The Easter Craft Sale -- Post Mortem

I've had a long and hard day, so I'm really not in any mood to make comments about the Easter Craft Sale at the shopping center. But I feel I owe it to everyone to say something, and I'll try to put a good face on it, regardless of how terrible it seemed at the time.

The day started badly. The set-up time is between 7 and 8 a.m. And for some reason my alarm didn't go off, meaning I overslept for the first time in something like 25 years. I'm thinking I subconsciously didn't want to go, and so whatever internal timer mechanism I have tried its best to spare me. Except I did need to go, since I'd already paid the exorbitant $40 fee for my table, up five bucks from last year.

After I did everything I had to do, including loading the bunnies in the car, and going to the bathroom, etc., I headed out to the shopping center, knowing it was going to be rough. Spots for the tables, except for the higher class people, the real long-termers, is first come, first serve. Which ended up meaning precisely how I knew it'd go, the other bastards would grab the best spots, leaving me, the latecomer, the crappiest spot in the world, a few tables past where even the diehard customers are likely to go.

I got a few nasty comments from some of the ones who know me: "Bedhead," "Look what the cat dragged in," "At least you're well-rested," and "Good luck -- You're going to need it." The worst part of the process of getting in was that I needed to make multiple trips past some of these cretins, giving them plenty of opportunities to level their best taunts.

But I finally made it, and got my stuff all set up: A nice blue tablecloth, my signs -- "Lovely to look at, wonderful to hold, but if you pop off an eye or mess up the styrofoam head, we mark it sold.", "Cute, crazy, cuddly," "No photographs or sketches please," and the price card, "$5 apiece, 2 for $9." Now it was just time to settle in for a day of bustling business.

I guess I'm always an optimist, at least going in. Then as the day drags by, I'm nothing but a realist, "I'm sunk, this sucks, I should've stayed in bed..." For customers I had the usual dregs, lots of lookers who can't be bothered to spend a quality minute examining my stuff, kids who have no qualms about bending the pipe cleaners, and preoccupied mothers who foolishly ignore their children's desire for a nice bunny. Then occasionally -- but never often enough -- one will be persuadable, and it's those ones I like. I'm quick to get their cash before they have time to reconsider. They might walk away and the kid immediately breaks the bunny, but no matter ... I just look the other way.

Around noon, I saw some clown with his phone out, snapping pictures of some of the crafts upstream. For which I came prepared. I whipped out two other tablecloths and covered my stuff, then prominently put the "No photographs" sign on top of the whole works. He got down to me and looked a little put out, but I only smiled, knowing I'd scored a major win for our side. Hell man, if you want a picture of a bunny, buy one, then go home and photograph it to your damned heart's content. I don't want my stuff on Pinterest. Knock off someone else's art ... or craft, in this case.

It slowed to a dead crawl around 2 p.m. I was able to get out and talk to some of the other crafters. My day was terrible but they had even more gripes than me. That's one of the great things about craft sales. If you really want to hear complaints, crafters should be your go-to guys. The sale was poorly advertised, the shopping center doesn't respect us, the increased table fee was egregious, and a lot of the browsers are only in the vicinity to use the bathroom; they don't care about us. Plus, we kick around the bad economy and people's decreased disposable income, despite the evidence to the contrary, poor people going by carrying $5 coffee and their grubby little rug-rats eating $4 cotton candy.

I had a few anxieties of my own. One, my sales were worse than previous years. Two, just because I caught that one photographer doesn't mean I didn't miss a few others. A few of these knockoff artists have someone distract you with friendly talk, then they're snapping pictures, only to have the friend drop you like a hot potato when they've got what they want. On that point, I suspect the friendly girl with the deep cleavage who visited with me -- stunning eye contact! -- might have been a photographer's confederate. But she was sweet enough it was almost worth it. And, three, offering a twofer (2 bunnies for $9) about kills my profit margin. I like the come-on aspect of it, I just have to hope not too many customers abuse it.

