Weaving #3 - At the Market

I have said in other blogs that I never thought that I would enjoy the process of 'flogging my wares", but selling at the market is surprisingly enjoyable. Not only do I get to meet all kinds of people who more often than not, even if they do not buy anything, say how nice my stuff is, but I also get to people watch. I have always been inclined to sit on the sidelines and observe the interactions of people around me. (I was that nerdy /weird kid at the university party who brought with him a pad and pen to take notes of how people interacted.) Sitting , spinning my wool gives me a great vantage point to see people without looking as if I am staring at them.

I don't (at least I don't think so) have a shoe fetish. But I frequently notice  and I am fascinated by what kinds of shoes people are wearing. Of particular note are those who at 9:00AM on a Saturday morning are wearing wedge sandals (I had to look it up what they were called) that increase the woman's height by three or four inches. Those women always look out of place. They are dressed just a bit too too dressy for a farmers' market. Then of course there are all of the urban cool folks who are wearing their Blundstones, looking quite tough and ready to do some serious work or walking as they get into their SUVs for the fifteen minute drive back to their house.  Everyone else who is not wearing work boots or fashion statements seems to be wearing Birkenstocks. As much as I love my Birkenstocks, there are times when I think I should wear a different brand of sandals. I suspect they are just a much, for some people, of a fashion statement as is wearing wedge sandals or Blundstones (but of course I wear them because I have problematic feet. But my favourite shoes to watch are those on the feet of children. I especially enjoy those running shoes that light up when kids walk, but there is nothing quite like a child wearing a new pair of shoes. They spend half of their time just looking down at their feet perhaps as if they are amazed that they are the proud possessors of such neat things.

In first hours or two of the market there are very few children. Most of the shoppers appear to be by themselves. One assumes that if they have children they have been left at home with the partner so that the shopping can be quick and efficient. However, by 9:30 or 10:00 families start to appear. People walk slower and are more inclined to stop and chat with people they know. There are lots of hugs and introductions of friends and partners. It is great to watch it all and I can pick up a fair amount of useless gossip if I bother to listen to their conversations. It only becomes a bit annoying when a large group stands for an extended time in front of my booth preventing anyone from seeing me or my wares. Old fogies like me are inclined to bemoan the loss of face-to-face communications as social media appears to dominated more and more of our lives, but it is a genuine pleasure to watch people just enjoying the art of chatting about life.  Maybe the world is quite yet "headed to hell in a handbasket"(Phrase Finder).

I suspect one could do a whole Master's thesis on watching the parenting/child interactions at a market and making some assumptions about relationships etc. There are those parents who almost drag their kids over to me and my spinning wheel. They explain in great detail (sometimes wrongly) as to what I am doing and isn't it wonderful and do they remember their grandmother knitted them a hat and this is where to wool came from...... I am exhausted by their explanations and it was clear, at least to me, that the kid could not have cared less. They were just not interested. Then there are those parents with a firm grip on their child's hand who ignore the request to stop and look at the man with the beard making something. Those are the kids who I want to talk to and sadly I never will. Of course there are many families who fit nicely into the middle. The parents stop, if the kid is interested they engage in a conversation with me and their child, if not they move on fairly quickly. Some parents work hard at ensuring that their child's questions are answered, frequently encouraging the child to ask me the question directly. Many parents give their child as much time as the child wants. It is nice when that happens. I don't expect it, but when the parent says "thank you", I feel as if I have provided a service that has been useful. That is almost as good as selling something.