Some catching up to do!

I finally downloaded some of my moving pictures. The crew who moved us were terrific. The loaded the truck on Monday July 13 and delivered the goods on Tuesday. It took a lot less time on Tuesday, that's for sure.

First they moved everything out into the hallway before loading the elevator. Unfortunately there is only 1 elevator in the building and since it's small, they had to carry down the sofa and futon 7 flights of stairs..

The next day was perfect for moving - sunny, not too hot. The guys arrived around 9:30 am ready to work. They were in great spirits! The work was done in about 4 hours and they worked so hard! They carried every box and piece of furniture up the stairs - no elevator here folks!

Well, all I can say is, they did a great job and I'm grateful for all their hard work. It's been 1 week now and we're still unpacking. It's going to be awhile. We have more stuff in storage in PA that we're arranging to have shipped up here within the next week, so the whole process starts over again.

ps - my knees don't hurt as much.

I keep giving stuff away!

Well, what a person to do? My daughter is going to Boston this weekend to sing at a friend's recital, so of course, she needed a thank-you gift for her mother. And she always comes to me for an assortment of candles all wrapped up pretty with a bow. I can't blame her. I kind of give her the run of my box, letting her pick out whatever she wants.

I worked most of the day making tins and tea lights for the Brooklyn Flea this Sunday. I also have a couple wedding orders on the front burner. One of them is for 120 votives which I am taking to the Brooklyn Flea this weekend to deliver. At least my load will be a lot lighter when I return home!

Doing a craft show in New York City can be a challenge, expecially if you don't have a car. I started out with a rolling suitcase, but soon abandoned that in favor of a hand-truck and plastic bins with lids. Candles can be awefully heavy, so I've tried to lighten the load and eliminate jars and votives. I find that travel tins sell especially well, so I take lots of them and boxed tea lights which also do well. I try and take a sampling of other candles and encourage people to contact me for custom orders which I will make up and bring the next time I'm at the Flea.

The real challenge is travelling to Brooklyn from upper Manhattan. I start off around 6:30 am and wheel my truck up to 168th St subway stop. There's not many people out and about that early in the morning, so I gently bump by cart down the steps. There's an elevator down to the platform, so that's helpful when it's working. When I finally get to the Brooklyn stop, usually around 8:00 am, the real work starts. It's much harder pulling my hand-cart up the gazillion steps to the street, but sometimes I get lucky, and some nice strong guy will take pity on me and help me carry it up to the street. I never turn down an offer. Returning home is usually easier if I've had a good day. The more often I do the Flea, the easier it gets. I might start looking at other shows to do in the future. I could actually get used to this! Not only is this a chance to sell my products, but I get to meet the nicest people!

I'm at the Brooklyn Flea http://brownstoner.com/brooklynflea/on June 1 and 15th. I'm with the NewNew group http://thenewnew.blogspot.com/ which has a permanent spot every Sunday. We are a great group of crafters and artists, so stop by and say hello!