Oh, I used the word "customers." In crafter language, the word for them is "fresh meat." That's one of the biggest complaints. Listen for it if you get close to a crafter. If they're complaining about "Not enough fresh meat," all it means is they wish we had more customers. If only the stinking shopping center would advertise more!

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Previous Easter Bunny Craft Sales:

2010:
Local Man Makes and Sells Easter Bunnies
Selling Easter Bunnies at the Shopping Center
Last Call for Easter Bunnies
Boxing Up My Bunnies

2011:
The Easter Craft Sale

2012:
I'm Selling Easter Bunnies at the Craft Sale

2013:
Easter Bunnies -- Is This The End of Crafts?

Easter Bunnies -- Is This The End Of Crafts?

Well, I have to confess, I'm not in a very good mood. You can probably guess why: Easter's coming! Meaning, yes, even though Easter is a very joyous holiday, it's also the season for the Easter craft sale at the shopping center. Which once again I'm planning to set up for. Even though at this point I'm more depressed about it than ever.

Still, I keep telling myself, anything I make is more than I have now. But it definitely could be better. It's almost not worth it. And yet ... there I'll be.

When it comes to crafting, I think crafting's in a sad/weird state. It's not the best of times, it's the worst. One, you've got the old-timers, dinosaurs like me, who insist on only the finest craftsmanship, being heavily into the tradition of the thing. Only, we don't get much for it. Then you've got all the young turks, mostly women who are learning their "craft" off the internet -- as I call them, Pinterest copycats, churning out crap and that by imitation.

I'm proud to say I came up with my bunnies on my own. It took a lot of tinkering. But what's that count for these days? That and a quarter and I'm as good as broke. So, in part, I'm going to be there for my fellow old-timers. We have to stick together, even if it's hard; I see a lot of very grim expressions. But the others, the newbies, they've made it a social media thing for themselves, so they're always bubbling over with a silly excitement, la de dah. Crafting fangirls, big fans of each other, and not an original idea in the whole pack!

Even though I'm sticking with it, I have an incredible insight: No one really needs crafts. It's all do-it-yourself now. With the internet -- and the worst scourge, cameras everywhere -- anyone can knockoff your crafts. Like my bunnies. If you have a picture of them, and aren't just going by memory, it's not too tough to see what fits where. Although, insisting on craftsmanship and tradition as I do, of course they aren't going to be near as good. But I'm realistic; we're not making a living at it. Those who try, we have a word for them, the poor.

I mentioned cameras. What a scourge. They're everywhere. I wish it was the 1800's, like with Lincoln, where they had to ignite a living vulture on a pole for the flash and make a 30 second exposure. It wouldn't be hard to catch people taking pictures then! Now they're on the sly. Every phone is a camera. There's probably cameras built into wedding rings. It's a Dick Tracy world, only not as full of promise as we once expected, more a curse.

Really, it's like this: If you want to keep your ideas to yourself, you about have to cover them with a sheet and only offer peeks to people who express a real interest in buying. I think it might be good for them to put down a small deposit -- let's say $25 to $50 -- to take a peek. Then if they buy, they get the deposit back. That'd cut down on the frivolous browsers as well as those with a hidden camera or photographic memory. Or maybe put them to public shame if they didn't buy something, like dunking their head in molasses and spraying sawdust on them, or at the very least putting a big "Kick Me" sign around their neck. That'd cut down on idea-stealing.

