Well, the Holiday Mart is over - thankfully it seems, with much reduced attendance from other years, according to all repeat vendors.
This was my first year, so was surprised to be selling anything at all. I find that these venues are break-even propositions, possibly useful for making some new contacts. Most of the attendees are content to walk the aisles and ogle the items.
Occasionally, I meet a person who is moved by the work, or finds it triggers a memory.
Spending time with them talking about a particular plant or garden is time treasured.
One woman remarked upon my photographs of clouds. (You can see them hanging on the gridwall on the right side of the image above.)
She said, "You took these in the fall, didn't you?" I was surprised at her ability to recognize the particular icy veil of early October sunsets in Michigan, and said "of course they were, but how did you know?"
She responded, almost tearfully, that her late husband was quite a pilot, who enjoyed traveling the state in his own small plane with her.
She said the photographs spoke to her with the exact same subtle tones and vibrant colors of the late-day October sun she remembers from so many trips in happier times.
So, whether or not "enough" sales are made during a weekend, there is - more often than not - at least one memorable encounter that can make the time spent more than worthwhile.
