It is over!!! The San Diego Indie Craft Market was the big to-do this weekend, and I’d like to report that it was a success. Whew, what a relief! And today, your’s truly (who usually wakes up at 5AM) slept in until 6:47AM… that’s almost 2 extra hours! I justified it as being my reward for a job well done at SDICM. That’s justifiable… right?

Let’s start at the beginning. The initial 30 minutes of vendors setting up for a craft show looks something like day 2 of Extreme Home Makeover. You know, the demolition has already been done and a slew of contractors and laborers are running every which way with PVC pipe, wood beams, drywall, etc. Yes, that is almost exactly what initial set up of a fair looks like!

But instead of home building supplies and (generally) men, you have a flock of chicks running in and out of the building with tables, tablecloths, backdrops made of pegboard, wood, fencing, fabric, etc. And most importantly, their handmade lovelies! There is, of course, always the endearing (and no doubt begrudging) husband who assists his frantic wife during these crazy moments; my own husband was counted among these brave soldiers this time. Thanks, boys! The lucky husbands are free to leave once set-up is completed, but some poor souls get trapped into playing assistant during the entire fair. I was fortunate enough to have Momma Lex help me out once the fair craziness actually began. Thanks, Mom!

I was also fortunate enough to be back-to-back with my buddy Kate of Small and Great Crochet and Emily of Lovenote Crafts. Both of their booths were ridiculously adorable and I hate the fact that I was so busy that I couldn’t walk around the fair and take pictures as proof of just how amazing all of the booths looked. You’ll just have to take my word on it; I wouldn’t steer you wrong. Being next to Kate and Emily was lovely and I was genuinely so happy whenever I saw them make a sale. I did a cheesy dance and round of applause when I saw that Kate made a pretty big sale to a family who purchased a few of her items, including an adorable crochet octopus (the mom had a half-sleeve octopus tatoo)!

I did have a few beefs with the venue; namely, my booth space was so incredibly dark that you really could not see the colors of my embroidered pretties. (The photos above have been heavily brightened.) This killed me! I take painstakingly care over selecting just the right shade of a particular color when creating a piece, so the fact that all 6 shades of purple on an ombre hoop looked like only one shade of purple was extremely frustrating. I was not happy. The closer a customer stood to my display, the greater their cast shadow became. It was torture. And I’m sure my mom was tired of hearing me complain about it.

Overall, the highlight of my day was definitely meeting my fellow vendors. I absolutely love meeting other creative souls, and I hope to play vendor again with these lovely ladies… and soon! It almost felt like the first day of school when you walk into your classroom and look at a sea of faces; some familiar, some unfamiliar but all friendly. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: all craft fairs should close their doors to the public and remain open for vendors to shop (or swap) each other’s booths for at least 20 minutes. I was so sad that I was not able to experience all of the handmade goodness that was created by all of the SDICM vendors. All the more reason for the second round of the San Diego Indie Craft Market to come along very soon!