On the other hand, if this is the end of crafts, it could be a big year. If people think the end is here, maybe they'll want it to go out with a bang. They might snap up my stuff like collector's items, the last hurrah of a dying era. I'd like to say tradition and craftsmanship wins out, but I don't think it does. Not when you have all these women and the fast thrills of social media, all of them getting together to celebrate one another's supposed cleverness (yeah, we know!), then it no doubt degenerates into touching, heavy breathing, impassioned stripping, and who knows what all, as they writhe in ecstasy on the floor. I hope they choke on it...
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Previous Easter Bunny Craft Sales:

2010:
Local Man Makes and Sells Easter Bunnies
Selling Easter Bunnies at the Shopping Center
Last Call for Easter Bunnies
Boxing Up My Bunnies

2011:
The Easter Craft Sale

2012:
I'm Selling Easter Bunnies at the Craft Sale

I'm Selling Easter Bunnies At The Craft Sale

Like I've been doing for a number of years now -- I think this must be 10 years -- I'm selling Easter bunnies at the shopping center craft sale. Thank God Easter only comes once a year, because sitting here, and of course putting up with all the crap, can be almost too much.

I'm always an optimist. Especially when it comes to religious holidays. I always think religious holidays ought to bring out the best in people. So that, say you're at a craft sale, they ought to be a lot more willing to part with their hard-earned money for whatever trifles people are selling, for their own benefit, and also because I'm helping them get more into the spirit of the holiday. But no, it's the same old crap, a big disappointment from my point of view

And then there's the craft sale business period. It's gone to hell, I think. The shopping center doesn't respect the hard work we put into crafting They don't respect crafters, period! Except for the bigger crafters, who are practically moguls compared to the rest of us, the peons. That really came out this year especially. The way they had us set up this year, of course we were down at the far end, in the vicinity of the stores that start up and shut down a few weeks later.

But here's the twist this year: They set up the moguls first, then dribble dribble dribble, you have the next top dog, then another, and so on, until you get to the true peons, the few of us with only one table each. I was right there -- those bastards -- at the very end of the line. So that by the time any customer might ever wander down as far as me, they'd most like spent all their money, or were looking like they thought they'd be mugged if they went much farther.

I'm very fortunate that I only do this one sale now in the year. Because there's nothing more unpleasant than hearing the grousing of crafters at craft sales. Which I actually caught myself joining in, because, for crying out loud, what are we, scum under people's feet? By the time you put money into your supplies, your table rental, and the entire day's time, you're lucky to make pennies on the dollar. You're sitting there like some kind of off-scouring, with squalling kids and cranky mothers who don't feel like buying them cute bunnies, etc. It's enough to drive you wacky.

But I'm focused on my own grief. My own grief keeps me very busy. Although, yes, I was listening to what everyone else was saying. About the moguls and the rest of us. That was a big topic of conversation. What I really think might be behind it, ultimately, is the old tactic of divide and conquer. Like this: The shopping center knows we hold a cudgel against them for the yearly mistreatment. But what if they divide the crafters and get us at each other's throats? Suddenly, we're not standing united and the shopping center steamrolls us. Not that standing united really has done us that much good in the past.

But take this year. If we'd been united, maybe they would've rethought the increase on table fees. Five damned dollars more! And I can't raise my prices. I'm already scraping the bottom as far as any profit goes, but in a bad economy, you tell me, is anyone going to pay top dollar, even though they're clearly worth it, for a few styrofoam bunnies? No, the morons are pinching pennies, probably saving their money for food or cable TV, which also goes up all the time.

Add to my misery the fact that I always feel I have to give them a bargain if they buy more than one. They're $5 each, OK? It's set in stone, because I can't raise the price, as I said. But if you buy two, then they're $9 total. I'm losing a whole buck everything someone wants two, which is about the same as giving the damned things away. A few twofers I can absorb. But if people knew my margin, they could wipe me out on these sale just like that! So I'm sitting there praying two things, 1) For a sale period; and, 2) Please buy them one at a time; the twofers aren't helping me...

That's the financial beef. Then there's all the rest. Like everybody and their damned cameras! You tell me: Isn't it widely known, universally known, that you don't take pictures at craft sales? It's simply not done! It's forbidden! And for very good reason. We don't want the rest of the world taking pictures, then stealing our ideas and making their own crafts at home. This is a point all of us agree on, mogul or peon. On this, in fact, it's the moguls leading the way. They go to enough craft sales, they have professionally-made signs, full color with illustrations, a camera in a red circle crossed out, meaning, "No cameras allowed! No pictures, please!"

