First time out!

Friday, March 21, I participated in the Spring Equinox Market at Red Bird Produce.

Red Bird Produce is a small grocery store located in the Avondale area that focuses on providing local produce, eggs, honey, and more.

Since I’ve retired from my day job, I’ve committed to shopping more locally. I drive across town on Friday and pick up most of our produce for the week, as well as our Red Bird weekly meal kit, which is by subscription and includes a recipe and all the ingredients needed to throw it together. I thought bringing some new recipes into our tired, old repertoire was called for and we’ve enjoyed it! Plus, since I spend most of my days fiddling with paint, dirt, or four-legged mammals, I figured it would be a good idea for me to get out of the house every now and then and talk to other actual humans.

A few weeks ago, I noticed this poster on the Red Bird’s front door:

I thought, “This market is just over a month out. I make stuff. I have art. So why don’t I just throw a few things together and give it a go? How hard could it be?

I’ll just get myself some business cards, throw up a tent, and hang up my art. Easy breezy, right?”

My debut turned out to not actually be as effortless to set up as I’d imagined, but it lit a fire under my arse, and that is precisely what I needed. It seems each completed task revealed another crucial necessity.

During the last two weeks leading up to the event, I worked from early morning until into the evening making smaller pieces suitable for this type of market, getting prints made, figuring out how to hang large paintings from a tent wall, gathering supplies for hanging the art, and setting up a Square app to be able to take payments.

In the end, everything came together, and the market was a blast, but I have many to thank, as I would never have made it without my community.

Thanks to Casey Hobbs for hosting the market and welcoming me into the fold! Thank you, Lallie Houston, for proofing and advising me on my copy for posters, price tags, and signage. Thanks to Leisha Hultgren for helping me load the car and get the pop-up tent popped up along with Anne Bailey and Kim Spidell. Thanks to Kim Spidell, who donated a good part of her afternoon to help me hang art. Thank you, Leanna Randall, for staying afterward to break down the show in the dark. We were the last booth out! Thanks to Danny Slade and David Alexander, who assisted in getting my banner made in time. Thanks to all my friends who stopped by the booth. Last but definitely not least, thanks to my husband Richard Kirby, who encouraged me endlessly, helped me sort out technical and logistical details, mourned profusely because he couldn’t be there for my first public showing, and forever and always has my back.

Now I have a booth and a bit of a clue. I enjoyed the outdoor market and plan to do another as soon as possible. And I figure, next time, having already done all this prep, it’ll all be easy breezy, right?