Bohemian Mermaid Palace

Turkey Rama Originally uploaded by *TheMermaid* I'm a bit behind on my blogging duties here, where does the time go? Well, after the van adventure I went on to McMinnville, just south of Portland. I was lucky to be able to visit with family there which was great... hadn't seen them for oh 30 yrs. Very fun. And my aunt volunteered to be my booth helper, though I'm not sure she knew what she was getting into. Ha. Still it was fun to hang out. And hot! I didn't know it could reach 95 in that area! That along with the ridiculously long hours made turkey rama a bit painful to do. My uncle & aunt were nice enough to let me han out and recover an extra day... and I was off again.

Van Recovery Originally uploaded by *TheMermaid* We were determined to have our camping night...and were rewarded with a beautiful secluded spot.

Van waiting ... Originally uploaded by *TheMermaid* Waiting next to the river. Also next to the highway, but hidden from view. All in all, not so bad.

Well, I knew it was inevitable... can't take a trip this long and not have SOME kind of vehicle issues. Still, I was unhappy to say the least when I was in the Willamette National Forest, stopped at the ranger station for a map, and the van wouldn't start. Fuel pump. Great.  However, as far as breakdowns go, it couldn't have been much smoother really. So far, my phone works everywhere... I was able to get AAA right away for a tow. Of course, in the middle of nowhere, I wasn't sure what would come next. A tow the 40 miles back to Eugene? A crappy mechanic who'd screw me over or do a crap job? argh.  Well, the guy who towed me turned out to be something alright. (can you tell I'm at a real computer right now? probably the longest post you'll see in a while. ha.)  On the way back to the tow place, I learned quite a bit about him.... first, that he 'feeds' a homeless guy out back who he lets live in an old RV. We stopped for water, beer, smokes and

New Message Originally uploaded by *TheMermaid* Yes, those are rubber chickens in the wagon...

More Art & the Garden Pics Originally uploaded by *TheMermaid* I can only send one at a time... but wanted to share a couple more from last weekend. Fun times.

Art & the Vineyard Report Originally uploaded by *TheMermaid* Wow. What a weekend! A really nice show in Eugene... 3 Days, very high quality artwork, music, and perfect weather. The hours were pretty grueling, as expected. I'm mostly mush right now. But sales were great, people friendly... the food was excellent and there was a beautiful garden art area where I could have stayed all day. A long but fun weekend. I am now at my camp on a lake south of eugene... It's gorgeous but not as peaceful as I need right now. Too many boat motors and people. Tomorrow I'll find a remote place to spend a couple nights before I move on. Trees. Birdies. Quiet... My trip is off to a fabulous start. I don't think I could be much happier...

Art & the Vineyard Report Originally uploaded by *TheMermaid*

Here we go!! Originally uploaded by *TheMermaid* Ha! I am right now blogging from my phone thanks to the genius of flickr.com. My first almost-tour post. Here is a pic from the waiting room of the car place yesterday... The AC is now ready for anything!

Yet another test!! Originally uploaded by *TheMermaid* Please save me, flickr...

Ok, here I am at T-48 hours and I'm still not in freakout mode. I think it must be some sort of defense mechanism... I'm way too calm. I suppose I do have a good handle on all my packing stuff, though there's still plenty to do.  I'm pretty bummed that I can't get my mobile photo blog thingy to work. Well I can post photos to Facebook, but not my fan page. So my mom can see my pics, but not my customers. Argh. What I might do is have someone else post in my stead, via emails from me. Or I might see if I can post to Flickr and link to it. We'll see. I might also have access to a couple friends' compies on the road.  Anyway, right now I'm taking my pile of half-crossed-off lists and forming a final list, or punch list as Stu would say. Today is mostly printing clothing and finishing up some flyers and brochures. Tomorrow will be gathering and van packing day. Somewhere along the line I have to get groceries too.   This first show in Eugene will b

Well, this stinks. Part of the whole reason for getting a shiny new phone was so I could blog a bit while traveling. I can send a photo, but here's how it looks. I had to edit it, cuz it shows my phone number and a big Sprint logo and all this other junk. So... if I'm unable to make it work, I can at least post text. Which is lame, but it's something. I CAN, however, post pics on facebook. At least to my own account, maybe not the Mermaid page. *Sigh* Crap. You have a Picture Mail from xxxxxx@pm.sprint.com Message: View Entire Message

How about now?

