Had a totally horrid day at a carft fair/market today - any helpful hints and tios for the next one

[KatyMac]

I had an exhausting, wet cold and miserable day; I couldnt get the gazebo up it was unsafe even with weights, my legs ended up achy and sore

So maybe I need a new stronger gazebo - but it needs to be put up by one person, any suggestions?

I will get camping tiles things to go under my camping mat which will increase the insulation for my feet/hips

I am working on streamlining what I need to take, but mannequins take up so much space!

I bought a big fab car which really really helps

Wow thank you so so much; that's great - DD & I managed it yesterday pretty well but it is stiff

I have some of those big candy cane ones and some ones with yellow handles and we have the big round white weights filled with sand but we didnt even need them yesterday (no-one else had anything at all)

The guy roles are sort of tape with a rachet-thingie no it's not a rachet but it has sort of teeth

That has to be the last outdoor one I do until the weather starts to improve next year I think

Everything got wet, I couldn't peg the bottom of the sides so water can in on the ground - it was horrid!!

I think the ‘tape like’ guy rope sounds like a good quality one.
Is it like strapping?
www.screwfix.com/p/master-lock-lashing-strap-5m-x-25mm/82529?tc=AC1&ds_kid=92700046638549236&ds_rl=1243318&ds_rl=1241687&ds_rl=1245250&ds_rl=1245250&gclid=CjwKCAjw_Y_8BRBiEiwA5MCBJoPqjnrOpp_yxe5Ksq6NOVz_XuhL3x90K1t3oAxfOCd9dID71__ZDRoCFk4QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

A thing that I forgot to mention was that gazebos shouldn’t be fixed down too tight, it seems to make them solid, but it means that they don’t ‘give’ anything in the wind, so you think you are surviving weather and suddenly something bends or snaps.
(For example the Chinese proverb about grass and trees - the grass bends in the wind)
You of course need the right balance, tight enough to hold it, but with some give.
It sounds like you have a good quality set.

I am less keen on those wrap around weights, but that’s because we went from wrap around sand bags to metal weights. We use a van rather than car so can load up with whatever.
The white plastic weights are the equivalent to the metal weights as the problem with bags is that they slip down. So there is nothing wrong with the ones you have

Do your sides flap in the wind or was it just the bottom?
We sometimes run some ropes along half way up the legs, that acts as a barrier so a flapping side doesn’t knock stock over
We do a lot of small breakables, and even if the side is pegged and doesn’t seem to move there is just enough to shake a shelf.

For wet ground there is the option of matting, but I’m in two minds about that - it can trip people at the entrance if the ground is not even, and if rain gets in under the sides then it makes pools.
We often use mats around the walkways and where we sit.

It is going to be a learning experience to find what works best for you, and you have probably dropped right in to the deepend with the current weather.

I help out two sisters and we have a varied and changing mix of products. One is a jeweler & seamstress so she prefers to create, but holds a range of stock for different types of show and to fit people’s pockets. So that’s quite an emporium of curiousities. She hasn’t been out to trade since March, so is concentrating on her online pages and virtual shows that replace some of the physical shows we would be at.
She’s hoping the wintermarkets pick up the slack.
The other sister has a shop, so show cancellations are not a major factor..... She still needs customers that aren’t coming in normal numbers!

Yes I think so about 2 cms wide with metal teethed things

Is it worth buying ground bars do you think?

Wow can 8 have a dm with link to insta or fb please? Right up my street OP.

I not 8

I would also really love to know the name of your shop/fb please

@KatyMac

Yes I think so about 2 cms wide with metal teethed things

Is it worth buying ground bars do you think?

Ground bars are an interesting option that we haven’t tried.

Benefits are that they make the gazebo more ‘substantial’, spaces out the legs properly and give you something to attach the bottom of the sides too.
(Obviously not using a ground bar at the front or you’ll be tripping customers - and I would be tripping over the back door)
(You can attach the sides to the bars with elastic etc if the sides have grommet holes. Though if you have grommet holes then could also run down elastic if needed and peg them down. If you don’t have grommet holes then they can be ‘punched’ and grommets fitted, but only if you’re confident otherwise if not done well it makes a weakness to rip later)

We normally put up grid walls, which renders the gazebo very substantial. Most are standard grid wall stood up vertically and zip tied to the gazebo. I don’t generally peg the sides, but have done when overnight to ‘lock’ the front.

We usually have tables along the back and sides, and extra stock in plastic boxes under the tables so in this layout then that’s probably avoiding anything getting in under the sides

A thing we did add last year was add a couple of ‘porches’ these help a lot to keep rain out of the open front. (Not 100% but a big difference)

(I just have to be careful when fitting as the bar pokes out at forehead height for me before I put on the rest of it and adjust the angle)

Its difficult as MNHQ can be a bit strict
Of course if anyone messages me......

