Iluma Art Market 19th to 20th March 2011 Post-Mortem

Hey you,

Hope everyone had a good weekend. Btw, thanks for all the wonderful comments in my last post. I unearthed a couple of former lurkers. Yay!

Sarubobos display to amuse the crowd

As some of you who live in Singapore may know, Iluma has changed ownership and with that in mind, I went with the possibility that this could be the last time I sold at Iluma. I had pretty good memories of selling at Iluma with only 1 disastrous outcome. So over the weekend when I sold at Iluma, I kept a positive mind and I'm so happy it worked out. My total sales? 28!!!

I was a little absent-minded and forgot to take pics of a few people who came by. Here are the ones I remembered.

 

Meet Cindy. I know her from red dot design museum. Love her hair!

Meet Weng. This guy feeds me! And he made 1 sale for me!!!

Meet my little nephew. This is the effect I have on little kids. That's why my career as a kindergarten teacher was short-lived.

Meet Batman. That's my BIL. Early last week I saw him and mentioned I would be selling at Iluma. He said he would come by and he did!!!

Meet moi. I had a hard time posing for this pic seeing how I had to resist the rabbit ears and the tilting of the head hehe.

Have you heard? I went into the rompers business. This is a teeny little project I'm doing with my younger brother. I'll list them in my catalog soon. I discovered rompers aren't hot at Iluma.

I had a little secret agenda when I sold at Iluma. Just before the 1 week school break, I attended a parent-teacher meeting at my girl's school and was told my girl lacks confidence when it comes to oral presentation. She clams up when she's with a total stranger. Seeing how the oral exam's coming up soon for her primary school final, I thought it would do her good to help me make some sales. (it's like training in oral presentation, right?) I gave her on-the-job training and let her handle the customer on her own. I'm mighty impressed. She was very good. She made a total of 6 sales. I actually saw her grow more confident right before my eyes.

On Sunday, my son managed to make 2 sales. I was watching from a distance and I was happy that he was able to handle the customers well and he even put on a smile!

So that was my little thing and since I had my little helpers man my table, me and hubs went to have our mini-date. Yes, we held hands.

We went to a red building next to Iluma for tea and guess what it's called? Can you see the sign, top left of building? Little Red Dot.

It had a rather interesting sign on the tables. No Durian! I really wanted to find out what bad experience the cafe had to include the fruit in the sign. If you've never eaten durians before, let me describe it to you. The most foul-smelling fruit on earth. But that's just me. Many Singaporeans love the fruit. I can't eat it. People have mocked me for not being able to eat it. I'm so one-of-a-kind.

Lastly I have a bag to show you. This is another crescent bag. I like it a lot but it didn't sell. I have no craft markets lined up yet so I'm gonna laze around for a while. See ya.

Iluma Art Market This Weekend

I have a date with Iluma Art Market this weekend! Yes, I've booked a table and for 2 days I'll be battling the wind, the sun and the rain (if any). Yippee, another outdoor art market.

In the past, whenever I go out to sell my bags, I always wonder if it's going to be my LAST craft market. I get discouraged if the sales aren't good and start to wonder if I should keep going.

This week I have done a lot of reflection. Being in the handmade biz, I often want to be appreciated for what I do. Because I make everything I sell, I do admit I sometimes take it personally when I get negative comments or sniggers. But that means giving control to a total stranger to determine what happens to my biz. So I'm taking back the control and whatever happens, I'm gonna roll with the punches. (I've always wanted to use this expression!)

One day I will stop selling my bags. But until then, I hope you enjoy everything I make.

These are just a "few" things I made this week.

19th to 20th March 2011 (Sat & Sun)

Iluma Art Market

201 Victoria Street

Singapore

12 noon to 7pm both days

my thoughts this week

Life is unpredictable. One minute you're buying fabric from a Japanese website, the next, lives are lost, towns are swept away. Were you affected by the disaster? Watching the disaster on TV can make it seem unreal. But this time I felt the fear, the uncertainty. I knew people who were in Japan when it happened. Yes, they are safe. Those moments of not knowing - it's nothing compared to the ones in Japan who are searching and grieving for their lost ones. I cannot imagine.

This week, my extended family lost a member who met with a tragic end. This is my first death experienced as an adult. It felt unreal, almost dream-like. Am I still in shock? I tried to remember my last contact with the person during Chinese New Year but it was very brief. I remembered he chatted with me on facebook last year. He wanted to tell me how he felt as a new father. Life is unpredictable.

It is the living who is most affected by the passing of a loved one. They are the ones who have to make sense of the death and keep going.

I believe in the tenacity of the human spirit. Japan - the Land Of Handmade will rise again. In time, my family will heal.

Meanwhile, life must go on.

Rest in peace, W.