and decisions are made. Pushing everyone out of the room, taking away their selling rights and community, and vilifying people who have the same rights to their opinions as everyone else, is a losing strategy that will get none of our problems solved. 

Serving the market is not about honor and power and railing against people who disagree as if opinions were threats. Opinions are just that. Being afraid to think for yourself, express yourself honestly according to your observations, and speak about things that need improvement is dysfunctional for a membership organization, and a far cry from anyone's experience in all of our history. 

We've had struggles. There have been things only a few saw or heard and no one wants to bring up, that didn't go well. They become history. It's important that people are honest. Please think for yourself. 

We don't have to take our life advice from Thumper. Nice is not the right goal, to my mind. It falls far short of what is coming from those who would have us shut up. When are they going to start being nice to people who disagree with them?   

Fire the GM

 A call has gone out to fire the GM. It actually didn't go that far, but I pushed it forward. This is the time. There are sufficient grounds, proof, and a preponderance of evidence. 

The entire market is being bullied by one person and what she has put in place. Fees are being raised beyond affordability to pay her and her daughter hefty salaries and benefits that they do not earn. Their skill sets are far lower than the ones needed for these jobs. Everyone feels like a captive in a nightmare.

I'm amazed at the courage of those who are speaking up. And so grateful. I ask myself why I have not railed more often about these issues, why I just took the role of witness without solutions. We should perhaps all ask ourselves that. Fear of retaliation is big, so we need to make sure that all of us stand together so no one is singled out.

The entire Eugene community is aware of all this. Many have been waiting for someone to bring it to light. Pay attention.

Founder's Day

 

I found this poster, folded up and a bit dirty, in Lotte's boxes of archives she gave me. This was the original, first market in 1970. It's astonishing really. I am not sure who made it, though I have one name that is probably the artist, who was a printmaker at the time. Sign your work, people.  Archivists will appreciate it. 

I used to make a huge deal out of our annual birthday, and when the archives were first being organized, I would bring a full tote of them down to market, with tables and tablecloths and flowers and a whole display which first was on the deck, and then in the space next to me, when I was in the little space that is now #132. I'd leave some products home and engage with people all day instead of doing my regular job of selling. It was super fun. 

Back then it was not common knowledge that we started in 1970, or that the farmers sold with us, or any of what we know now that the archives are organized and I've taken notes so I can locate items of interest. The actual archives of the 70s and 80s are locked in the office and presumably you can go and look through them. I also archived the farmers market, before and after they became LCFM, though I see now they have gone back to the false narrative that they started over 100 years ago. There was an 11 year gap between the Producers' Market of old and the bringing back of produce downtown spearheaded by Lotte and her friends and supported for the first 15 years by our market members. The actual LCFM launched in 1979 when the County got interested in helping them. They put out a bid for a sponsor, and Saturday Market was the only one who stepped up. I've given up trying to get them to give that correct history, but someday that book could be written. 

Here are a few photos of the Founder's Day efforts I made back when I was supported in these things. Back before I was undermined and attacked and suspected of all kinds of things by people who wanted me to be little and meek. Back when we had trust and excellent inclusive values in our market. 

 

Kareng Fund Success!

 The Kareng Fund /Caring fund successfully requested a grant from the Jill Heiman Vision Fund of OCF. We and four other nonprofits will receive funds in the fall for our work supporting basic needs. The amount will depend on how much the Vision Fund receives in donations, so while I have always supported the JHVF, I will drop a bigger percentage into that wooden box across the path at Community Village Info. You can find boxes at Info Booths all around the Fair during the event and can also of course donate through OCF at any time. You can find them at https://www.oregoncountryfair.org/about-ocf/philanthropy/philanthropy-vision/ 

In addition, we won a part in the Amplify program just implemented by the Eugene Weekly. We got two free ads, and help with our other ads, so we can let you all know about Art Bingo and help our event to grow and magnify your support. I personally love the Weekly deeply and read it in print every week, plus keep it in the archives when we are mentioned, or any of the other groups I archive are mentioned, or advertise. Support the Weekly! We're so lucky to have great local journalism. And they are trying to stay afloat, buy their building, and train up young writers and artists so just because it is a free paper does not mean you can't give money to them. They are worth it!

