Welcome to Winterfaire 2022
Nov. 26th, 2022 04:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThe 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!
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, Patreon, 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. The following linkback poems still have verses available:
"In the Shade of the Mighty Oak,"
"Let the Children Lead Us,"
"Autumn's Palette,"
"Pumpkin Spice Prosperity,"
"Delight in Another,"
"A Sense of Weather Changes,"
"Ouroboros Insects,"
"The Loving Embrace of Night,"
"Generations of Cooks Past,"
"Begin to Understand Ourselves,"
"Homefree and Clear, "
"One Bite at a Time,"
"Stars and Diamonds,"
"Mishpocha,"
"There's an Art to It,"
"The Glass Cat."
Linking to this page will reveal new verses in whichever one you request. 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
* promote Winterfaire in another holiday market
* host a similar holiday market in your own blog or other venue
Dreamwidth will notify me of comments to the Winterfaire post; 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.
Happy holidays!
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!
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, Patreon, 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. The following linkback poems still have verses available:
"
"Let the Children Lead Us,"
"Autumn's Palette,"
"Pumpkin Spice Prosperity,"
"Delight in Another,"
"A Sense of Weather Changes,"
"Ouroboros Insects,"
"The Loving Embrace of Night,"
"Generations of Cooks Past,"
"Begin to Understand Ourselves,"
"Homefree and Clear, "
"One Bite at a Time,"
"Stars and Diamonds,"
"Mishpocha,"
"There's an Art to It,"
"The Glass Cat."
Linking to this page will reveal new verses in whichever one you request. 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
* promote Winterfaire in another holiday market
* host a similar holiday market in your own blog or other venue
Dreamwidth will notify me of comments to the Winterfaire post; 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.
Happy holidays!
Re: Booth- Dante's Spirit
Date: 2022-11-29 09:05 pm (UTC)I do have alpaca, cotton and silk too, that all have zero wool, merino or otherwise. }:) The alpaca is really fine, almost laceweight, more akin to a light fingering weight. Unfortunately, I have to price them accordingly, so they tend to stick around in the shop for awhile before the right person for them comes along. I also tend to hoard specific luxury fibers to use in handmade gifts. (Doesn't everyone who works with fiber? Heh.)
I like the acrylic and acrylic blends for soft sculptures, stuffies and ornaments. I can price them lower, generally, and they tend to get a lot more wear and tear than the shawls or scarves do. *Especially* the stuffies that double as dice guardians (ie, have a built in pouch).
Around here too, the most weaving types that people see are tea towels, wash cloths, or rugs. So scarves or shawls woven on a triangle loom make them think crochet or knitting, understandably.
Re: Booth- Dante's Spirit
Date: 2022-11-30 10:07 am (UTC)I love to look at art yarns.
>> I do have alpaca, cotton and silk too, that all have zero wool, merino or otherwise. }:)
Alpaca is nice. I love silk yarn, and cotton is good too. Silk-angora makes a great blend, I've had sweaters of that.
>> The alpaca is really fine, almost laceweight, more akin to a light fingering weight. Unfortunately, I have to price them accordingly, so they tend to stick around in the shop for awhile before the right person for them comes along. <<
Yeah, the fancy stuff costs more, but in most cases you get what you pay for. At least it's not qiviut, eh?
>> I also tend to hoard specific luxury fibers to use in handmade gifts. (Doesn't everyone who works with fiber? Heh.) <<
Sensible. I've seen references to people collecting art yarn as a sculpture unto itself. I don't see why not.
You might get a kick out of some things I've written about characters who are into fibercrafts. The fiber fair poem took me three days to write, because I was following two people who kept going "YAAARRRN."
>>I like the acrylic and acrylic blends for soft sculptures, stuffies and ornaments.<<
I like acrylic yarn when it's soft. I have some sweaters of that. But some is scratchy and awful.
>> I can price them lower, generally, and they tend to get a lot more wear and tear than the shawls or scarves do. *Especially* the stuffies that double as dice guardians (ie, have a built in pouch).<<
That makes sense.
>>Around here too, the most weaving types that people see are tea towels, wash cloths, or rugs. So scarves or shawls woven on a triangle loom make them think crochet or knitting, understandably.<<
Huh. I haven't seen handwoven tea towels, and the only washclothes were the kiddie kind with nylon loops. Rugs, yes. Around here -- I'm in central Illinois -- the art fairs and Renaissance faires have woven shawls and scarves, occasionally placemats or coasters, belts and similar narrow things are popular too.
Re: Booth- Dante's Spirit
Date: 2022-11-30 05:52 pm (UTC)Back when we were active in the SCA, oh, 20+_ years ago, there was a lot of inkle loom weaving, tablet weaving, etc.
Then we moved to Virginia where... that's not near as common in SW/SouthCentral Va for some reason. but towels, rugs, scrubbie clothes, regular washcloths.. yup, every artisan event, someone is selling them. Go figure.
Oh! And pottery is big here, stained glass art, those quilted bowls, anything VaTech/UVa themed...