This time was primarily filled up by the Lehigh Valley Flower, Garden, and Pool show. A few really long days but I was amongst friends and so it was fun. Last year was the first time I had tried the event and I was very happy with my sales, this year I did just a little better than last year. That is good because the show was just a little more expensive than last year too. so I covered that cost increase.
I think it is difficult any time you mix in artisans with things that are bought wholesale and resold at a profit. Typically retailers will mark up a product by 100-150% so they have a lot of wiggle room in their prices. For example, if I sold a bar of my soap to a shop for $3, they would charge at least $6 or more for that same bar of soap and they did nothing other than buy it ans stick it on a shelf. I understand that they do tie up their money when they make a purchase (and have rent etc...) and that there should be some profit, but sometimes things get a little excessive and the artisan can't compete with the prices, or the selection that a retailer can provide.
This is especially true when the difference between handcrafted and not is not differentiated in people's minds. I find it most at events like this where there is a handcrafter or artisan right next to a booth full of things imported for pennies and sold for a high mark up, but still less expensive than what they could be made for here in the US. Many people don't understand there is a difference, or if there is, why there is a difference. It is actually perceived that that artisan is being greedy because the prices are higher. The prices are higher actually because we can't even buy our component parts for as inexpensive as a completed product from overseas!
So why do we do it? Why do we even try and compete with the global economy? Why don't we all just sit back and work for the big box retailers and let the cheap goods fly right out the door? Because we are what me make. What every artisan does is such a part of our DNA that we cannot imagine ourselves not doing what we do. Through all the trials and tribulations, through all the heartache and sorrow, the stress and the strain of it all is so much a part of us, we wouldn't give it up for anything in the world. I am passionate about what I do and how I do it. I want to change the world one bar of soap at a time. I want my story to be heard and I want people to know that a little bit of mu soul is in every bar I make. The idea of letting all that is wrong with the world (excessive consumerism, the misuse of technology, and the prevalence of chemical laden things in our lives) makes me ill. Making soap the way I do, the way I believe in, is my small way of rebelling against a system that I think is flawed. It is my way of hoping that I can help the world and my community.
Idealistic? Yes. Would I change? No. I don't have an idea of who I would be without this.
Hope to see you at the Egg and Art Show in a few weeks!
-Hedge
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