Trying again... Posting from my phone. Lookit me! How about a pic. Uh, nope.

Oh my. It's coming up so fast... one week from today, I'll be packing up the van and checking my lists for departure on the Mermaid Tour 2010. I'm working hard not to have a freakout (like I often do when on my way out for a show trip). Doing my walks and taking care of bidness. But, each day my excitement level ratchets up a notch. I fear I'll be unbearable by next week. Anyway, I have all these travel details cluttering my brain. I figured I could bore you with them here... that's what blogs are for. Ha. As I have been preparing for my 6+ week craft show/camping trip, I have formulated a basic living plan. During the shows, I will hide out in my van as I normally do... somewhere close to the show. This is easy, as the van is empty and I can park it anywhere and go unnoticed. I'm usually so worked and tired, all I do is eat and go to bed anyway. Between shows, I'll camp in the beautiful forest lands. Tons of fabulous camping all along my route. I'

Success! A good time was had by all, and sales couldn't have been much better. Woot! I can always count on my SoHum peoples to come through. Really fun to see everyone... thanks to everybody who visited my little booth over the weekend! The weather turned out great, even too hot for me. A tiny bit of drizzle, but mostly it was sticky humid. The sun did come out here and there, so we were able to achieve that good summer festival feeling. I was about as close to the stage as one could get. I love being by the stage, but being SO close it was pretty loud even for me. Especially at breakdown time when the metal band played. Kinda hurt my head. I had a few hiccups with my girl party/helper plan. Sigh. But hey, I gave it a shot. Anyway... I did have some friends hang out for a bit, had enough help to do some shopping on Sunday which was a luxury. I was on my own for setup and tear down and that was a little rough. But the crazy sales, cool neighbors and friendly customers kept m

I think I started doing this a couple years ago, listing tips for craft selling... then felt a little weird about it for some reason.  A bit know-it-all-ish, I guess. This past weekend though, I found myself surrounded by new sellers and pouring my wisdom all over the place. People were taking notes! haha. It occurred to me that this is my 10th year of selling at festivals, and maybe it's ok to know some stuff. Since I really do enjoy sharing what I've learned over the years, and possibly helping someone out on their path, I thought I'd post here.  So, here are my 5 essential tips for selling at craft fairs. There are plenty more where this came from...but these are the biggies in my book: 1. Stay Positive.   I think if I hear one more discussion about these 'tough economic times' I might lose it. As craft vendors, we know every show is different. It's always something... gas prices, the weather, the promoter, the advertising, the location, the local popu

Wooohoo! It's officially a GO!  Back in Feb I had a brainstorm to do an extended craft show trip this summer. I have talked about doing this for years. Although, my fantasy is more like a year long trip... but this is a good start! Somehow I managed to find 4 shows in a row, both by time and geography, that are juried and look quite good. AND happen to lead up to the big craft show in Bismarck, ND where I have family. Then I waited to see if I would be accepted to at least 3 out of the 5 to make the trip for sure. I mean, the gas alone will cost about $1000. If I'm going to do it, I need it to be worthwhile money-wise. ND is far away! As of yesterday, I have been confirmed in 4 of the 5 shows. I've yet to hear from the last one, but my fingers are crossed!  Now that I'm talking about it as a reality (rather than a possibility), I'm getting more and more excited. You can see the individual show details on my Facebook page over there>>>  I'll se

I was reading an article the other night about selling crafts wholesale. It assumed you would have plenty of orders, and asked basically 'Are you ready to do your craft constantly day in and day out to fill orders?' The production end of things can be tedious and possibly ware on a person over time... makes sense. For many crafts, the creative art part is a small percentage of time compared to the crafting of the item itself. You choose media and materials, sketch, design, maybe draw or paint elements of the final piece... the rest is molding, firing, sewing, beading, dyeing, (insert your craft here) and then finishing, packaging and the like. So I started thinking about the past week, up to my elbows in dye every day for hours. I'm doing 10 batches which is about 100 pieces. Oh it's repetitive alright... but not only don't I get bored, I actively enjoy it. I find the routine soothing, almost meditative. I listen to music, often dancing and singing. Or I listen