It's not me

I know the unwritten rule is to never say anything negative, to just keep smiling and operating as if all were well. I did that all day yesterday, but I had zero sales at the Tuesday Market. This hasn't happened in decades, so I know it isn't my stuff or my attitude or my display or my inattention...there were no customers.

We were only five booths, and two of those were expanded 4x4s, and the forecast was for thundershowers. It did rain, one time, though it was cloudy all day and we wore our coats and blankies. But the weather wasn't that bad. There just weren't any customers.

I'm too stubborn to let Tuesday Market be killed off in one season. I'm committing to going every week now until October when I have to go to Delaware for a week. I realized that I can't control the farmers, I can't make things happen on my own, and I can't control the weather, which is the main reason we are having such a poor season.

I can show up. Weather doesn't need to be a big problem, as far as my selling goes. Yesterday I used a piece of plastic and also had the bright idea to just move my pop-up over to cover up the stuff a little better during the rain. I put away the Jell-O. I put away the silk flags. It wasn't a big problem to deal with the weather, and I am strong enough to not let that be my excuse for the rest of the season.

It's distressing to put work into something that doesn't reward me, but I will forego the immediate rewards if we can get this thing back on its feet. Even last year in the spaces that were not as good as the year before, I made over $200 some Tuesdays. The last week in July and the first week in August were both good sales days for me.

We're in a bit of a bind as far as promotions go, since we can't advertise a Saturday Market experience with only five booths. We can't book a musician for a space too far from our booths to even gather a crowd of us. I considered paying some musicians to come over to play for us but I couldn't promise that they'd make any cash...I was going to offer $5. If they had even looked over toward us I might have, but they played all day with their backs to us so I got stuck in my huffiness. Saturday Market is paying for a porta-potty for us (Thank You!) so they are investing in us, but it isn't Saturday and there isn't a lot that money can solve.

My attitude may indeed need some work. I really want to do something to make this better. I lost several sources of income in the last year, and Tuesday Market was important to me. I refuse to get pushed down by an arbitrary decision by another group to end a fifteen-year relationship...I keep singing that song "Got along without you before I met you..." which doesn't really apply but helps me keep thinking about now.

What to do? I tried interesting TV stations in the only Jell-O Art for sale in the world (not to mention the wonderful caps and bags you can't find anywhere else) but I have no clue how to write a compelling PSA, and anyway it was obvious self-promotion and it didn't work. Kim does usually FB that we are down there, but there's not much new to say about it. We probably exhibit just a bit of desperation as we face the bustling farmers from across that busy street. I tried to just keep doing my work (analyzing OCF sales) and pretending not to care, not to take my failure to sell personally.

I've considered going to the farmers for help, to ask them to promote the Tuesday Market, to ask them to find a way to re-include us on one block (doesn't feel good yet), to let them know how their decision to marginalize us is killing us off, but that doesn't seem like a good plan. For one thing, I personally have no influence on the farmers. They must have observed by now how tough it is for us. They weren't all that full themselves yesterday, and we could have filled in the spaces I guess. Maybe I am too emotionally involved in the issue to find real solutions, but I can't think of how to frame a request to the farmers. And anyway, if there isn't room for all of us, there isn't room for any of us, or so went our thinking when we moved to the other block. We had twenty-some vendors then, and we thought we could increase that and present a strong market, but persistently low sales and bad weather made that a bad gamble.

Let's face it, it's not our work that is at fault, or our presentation, or anything we do. There just aren't enough of us to entice people to come over and browse. All of the people I have asked to come sell have wanted to wait for it to build and be more rewarding, though a couple did give it one try. I can't criticize anyone for prioritizing their time so as to not spend hours for no return.

But I did feel yesterday like a patient about to pull the plug. It's disheartening to not feel any support. It's cold and I feel tossed aside.

So if you ever felt the need to do something to support people who really need it, come help us build this market back up. We need a lively and attractive group with lots happening, and we will all benefit if we work together. If we don't get it more solid before the season ends, we're probably going to have to let it go. That makes me sad.

But maybe I'm just being dramatic and triggered by loss again. Let's think about another scenario: the weather was bad, but it will be great for the whole next two months, and vendors will return next week and there will be plenty of us again. We will have music and dancing. Did I mention there is ice cream? The Red Wagon Creamery was there with super delicious ice cream cones and they are definitely worth the trip. There are nice benches and walls to sit on in the sun (did I mention there will be sun?) Everyone will have a wonderful time and go home with full pockets and lighter loads.

May it be so.