But the big difference between now and, say, 10 years ago, is there's a lot more cameras. And people, especially kids, who aren't shy about popping out their phone, then whipping it up to take a picture of your stuff. They don't think a thing of it! It's in their nature now! They're stupid! "My hand is permanently affixed to an iPhone camera." People used to have five fingers, now they have a sixth finger, their camera! That's what it looks like. So there we're sitting, the crafters, rolling our eyes at each other, trying to bite our tongue, and casually putting the signs a little closer to the flow of traffic. Fat lot of good it does. They don't teach reading in school anymore!

I'm sitting there, watching all this go on, and I was that close, I was about to bust. But thank God I held it in, for the most part. Because this one guy, two tables up from me, he had his fill, and he did bust. It was after noon, he hadn't eaten, thanks to being at the end of the line and only making two sales -- he paints smiley faces on jelly beans -- so he busted. And I know that's no excuse. But these brainless teenage girls were going in real close on his beans, snapping pictures of the smiles.

Well, he showed them a scowl! "Do you not see these signs? 'No photos allowed.' This isn't a photo studio, darlin'! The items you see on the tables are for sale. Otherwise, everything you see is copyrighted, my intellectual property. So no pictures, thank you!" That was a very snide 'thank you,' which really showed them, since they immediately left with a bunch of swear words barely concealed under their breath, and, incongruously, giggling. The guy was sitting there, red as a beet, and fuming. He looked around for some support and our eyes met. I gave him a thumbs up, then decided to rearrange my table.

It's been dead since then. Like some kind of cutoff point. Like maybe the girls went back and spread the word. Probably not. It's just always that way after noon. The ones who wanted something got here early. Anyone who shows up after noon is here by accident, and they don't care. To them you're just garbage blocking the halls. Except for me, I'm so far down no one generally makes it that far.

So the bottom line is, I sold only a few, less than 20. Some of those were twofers. The good news, if I'm willing to dig for good news, is I won't have to make quite as many next year, since I still have plenty of stock.

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2011 - The Easter Craft Sale
2010 - Selling Easter Bunnies at the Shopping Center

The Easter Craft Sale

Greetings from the Shopping Center Easter Craft Show, where I've got my Styrofoam bunnies for sale for the fourth or fifth year in a row. I'm got an 8-foot folding table, like usual, and I'm looking for big profits.

Unfortunately, the bunnies aren't moving like they did the first year or the second. There's been a drop-off in people's interest, but I decided to keep them for at least another year. I had over 50 left over from last year, out of 100 total, so that's a lot of inventory to just eat.

Still, I kept thinking about making something else, starting in about February it was constantly on my mind. But I sort of had a mental block, all I could think of was something like bunny tales on walnuts, for whatever reason.

By now, though, and a few people pointed it out to me today, I'm known as "the pipe-cleaner bunny guy." It's nice to be known for something, and I had to smile when they recognized me. So I might have to keep doing it. Little do they know, I've been tempted to burn the damned things, since they're in the closet all year wasting space. But I just say, "Oh, yes!"

As far as the craft sale goes -- and we're about halfway through -- we're seeing the same old problems. And that's true across the board, they say. Craft sales aren't what they used to be. People are jaded these days and they've had it up to here with cutesy stuff. It comes out of the general truth that we're a polarized people, losing touch with the old traditions, which, frankly, are supposed to comfort us, but instead we're revolted.

I try to put the sociological thoughts out of my mind and grin like everyone else. The other crafters do a lot of scowling when no one's at their table, then a lot of grinning when "fresh meat" comes by. It'd be fun to get some pictures of it because it's just like night and day. There's no one quite as forlorn and pessimistic as crafters. They're basically only happy, or seemingly so, when they see each other on the circuit. It gives them someone to grouse with who totally identifies. (These guys go to sale after sale but I only go to this one local sale.)

