ON THE CRAFTS CIRCUIT

If you are a crafter you have to be dedicated to your craft or at least the sale thereof. Why else would you set off before the sun rises for one of the numerous RV parks that have craft shows to set up displays of your wares. In Yuma, AZ, with its high winter population of people from the cold north, you can find a craft show at some RV park just about every day of the week during the winter months. Where else can you find in one spot such things as: emergency food kits, clothing, hats, jewelry, night lights, paintings, party dips, potato bags, pottery, purses, rugs, signs, tours, used books, wood products, zipper purses, cosmetics, and on and on and on. It's not easy being a crafter (or the spouse of a crafter). An early experience with selling crafts almost soured my wife and I from getting involved in craft shows. The first attempt was at a "Farmer's Market" which had a few farm products mixed in with many of the above mentioned items. This event was held outside each week during the winter season. Participants were encouraged to have folding canopies to shade themselves from the Yuma sun which, even in the winter, can be hot. So we bought a canopy with the brand name EZ Up. It was a perfect example of misleading advertising. We never could get the canopy up right in the dark of early morning and had to often ask for help. When those who ran the Farmer's Market got fed up with being asked for assistance and called us "retards" we folded our tent and walked away never to return. Luckily, the sponsors of other craft shows are more forgiving and, in fact, inviting. So, in most cases, it's not too much of a problem to get up before the sun to load, unload, and set up displays much as the gypsies must have in the past.