Two weeks from right now, my first show of the season will be a wrap. Yep, that’s right – my first one. I’m only doing two big shows this year, and I haven’t hooked up with any monthly markets since we moved; that’s by choice. I’m excited, though. Preparing for a big event like this takes so much work and organization. Then there’s setting it up, my husband Peter and me coming together to get everything displayed just so. After everything is in place to my exacting standards (that takes a while, I’ll admit) and I finally get to sit back or stand to wait for customers, then I take a deep breath of satisfaction. At that point, the hard part is over and the fun part begins.
While I really enjoy making my products (and using them, too, of course!), I’m such an extrovert that I get great satisfaction and joy from interacting with my customers. I love every part of it, from that initial greeting to telling them about my products, helping them find their “just right” purchases and then handing them a coupon along with the soaps or lotion they’ve just bought. It’s in being out with my customers that I get to personally experience the people who are interested in my wares.
In two weeks is Onslow Oktoberfest in Jacksonville. I’m excited, because this will be my first time doing this fairly young event. Now that I’m here in a different part of the state, I get to participate in events that were too geographically undesireable to join when we lived in Durham. Onslow Oktoberfest will take place on Saturday, 24 October at Riverwalk Crossing Park, 421 Court Street, Downtown Jacksonville, NC behind the historic train depot. It runs from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Check back here for specifics on where I’ll be located so you can drop in and say “hi.”
My feature product will be beer soap and this close to their curing dates, I can tell you that they’re amazing! They all smell so yummy, and the ones with designs and swirls have come out looking spectacular. Peter washed the ash off the Green Irish Tweed batch he did to reveal gorgeous green and bronze swirls. Hops are wonderful for skin and hair, and the sniglet I tried made my skin feel so soft and moisturized. More on those tomorrow.