I saw this one big guy in bib overalls I always see -- fresh off the farm with his wooden goods. If it's wood, he sells it, little benches, shelves, paper towel holders, etc. You can spot his stuff a mile away, because he always has these rounded hearts on the ends of everything and nothing's painted. And I saw others I recognized, ladies selling handbags, jewelry, etc., and a new one this year, some guy who cuts LP covers apart and makes spiral notebooks, with the front and back covers. They're $13. It's sad to me to think of an idiot laying waste to all these albums.

Our setting this year is bad, even worse this year too. Once again the shopping center has us down at the far end, but now with several newly empty stores around. Most people who come down here are headed for the bathroom and that's it. I've been watching them and noting the ones who -- thanks to the short timing -- couldn't possibly have washed their hands afterward.

(I just had some people come by and look at the bunnies, so I had to quit typing and stand up and grin. They obviously didn't want to make eye contact with me, which is always the first clue they're not going to buy anything. I tried to prompt them by saying, "Nice weather we're having," but the woman just kind of grunted something and went on. Our customers can be such garbage, note I said can be, because some of them -- the buyers -- are great folks.)

And it's not like I'm asking an arm and a leg for the bunnies. I didn't raise the price from last year, even though the cost of living has completely gone up. So I'm losing money just by setting up. They're still $5 per bunny or 2 for $9. I have to give a deal like the twofer thing even though I'm losing money hand over fist if someone takes advantage of it. The materials cost me full price -- they're not giving me a price break if I say I'm making two!

Pardon me, when I started typing I said I wasn't going to grouse. But it's contagious. It's all I hear around me, when we're not standing and grinning and asking about the weather. The table price went up, the price of gas is through the roof, the economy's crap, people are out of work, and of course they won't waste money on crafts if their families are going hungry. But why aren't they thinking of us? We have to eat, too...

It's frustrating, and I may as well take off the gloves and say so. I think of the bunnies as being kid friendly, made to appeal to the spirit of youth. But what do you get? The kids have the same jaded attitudes the parents have, and worse, because they go to school. If you go to school, your jadedness is multiplied because of your contact with other kids. Imagine what that does for my bottom line.

They're walking by with iPods and handheld games, iPads, ham radio sets, remote controlled cars, etc., and they're loving their little luxuries. It seems like pipe-cleaner bunnies are just no longer good enough for them. I see them yawning, with Mom looking discouraged and saying, "C'mon!" So they mess up my table and don't buy anything. I'd like to give them one of those Italian arm curses, hit your hand on the inside of your elbow and raise your arm quick. But I just roll my eyes at the guy at the next table.

Of course we crafters are all still paranoid about people with cameras, sketch artists, and people with photographic memories. Because the last thing we want is competition. These are our own designs, intellectual property, and I for one don't want to see a table of knockoffs next year. You can probably guess, cameras are the worst danger, because you get an exact picture of the item. And there's cameras everywhere, built into phones. Most people are carrying several cameras at all times. I need a sticker that when you buy these they're for your own personal enjoyment, not to duplicate and sell.

My sales -- you can tell by my poor attitude -- are very low this year. I think I've sold maybe 12, somewhere between 12 and 16. Several of those were at the $9 price, so I lost several dollars right off the bat, which can't be helped if I want to sell anything.

Last Call For Easter Bunnies

By the time you get to Easter the bottom has completely fallen out of the Easter bunny market. There's a good reason the stores are stocked for Easter right after Valentine's Day.

But for the "small guy," the guy like me who doesn't have a store but has to depend on the rare craft sale to get rid of his wares, I don't have that many opportunities to garner a surpassing crowd to sell to in my hour of need.

