gert and i had a fine time at the Southern Adirondack Fiber Festival in Greenwich, New York last weekend. it was a smaller-scale affair (only in its second year) than its big sister in Rhinebeck, but it held the same feel, with a more relaxed atmosphere and a bit more local character. one of the best features is that the 4-H kids come around at lunch time with a menu and take your lunch order (i had homemade pumpkin soup both days)! there were about 90 fiber vendors, including dyers, weavers, spinners, knitters, and everyone’s favorite: the nuns who raise cashmere goats. sadly i never really got to run around and inspect them since i was on my own and had to stay in my booth. jill was there too, but they put us in two different barns so we were far apart and couldn’t relieve each other. of course i still managed to make a few purchases, which i will have to show you when the sun returns and i can photograph them… and i’ve already paid for my booth next year (in the SAME barn as jill) so mark your calendars now for September 24-25, 2011!
this was my first time having a solo booth at a true *fiber festival*. for years i’ve been selling successfully at many of the indie/Etsy-type craft fairs in NYC, like Renegade, Craftacular, and Gift on Grand, but since moving upstate, it’s become quite a hassle to haul everything down to the city. so i’ve been experimenting with different kinds of fairs; thus far the traditional ones don’t seem to be a good fit for my work (i am not surprised) and the fiber fests aren’t necessarily a perfect match either since their main emphasis is on yarn and fiber, less on finished goods. still, i love these festivals and their county-fair flavor. i did bring a sampling of handspun and hand-dyed yarn, but not enough to really make a statement. being and independent hand-maker is a journey; we shall see where it leads next…
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