Looking at your set up enviously; I am really considering a small retro caravan with bifold doors to make a little shop

there are channels in the bottom of the sides for the bars

I searched for OP's Mumsnet username, together with "eco clothing" , and found relevant FB and insta pages that way :)

Now I’m jealous!
We don’t have channels for the bars

@KatyMac

Its difficult as MNHQ can be a bit strict Of course if anyone messages me......

Looking at your set up enviously; I am really considering a small retro caravan with bifold doors to make a little shop

Sadly it’s not my setup, I’m the free helper.

It’s taken a few years to build up.
She began with one cheap pop up gazebo and a horse lorry to transport it.
Sleeping in the back of the lorry after unloading if it’s a weekend event.
Originally working as a part timer, looking after her horses and trading at shows on the weekend, and struggling to fit the time to make what she was selling.

It was partly just running a stall at shows that we may go to anyway, so profit wasn’t essential. If we got to spend the weekend in a field, listen to live music and enjoy it then we were happy, sales were the icing on the cake
Then she came to the point of deciding that she needed to commit or give up, and quit the part time job which allowed the time to make goods - and meant taking things seriously

After going through a couple of cheap gazebos, it was an upgrade to a pair of professional ones and building up different designs of how to layout, upgrading to a van and caravan to stay in etc
She considered a single longer gazebo but the benefit of two (or three) is that we can put up what is suitable for a specific event. She’s also designed her own framework to use the gridwalls indoors and keep them solid and stable.

The retro caravan is a good idea, we’ve seen a couple used and they add a lot of ‘flavour’ to the stall
Our eyes are on a lorry based shop - a lottery win would result in being able to drive up and open the doors.
I did see a clothes shop once set up in a converted horse lorry - that one certainly wasn’t being used for horses.

When both sisters are on a show together it’s 4 gazebos in a line of the two shops, caravan behind one, perhaps a tent, and the van. (Effectively two rows deep)
When just one it’s 2 gazebos with caravan behind, and the band behind that (3 rows deep)
(Last year at one show things were very spaced out in a large field and we were given free reign and encouraged to spread out - so had 4 gazebos out for just the one shop: stock room, 2 gazebo shop, 1 gazebo charity tombola)

Have you considered taking space in a shop instead? Craft fairs are often dire, expensive and low sales and a huge amount of time and effort. How many items would you have to sell to make back the cost of a bespoke caravan or similar, plus fuel, entry fee, the cost to make the item, your time?

If I was trying to sell your products, I would look for an independent shop (or more than one) that I liked the style of, and ask them about renting some space. You could agree some combination of rent, percentage of sales and working in the shop that worked for both of you.

And get on Etsy too.

Thanks @stella47, I dont hide

I have black rubber mats (like jigsaw ones) but they dont stay together
I tried an indoor outdoor carpet but the nylon wicks any damp and the bottoms of the dresses get wet

My idea with the caravan is that it will store my stock, transport it and display it. If I have solar panels and leisure batteries then I can run a sewing machine (maybe there are issues to do with sine waves that I don't understand), then I can run mending tables at festivals and fairs - my aim is to teach people how to mend to help with clothes poverty

I'm at a pop up shop on Saturday- which is warmer but still hard shifting all the stuff

I now know my stock/equipment weighs 160kgs and the gazebo 46

Information gathering!

@KatyMac

Thanks *@stella47*, I dont hide

I have black rubber mats (like jigsaw ones) but they dont stay together
I tried an indoor outdoor carpet but the nylon wicks any damp and the bottoms of the dresses get wet

My idea with the caravan is that it will store my stock, transport it and display it. If I have solar panels and leisure batteries then I can run a sewing machine (maybe there are issues to do with sine waves that I don't understand), then I can run mending tables at festivals and fairs - my aim is to teach people how to mend to help with clothes poverty

The sine waves relate to the power invertor.

A solar panel and leisure battery will give you 12 volts of DC direct current
(The power passes in one direction with + and - terminals)

Your sewing machine will require 240 volts AC alternating current

When we wire plugs there are + and - terminals, but the power flips back and forwards due to the generator rotating like an electric motor

You need a power invertor to boost the battery 12 volts up to 240volts and convert DC to AC
The DC AC conversion is conducted in a sine wave - curved fluctuating graph

There are different ways of converting DC to AC and it depends on the sewing machine as to whether it is affected by the type of wave

..... and that’s how much I understand

My brother was looking at making me a lightweight treadle....but Covid got in the way...so not using electric would be fab

The caravan shop idea sounds fab, op.

Thanks @MargeProopsSpecs if I can manage it, I think it will be fab

Totally the wrong thread !!

@KatyMac

Its a bit niche but I use preloved/vintage household fabrics (tablecloths, curtains and bedding) to make costumes, occasion wear and wedding gowns

Happy to share by pm

Occasion wear and costumes for what? No one is going anywhere.

I know its pants isn't it!

I tracked down your Facebook but can't see prices or how to buy stuff. Do you have an online shop?

I'm sorry - the facebook shop was a bit flakey

There are albums with some pictures and I am in the process of doing some big albums I'll let you know on here if/when I get them done

But I'm a bit of a failure on that front really