The local man, the small guy, takes what he gets "and likes it." I might not like it, but I take what I get. Which in this case turns out to be the bottom scrapings, the castoffs of the mega-moguls who own and operate the shopping center.

Along with the other crafters, I share the same opinion: We wouldn't put it past them that they insulted us on purpose simply because they could! That they knew they had us over a barrel and decided just to rub it in! That they would slap us in the face because their lives are so fundamentally unhappy -- their millions not bringing satisfaction to their inner being -- that they need someone to lash out against, hoping to brighten their day with someone else's misery! There's no other reason we can think of to explain the poor setup they gave us, down the bathroom wing of the shopping center where barely anyone goes.

They raised the table fee and gave us a crappier location.

The crafter's life is not really something to be envied. It may seem exotic to the average person, like we're a band of roaming gypsies with a table and a tub full of styrofoam Easter bunnies. This is a true story: I actually had a naive little kid come up once and ask me for my autograph. But beyond the glamor of that moment and the glamor people think our lives are, it's really more a life to be pitied. And the shopping centers know that. If they could get a juggler in there cheaper they'd go for that. But, no, it's the crafters who are willing to pay for a table and space, just to sit there and stew in their own miserable juices. Jugglers are smarter, they demand their pay up front.

I always feel a little funny about doing it, which is why I don't do much of it. I'm not even a regular guy on the scene, far from it. I make it out like once a year, if I've come up with something. I don't need the money as much as most of them, thanks to my being on full disability (I have a game toe). But sometimes I come up with something and try to make a little extra money, just to have some change in my pocket. But like I said, I feel funny about doing it, mostly because I'm a guy and not a woman.

To me, when you go to a craft sale you want to see women selling this stuff. They look so much better. You see a man behind the table selling Easter bunnies, like in my case, and you immediately think there's something wrong. Men look bulky back there. And men have a naturally impatient look when they're behind a crafting table. Because we want to make money left and right. We're not happy just sitting there idly, looking at our merchandise setting idly. It's kind of funny, too, that it's the cuter the craft the more impatient the man looks. Any man who has something with lots of rounded hearts carved in wood is going to look bad. So you can imagine what I looked like with these Easter bunnies!

But as it turned out I sold close to 50! So people to a certain extent were able to overcome their aversion to a man behind the table, facing their fears adequately. I was trying to look as engaging as possible, randomly laughing and seeming to be happy. There's a few psychological tricks you can do. Like if you see someone coming, grab your cell phone and talk in a friendly way, then a random laugh, then say goodbye and hang up while shaking your head and smiling. Folks aren't really thinking it over but now they know they can trust you.

After the sale I went out with a couple of the other dealers to get coffee. It gave us a great chance to grouse about how badly it went, the lack of customers -- there was also a bake sale in town -- and how the shopping center really did slap us in the face. Because they can.

Selling Easter Bunnies At The Shopping Center

It hasn't been a terrible day at the shopping center selling my Easter bunnies. But I'm glad I didn't plow any more money into them than I did, since I've only sold just over 40 of them, meaning I have close to 60 left.

I keep thinking about dropping the price, but there's drawbacks to that. I'm already selling them one for $5 or two for $9, and if I started selling them one for $4, the two would have to drop to two for $8, meaning I'd be losing $2 every time someone bought two. So it's a problem.

But still, I'm looking on the bright side. There were enough customers to buy just over 40 of them, with a few of those of course being the ones who bought two, cheating me out of the extra buck. Come on, people, I need you to buy them one at a time!

But there I go again, looking on the dim side instead of the bright. Seriously, it hasn't been a half bad day. It's just that I'd rather make more money instead of less, but everyone's looking for a bargain. I suppose I could put myself in their shoes and see that I'd probably do the same thing, regardless of what kind of suffering the guy behind the table might be going through. I put on a brave face.

