gratuitous shots of fire fighters, for a good cause!!

Greetings all,

Last night's little SIDS&kids market was fun, the entertainment even better!!  These kind & generous fire fighters were paraded around in a fashion show in casual jeans, beach apparel (swim suit section), suits . . . then, what we'd all be waiting for - in their uniforms!!  As someone married to a sexy man in uniform, i get to giggle at this kind of scene every day (lucky me), but for the ladies in the crowd who were let loose on a Friday night with a few glasses of champagne under their belts, there was plenty of cheering, whistling & waving.  Yes, the poor blokes were pieces of meat, raising money for the neonatal ward at the Canberra Hospital.

 Here's Mr February signing my calendar.  As a sometimes ditsy blonde & naive girl who married her teenage sweetheart, it wasn't until i got home & my husband pointed out the double meaning of what he wrote . . . "Dear Jennie, Remember, get down low & go go go" to which i responded to the fire fighter at the time . . . "oh yes, my children know the home fire safety drill".  Now i can understand his puzzled face & how dumb i must have looked.  I just said to my handsome soldier, "clearly i only have eyes for you".

All for a good cause, raising money for SIDS&kids plus the local neonatal ward.  I happily bought raffle tickets all night & came home to kiss & cuddle all my 4 happy, healthy, sleeping babies (well 7 to 11 year olds), very lucky to have them.  We never needed neo natal treatment for any of them & raised them in the Northern Territory where they have the lowest SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) figures in Australia. 
On an aside, have you ever been rescued by a fire fighter??  I have, well my eldest daughter was, when she was 18 months old!!  Back in the year 2000 i was feeding our puppy dinner & the door closed behind me.  Trying to get an toddler to flick a dead lock with frantic hand signals, isn't easy!!  Long story short, me in a tank top & pyjama pants, no bra, had 8 burly fire fighters arrive & slowly remove our front door to reunite mother & daughter.  Knowing my absent husband would never believe the story, i had them all stop & pose for photos holding our daughter (more gratuitous shots of fire fighters).  The next day i took a few cases of beer to the Station (Stuart Park NT if you were wondering) to say thank you & lucky me, didn't get the idiot bill which they charge some people - the pricey call out fee for dumb scenarios.  Have safe weekends everyone, love Posie

my little tricks for unknown markets

Greetings all,

So tonight i have a market, for SIDS&kids.  I signed up immediately as i knew regardless of how the market goes, my stall fee is going to a good cause.  I've just re-read the brief & realise it's also the Fire Fighter Calendar launch, so NOTHING to lose, i'm 4 stalls down from the ACT Fire Fighter table, yippee?? 
With little idea of the venue, demographic or what else to expect, i have some market tricks to share with you when attending an unknown market . . . 

 Take a themed product - try to fit a product which translates into the event/ season/ festivity i.e. Christmas!!  I made 20 of these headbands sitting along the athletics track last night at training.  I price my themed products less than the regular ones, so they sell quickly & impulsively.  I'll also be wearing one in my hair, yes, people ask where you wear headbands, really, they do!! 

 Take something to do - be subtle & keep it simple, don't read a book, but something market-stall-related like fiddle with a display, in my case, moving the brooches from this broken down old battered suitcase, into a new glass/ wooden divider box i picked up for $9 from The Reject Shop.  I can do it quickly or   v e r y   s l o w l y.  Nothing worse than looking pensive, anxious or bored at your stall, busy yourself!!

Take something new.  Each market i try to have a new product or atleast new range of fabrics on my products.  Tonight it's these super cute knitting kits from Art Viva, which are an addition to their Tasmanian Oak knitting needles.  You'll often find regular customers asking "what's new today" & they'll buy it!!  It's a lovely relationship, they love being the first to have something new.

I hope these tips help you!!  I'm also taking some hand stitching, just in case it's quiet.  I figure it's something small & simple you can do standing up, customers oohh & aahh saying "wow, aren't you clever" as so many can't sew on a button.  Plus it puts a handmade stamp on your work, makes the time fly & it's something you can do manually - when you're at home, you may as well be using your electric or bulky equipment!!

Have lovely weekends & wishing you marketeers all the best!!  Love Posie