Yesterday I spent most of the day selling my calendars at the McBride Christmas Fair. Above is a photo of my table. I also sold some McBride T-shirts and Nadia’s “Bear in the Window” books. As I was sitting there, an acquaintance came by and said, “Oh, there you are, I couldn’t find you.”
I replied, “Yes, here I am. There are three things you can count on: Death, taxes, and me at the Christmas Fair.”
It seems I have been selling at Christmas fairs for ever. Yesterday was a bit of a deja vu moment for me because as I was getting into the cabinet to dig out all the things I needed to take to the fair, I came upon a pile of McBride T-shirts.
Years ago I designed a McBride logo and had several orders of T-shirts printed. I used to sell them at Christmas Fairs for many years, but eventually, my stash of T-shirts was reduced to uncommon sizes and colors (mostly pink) which just weren’t selling. So I stopped trying and they sat in the cabinet for about 10 years. When I found the shirts I thought, “What the heck, I might as well drag them to the fair and try to get rid of them.”
That’s what I did, without much hope of actually selling any, but surprisingly, I sold more than half of them. Even though they were “old” to me, they had been so long out of view to the public they thought they were something “new.” Of course, it helped that I sold them at a real bargain price of $4 and $2.
One adult customer surprised me by buying one and immediately putting it on over her other clothes.
The Christmas Fair is always a bit nerve-wracking for me because I lay out several hundred dollars getting my calendars printed, and although they always seem to sell well, I am never sure. Luckily I sold my normal amount at the fair; enough to pay for all the printing, so next week at the Valemount Christmas Fair all the ones I sell will be profit.
Check out my photo-realistic paintings: www.davidmarchant.ca
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