Welcome to Winterfaire 2015

[ysabetwordsmith]

The Winterfaire spreads out as far as the eye can see. Some booths show streamers of red and green, while others sport blue and silver. All of them offer treasure after shining treasure. Music fills the air with lyrics of Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, Solstice, and Yule. From the Wordsmith's Forge comes the bright chiming of words being hammered into literature. Delicious scents of hot chocolate, spiced cider, peppermint, baking cookies, and gingerbread tantalize the appetite. Smiling, laughing shoppers amble from booth to booth with lists in hand. Vendors grin back, calling out, "Come try, come buy...!"

I know a lot of artists, writers, musicians, crafters, and other talented folks who make some of their living from their creative endeavors. I don't always have the money to support them as much as I'd like, but what I can do is set up a virtual faire where vendors can offer their wares to an audience that likes crafts, literature, and small businesses. For those of you doing your holiday shopping, here's an opportunity to buy something made with love, something unusual or unique, in a way that helps make it possible for creative people to go on creating wonders. And there will be no traffic jams, stampedes, or gunfights at the Winterfaire! Enjoy the seasonal offerings on Dreamwidth or on LiveJournal.




Vendors: If you have goods or services suitable for holiday gifts, please put up a booth by replying with a description of what you sell, an estimate of your price range if possible, and some kind of contact information so shoppers can reach you. If you have a website (Etsy, DeviantArt, personal, whatever) showcasing your work in more detail, include the link(s). If you have holiday freebies, such as downloadable greeting card imagery, you're welcome to promote those too. For ease of identification, I recommend titling your reply starting with "BOOTH:" followed by the name of your business or type of goodies.

Shoppers: If you're looking for something specific and it's not posted yet, feel free to ask. Someone else may know where to find it! "SHOPPING FOR:" and the topic would be a good title.

Everyone: You may help promote the Winterfaire by linking to this post from your own blog or site. If you have a similar holiday-networking post, you may link to it in a comment on this post.

Participation Perk: I'm offering poetry for participation, beginning with verses of "The Open Secret" (22 verses) from the series The Time Towers.  (You may also direct your verses to any unfinished linkback perk poem.)  Because, you see, all of these activities will unlock a verse each time someone does them:
* link to this Winterfaire page to boost the signal
* comment posting a Booth of your wares/services in the Winterfaire
* buy something from a vendor listed in the Winterfaire
* host a similar holiday market in your own blog or other venue
LiveJournal will notify me of comments to the Winterfaire post and links to it elsewhere on LJ; for everything else, you need to TELL ME in order to get credit for it.

Similar Markets:
Do you know of another indie holiday shopping post? Let me know and I'll link it here.

John Scalzi's Whatever Holiday Shopping Guide 2015 includes: Traditionally Published Books, Non-Traditionally Published Authors, Other Creators, Fan Favorite Day, and Charities.


Happy holidays!

Comments

BOOTH: The Vagabond Tabby

[kellan_the_tabby]

A simple canvas tent, with no banners to blow in the breeze, but instead delightful scents of cinnamon, pine, lavender and more waft out to tempt you inside. An orange tabbycat sits just out front; he meows and lifts a paw, inviting you over.

I make stuff for your skin (crap free, guaranteed!) -- soap and lip balms and massage oils and bath salts and such -- as The Vagabond Tabby. My orange tabby is my VP of Marketing -- nothing like a friendly cat on a leash sitting in front of your booth to bring folks in!

My website is TheVagabondTabby.com and I also have an Etsy site.

Re: BOOTH: The Vagabond Tabby

[ysabetwordsmith]

Thank you! Your two verses are up.

Re: BOOTH: The Vagabond Tabby

[chanter1944]

Purchase made. Couldn't resist that spearmint lip balm as a Christmas gift for a friend. :)

*pets the friendly tabby kitty*

Re: BOOTH: The Vagabond Tabby

[ysabetwordsmith]

Thank you! Your new verse is up. And Merry Christmas!

Re: BOOTH: The Vagabond Tabby

[kellan_the_tabby]

*happydance* *purrs from the boy*

Booth: Chanter's Scribbling A.K.A. Fishing By Hand

[chanter1944]

This particular booth is one of those colored in blue (royal blue, to be specific) and silver, from the streamers twining around its support poles to the decorations pinned to its canvas cover (winter+outdoors in a booth=oh yes, there's a temporary roof over things) and the tasteful sign at its entrance. Easily seen among those decorations are stars in two colors, a handful of metallic silvery snowflakes, two or three friendly-looking blue dragons in miniature, and--hey, that's a bell, isn't it? The aforementioned sign advertizes writing, already completed or commissioned, in either a purely fictional or a lyrical vein.

