05/05/2026
Hello folks!
Thought I'd step in here and give an update.
Last Saturday was the last indoor farmers market. We finished the season with a little better sales for the day. A vendor bought one of our largest cutting boards! Thank you, Diane!!
Overall, the season wasn't a good one for us, and we've made the difficult decision to just go Per Diem next year. We barely broke even. We'll likely do the holiday events and be happy with those.
For this summer you'll find us in a new location on the Walmart side of the market. First full row on the end toward the bank. Last year, we barely broke even for the summer, which other years we did pretty good. Not spectacular - but crafts don't. We did better the first three or four years and now, people just aren't even looking our way. And if they did, they'd say, "Oh, I wish I'd known you were down this way - I wouldn't have bought this one!" Usually meaning a cutting board.
So, we're trying the other side to see if it helps. If it does, yay! If not, the cost is less, and we may decide to just go Per Diem for the summer as well. Maybe look for actual craft shows. We've been invited to vend at the Brandon Farmers Market on Fridays, and in Ferrisburg for a craft show there. Kind of a ways to go, but it seems the craft shows are.
This year, the only other event we'll probably do is the Killington Wine Festival, or Killington Uncorked, as they're calling it now. They've cut our table space from ten foot tables to six foot ones. So, I have to decide what I can reasonably expect to sell. Key chains is a given and coasters. Possibly tea lights. Maybe a few engravings and the stone necklaces.
I can't wait to show you a photo of my new setup! All new tablecloths, and I've painted the gray key chain baskets, gloss yellow. The cross boards have gotten a new sanding and look much better. Plus they'll be of the same size. I'm changing out the smaller board for a longer one. I was going to paint or stain everything, but in the end, decided to keep it all natural, except for the plastic key chain baskets. They'll be my pop of color for the table. The new tablecloths are coffee colored. A big change away from green and burgundy.
Brett will have his own space for his Sweet Haven Treats. He'll have the space now to offer not only his famous chocolate chip cookies, but all his muffins, sticky buns, brownies, and biscotti. And whatever else he decides to offer. He'll be under the burgundy and white striped tent next to my beige one.
We take cash, cards, PayPal and Venmo.
I still have quite a few custom key chains that have not been picked up. Some of them from last year even. I should probably make people pay upfront. But if they aren't picked up within the first two Saturdays of this summer season, I'll just be adding them to the baskets.
I can do ANY name. Of course the longer the name, the smaller the letters will be, but I can fit up to nine letters pretty well. Someday, if the budge allows, I'll get a small laser unti and generator to do key chains and small engravings on the spot. Right now, I will take your orders and have it there the next Saturday - barring sickness, a weekend off, or rain. If it's raining when I get up, I will not be there, as setting up in the rain really makes a mess of things made of wood!!
Let's hope that Saturday's forecast will change or at least not rain until after we're all set up. And then there's the wind . . . Rutland is really windy!
I did sell a few more books, and I'll have a few more to add. So, I'll have books written under my pen name, Neenah Davis-Wilson as well as the kids' and YA books.
I think that wraps it up for now! Thanks for stopping by! And thanks for following us! Appreciate that very much!! Have a great rest of your week! Hope to see you there sometime this summer!!