In some of the slow time I've talked things over with some of the other crafters. When you see them cross their arms and frown you know it's a good time to talk. Because they've always got a gripe on their mind that they're just dying to share. So I heard some of that. They're like me, very paranoid about people sneaking in a camera to take pictures of the crafts; that's why I don't have any pictures from the actual sale, because they'd string me up. We don't want people copying our crafts, whether from a photograph, a sketch, a photographic memory, or from buying one and disassembling it. The last one there is very hard to prevent, as you can imagine.

Crafters are among the world's unhappiest people, and it's not just the paranoia. It seems like there's always an issue about the size of the crowd and whether the advertising was sufficient. If there's anything else happening in town, whether it's a citywide celebration or a bake sale at the church, it's invariably blamed for the poor attendance. We always see the problem out there somewhere, never that people might just be fed up with crafts and surly crafters. I don't say that to them!

Then when we do get customers, we're complaining about how tight they are with their money and how the economy is always against us. I guess the complaints I hear are endless, that people can't keep their kids under control, they're playing with the merchandise, and maybe breaking something. And one of the biggest is one that's been the talk of the day -- this day -- that the shopping center has relegated us down one side hall, where people barely go and where you can barely see us. Most of the people who go down that way are on their way to the bathroom, so they rush by and aren't there to buy.

After lunch it just totally died. That's why I have time to write this. But whether I can get it sent or not is a good question. I'm using the unsecured wireless server from the Mode O'Day store and since we're clear down this hall I'm not getting a good connection. It's going out all the time.

I'm going to 'Publish Post' and see if it takes it. Yes, there it goes. Success.

Local Man Makes And Sells Easter Bunnies

Well, folks, here they are, this year's Easter bunnies I've been working on. If you're going to be at the shopping center tomorrow, stop by my table and pick up one or more!

They're great for kids, for old ladies, anyone really. I know Grandma likes them quite a bit. I've got one on the back of her stool and it really brightens up the room. And it reminds us all of the true meaning of Easter, which is of course a religious holiday of sorts.

I've got a grand total of 100 of these little rascals (they multiply!), plus the original prototype, which is on my dresser and isn't for sale at any price.

They're going to be for sale one day only, tomorrow, so if you want one or more you need to come to the shopping center, or I suppose you could call and I could set one aside for you. I hate to do that, though, because a few years ago I set aside some stuff for a guy who didn't show up to buy it. Meaning that I might've sold it at the craft sale, but then as it turned out I had to "eat" the stuff, meaning I didn't get any money for my work and materials.

Anyway, I'm easy to deal with, if you promise to show up. Usually I think a man's word is his bond and all that. I'll take your word for it if you smile and seem like a nice person, but please don't be a fast talker, because I'm convinced that most fast talkers are only out for themselves. And naturally if that same guy calls me and wants to get some of these, he's going to have to get in line with everyone else and wait his turn. I'm not doing layaways for him, that's one thing I do know.

Why is it that people expect crafters to bend over backwards for them? They don't know the work we put in. And so forth. I've set up at numerous sales and all crafters have the same gripe. We're rolling our eyes more than half the time at the ignorance that our customers display. Most of our customers don't have any sense. They think they can bring in a camera or a sketch pad and duplicate our work at home. Which is why we have a strict "no cameras" policy. And "no sketch pads." If you have a photographic memory, we can't do much about that, except we do discourage it if we see someone who's doing a little too much looking. I might strike up a conversation with him and lead him to another part of the sale.

Back to the bunnies. You can see I have quite a bit in supplies there, as well as the work to put them together. And I'm pricing them at $5.00 or two for $9.00. You're saving a dollar if you buy two. I'd rather sell all 100 one at a time, but if someone wants to buy two I don't say anything. Just put them in a sack and tell them thank you with the best smile I can manage. And if I'm a dollar poorer, that's just the way life goes sometimes.

I hope to see you tomorrow! Have a happy Easter, which, glancing at the calendar, I see is on a Sunday this year.