From inside drift the mingled scents of creativity, warm wool, ginger, cardamom, fireplace smoke, dark chocolate, freshly-flung snowballs and clove, some of which are definitely coming from the large carafe simmering away in one corner. The dark-haired, beanie and fleece bedecked lass behind the counter likely has a lot to do with the fragrances not usually connected with cocoa. She has a number of already-finished pieces arrayed in front of her, but that's no idle keyboard sitting to one side either. The cross-country skis and poles leaning out of harm's way in the back *are* idle for now, which explains how Chanter got to Winterfaire this year! Hey, if a method is tried and true...

From its position on the table beside the hot chocolate, a radio with a wobbly antenna just announced the hour. In two very distinctly different time zones.

This is indeed a writerly entry! All my currently sponsorable pieces available for purchase via donation are listed right over here. I will also take commissions, at the rate of 2 American cents a word. Universe, theme, characters and form all negotiable.

Re: Booth: Chanter's Scribbling A.K.A. Fishing By Hand

[ysabetwordsmith]

Thank you! Your verse is up.

Booth: Starcat Designs

[stardreamer]

The Starcat logo at the front of the booth glows with the magic of the Faire, as if it were a real constellation. Inside are tables with displays of stone and glass bead jewelry, inexpensive sterling-silver earrings and pendants, and also small gifts for the home: several sizes of mortar & pestle sets, tote bags, wooden boxes, a selection of carved stone animals, and beaded bookmarks. Tinsel garlands twined around the roof beams and glittery paper snowflakes add a festive air, and above one unobtrusive spot between two tables dangles a sprig of mistletoe.


Prices on the stone and glass jewelry range from $15 to $400, but most items are in the $20-to-$150 range. Most of the sterling-silver earrings and pendants are $20; some of the fancier pieces are $25 or $30. All gift items are $20 or less.

Items are available for visual examination and purchase at the Starcat Designs website. On orders of $125 or more, shipping is free. I will happily answer questions either here or thru the website.

Note: I'm having a holiday sale! Items featured on the front page of the site are 15% off.

Booth: Instant Attitudes

[stardreamer]

The Instant Attitudes booth is a little shabby and shopworn, although some attempts have been made to spruce it up a bit. Across the back is a hanging display of T-shirt designs, while the trays on the front table contain a wide variety of bumper stickers for customers to browse through. The proprietor looks tired, but is still making a valiant effort to keep up the seasonal cheer.


Instant Attitudes sells T-shirts and bumper stickers designed to appeal to a geeky and educated audience. Examples:
- I don't judge people by their race, religion, color, size, age, gender, or ethnicity. I judge them by their grammar, spelling, syntax, punctuation, clarity of expression, and logical consistency.
- A mind needs books like a knife needs a whetstone, to maintain its edge.
- Instant Zombie - just add morning!
- The Ways are many; the Light is one (with an array of religious symbols from around the world)
- Steampunk means never having to ask, "Is this period?"
- Alcohol and calculus don't mix. Never drink and derive.
- I don't want to adult today. I don't even want to human. Today, I want to cat. (with line-art of sleeping kitty)
- Soft tribble, warm tribble, eating all my lunch. Happy tribble, purring tribble, munch, munch, munch.

T-shirt price is $19 ($22 including shipping) for sizes S-XL; 2X and up slightly more (reflecting the price difference of the blank shirts). Sizes up to 5X are regularly available, and 6X is available by special order.

Bumper sticker prices start at $2.50, with price breaks at 3, 12, and 20 stickers. We sometimes get orders in which it's clear that the whole office, or the whole gaming group, has gone in on an order to get the bulk pricing.

The payment structure is... a little antiquated. There's no shopping cart, although there are PayPal purchase buttons on the T-shirts. For bumper stickers, we advise sending an e-mail with the list of what you want so that we can check availability; then we'll send you a total price with shipping and a PayPal link; we also accept checks and money orders by mail. If you live outside the US, please contact us about any order before sending payment -- international shipping costs are wildly variable.

Re: Booth: Instant Attitudes

[ysabetwordsmith]

Thank you! Your two new verses are up.

[stardreamer]

Linked on DW and cross-posted to LJ; also on FB, where you'll see it because I tagged you.

BOOTH: Steve Savitzky's music

[mdlbear]

A small canopy shelters a musician who looks like either an ageing hippy or a programmer. In fact, he is both. His open guitar case contains several copies of his CD, Coffee, Computers, and Song!

(Signal boosted on FB at https://www.facebook.com/ssavitzky/posts/704308246371585 )

Booth: The Many Worlds of K. A. Webb

[k_a_webb]

A purple and silver tent is home to the Many Worlds. It's been quiet this year, due to life issues, but there are new stories being created in the near future, and that's why you can hear the whispering of what seems to be hundreds of voices. When you step inside the voices fade away, but there are a number of crystals in front of you that you can peer into and learn more about the Many Worlds.