And direct donations are always welcome to the Kareng Fund. You can do that at our website,  www.karengfund.org  or to any Board member of the KF (me, Alex, Dru, Dave, Fiona, Bill, Julia, Brandi and sue.) We can be trusted to see that your donations will make it to artisans in need.

We have worked hard at being a responsible, real nonprofit. The only money we really spend outside of grants is to the Center for Nonprofit Law, our agent, who makes sure we don't mess anything up and who is available for our questions. We did spend funds to get the 501c3 designation and to be tax-exempt, and it was money well spent. All of the current directors at the time were trained, by the experts, and we received a lot of training and managing materials to support us, which we share with new directors when we appoint them. It's not all that complicated, but it is essential to us to be trustworthy with your donations of cash and in-kind materials. We do buy raffle tickets and some promotional materials but for things like the Guidebook ad and others,  our Board members generally make personal donations to do that for us. And like good Board members, we put in the volunteer time to make our fund grow and serve. 

We do depend on donations, which generally come from those in the market and fair community, but we need to expand our reach, so if you know people who like to support artisans, pitch it to them. Every dollar helps someone you might even know who is having a hard time. We've given over $130,000 in our twenty-two years. I find that remarkable. Alex wants us to give away a million. It's good to have goals. 

We have printed receipt forms, that will be signed by an officer, for you to use for your tax-deductible donations. I will clarify that not everything is tax-deductible, and you should check with your tax preparer and tax law if you are unsure. Cash donations are fully deductible within the limits of how you prepare your taxes. When you donate a craft, that is what is called an in-kind donation, and a part of that is deductible. When you buy a raffle ticket or an item at the Pottery Smash, and receive something in return for your money, only part of that is deductible. You can deduct the amount of value of your donation that exceeds the value of the craft itself. Logically, you deduct the part you did not get something in return for. Most times, at the Smash for instance, or with the basket, you received far more in material value than you spent. All of that info is widely available online or from the IRS or a tax preparer. 

But most of that is between you and your tax preparer and the IRS. Be assured that we follow all of the steps at our end to be legal, so please ask me for a receipt if you want one. For your envelope donations, if you are a member of SM, you should be getting a receipt from the market that shows your amount,  and you can use that, with our IRS number, (which is on our website, and is 46-1198603.) I will still be glad to give you a form, so please ask. Saturday Market staff used to give those receipts at the market office but I am not sure if they still do; it seems to be inconsistent. Supposedly it is on your profile, but I can't access mine, so your mileage may also vary. Keep those weekly receipts. 

Like all nonprofits, we are transparent with our practices and finances, although the grant process is confidential. We won't tell you who has received a grant, or why. If you apply, that information is safe with us. If the grant recipient wants to give us a testimonial, that is welcome, but we are all committed to keeping your private business private. We don't disclose our donors either, unless it is public information like our recent grants from the OCF and from the Weekly. Nonprofits are required to file forms, the CT-12 and the 990, to show what their accountability is, and for the raffle I fill out a stupidly long form once a year to make sure I am aware of all the raffle laws and requirements, supervised by the Oregon Department of Justice. And pay a registration fee. At the level of our proceeds, this is actually more than is legally required, but I do it anyway, because we have nothing to hide, and there is always a chance someone will take us over that $10,000 level by dropping a giant check into the raffle collections. You just never know. 

For the last three years, we have been undermined and micro-aggressed by the market staff. Now it has devolved to us being accused of fraud. We would never consider doing anything fraudulent with other people's money. I trust the entire KF Board and Friends who have assisted us, so if you hear this nasty rumor, check the source. 

Operating by trust has always been the artisan culture way, and that hasn't changed, although when besieged by predators it can seem foolish and naive. Remember that the crime is not in the trust, but in the predation. Support your artisan community. You may not need help now, but there may come a time, and anyone who thinks to destroy this asset we have built must be stopped and shunned. 

So many people are genuine and good. That's the world I want to live in, and I'll never stop working to do my part to preserve and protect it. Thank you for joining with me in that. Let's leverage these generous organizations in amplifying and increasing the good, and keep moving forward in co-creating the world that serves us all best. 

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.