Visit my website to read everything that's been posted, and either subscribe for new words monthly or commission me to write something new.

I'm also having a winter holiday sale, with all proceeds going towards rent. At the moment there are ten 5,000 word stories available for $25 dollars each and five 10,000 words stories available for $50. They can be written for you, or for a friend or relative. All stories will be delivered by the 25th of December.

Re: Booth: The Many Worlds of K. A. Webb

[ysabetwordsmith]

Thank you! Your verse is up.

BOOTH: The Vagabond Tabby

[kellan_the_tabby]

A simple canvas tent, with no banners to blow in the breeze, but instead delightful scents of cinnamon, pine, lavender and more waft out to tempt you inside. An orange tabbycat sits just out front; he meows and lifts a paw, inviting you over.

I make stuff for your skin (crap free, guaranteed!) -- soap and lip balms and massage oils and bath salts and such -- as The Vagabond Tabby. My orange tabby is my VP of Marketing -- nothing like a friendly cat on a leash sitting in front of your booth to bring folks in!

My website is TheVagabondTabby.com and I also have an Etsy site.

BOOTH: Steve Savitzky's music

[mdlbear]

A small canopy shelters a musician who looks like either an ageing hippy or a programmer. In fact, he is both. His open guitar case contains several copies of his CD, Coffee, Computers, and Song!

Re: BOOTH: Steve Savitzky's music

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Your two new verses are up.

BOOTH: Starcat Designs

[starcat-jewel.livejournal.com]

The Starcat logo at the front of the booth glows with the magic of the Faire, as if it were a real constellation. Inside are tables with displays of stone and glass bead jewelry, inexpensive sterling-silver earrings and pendants, and also small gifts for the home: several sizes of mortar & pestle sets, tote bags, wooden boxes, a selection of carved stone animals, and beaded bookmarks. Tinsel garlands twined around the roof beams and glittery paper snowflakes add a festive air, and above one unobtrusive spot between two tables dangles a sprig of mistletoe.


Prices on the stone and glass jewelry range from $15 to $400, but most items are in the $20-to-$150 range. Most of the sterling-silver earrings and pendants are $20; some of the fancier pieces are $25 or $30. All gift items are $20 or less.

Items are available for visual examination and purchase at the Starcat Designs (http://www.starcatdesigns.com) website. On orders of $125 or more, shipping is free. I will happily answer questions either here or thru the website.

Note: I'm having a holiday sale! Items featured on the front page of the site are 15% off.

Re: BOOTH: Starcat Designs

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Your two new verses are up.

BOOTH: Instant Attitudes

[starcat-jewel.livejournal.com]

The Instant Attitudes booth is a little shabby and shopworn, although some attempts have been made to spruce it up a bit. Across the back is a hanging display of T-shirt designs, while the trays on the front table contain a wide variety of bumper stickers for customers to browse through. The proprietor looks tired, but is still making a valiant effort to keep up the seasonal cheer.


Instant Attitudes (http://www.instantattitudes.com) sells T-shirts and bumper stickers designed to appeal to a geeky and educated audience. Examples:
- I don't judge people by their race, religion, color, size, age, gender, or ethnicity. I judge them by their grammar, spelling, syntax, punctuation, clarity of expression, and logical consistency.
- A mind needs books like a knife needs a whetstone, to maintain its edge.
- Instant Zombie - just add morning!
- The Ways are many; the Light is one (with an array of religious symbols from around the world)
- Steampunk means never having to ask, "Is this period?"
- Alcohol and calculus don't mix. Never drink and derive.
- I don't want to adult today. I don't even want to human. Today, I want to cat. (with line-art of sleeping kitty)
- Soft tribble, warm tribble, eating all my lunch. Happy tribble, purring tribble, munch, munch, munch.

T-shirt price is $19 ($22 including shipping) for sizes S-XL; 2X and up slightly more (reflecting the price difference of the blank shirts). Sizes up to 5X are regularly available, and 6X is available by special order.

Bumper sticker prices start at $2.50, with price breaks at 3, 12, and 20 stickers. We sometimes get orders in which it's clear that the whole office, or the whole gaming group, has gone in on an order to get the bulk pricing.

The payment structure is... a little antiquated. There's no shopping cart, although there are PayPal purchase buttons on the T-shirts. For bumper stickers, we advise sending an e-mail with the list of what you want so that we can check availability; then we'll send you a total price with shipping and a PayPal link; we also accept checks and money orders by mail. If you live outside the US, please contact us about any order before sending payment -- international shipping costs are wildly variable.