Pop Up Shop Success!

Over the weekend I helped out with a number of great and talented Etsy Ireland members run our very first pop up shop. The shop was run as part of CATDIG 2011, a great cultural event which brought together storytellers, artists and musicians to name but a few to create a wonderful three day event.

Myself doing my utmost to get the customers in!

After much hard work (put in by Ruth & Jess) the previous Friday, I arrived with all my goodies ready to sell on the Saturday and Sunday. I had such a good time chatting to everyone and trying to convince people to come into the shop that I stayed the two whole days.

I also ran a card making class in the local arts and crafts shop Silkes and encouraged people to create their own and adopt some of the techniques that I use. I really enjoyed it and makes me miss teaching even more!

The LuckyRainbow Selection

On Sunday, we were having a chat about how we could make this a more regular thing, we wondered if other empty spaces would have us....for free! Just as the conversation was in mid flow, in walked Marilyn, one of the organisers who commented how great the place looked and that we should chance our arm asking to extend our stay. When Niall (owner of the space) walked in a short time later, Ruth bravely stepped up and asked the question.....with no hesitation he said "Ah we won't be doing anything with it for a month, so you can have it for a month!"......All who were there nearly died from shock with his kind gesture!

How lucky are we? If you pop on over to the Etsy Ireland team blog, you'll find more information about volunteering your time and perhaps selling your items if space is available. Overall it was a brilliant and very productive weekend....and I even made lots of sales!

Off the LuckyRainbow Radar!

As the title says, I've been off the luckyrainbow radar for about a week now....for lots of reasons. Unfortunately I had a family funeral to attend in my home town (4 hours away from Limerick) and between travel, the funeral, meeting cousins I'd never met and travelling back I was away for four days. While it was sad to be saying bye to a relative it was nice to leave Limerick for a few days and just forget about work for a little while!

Sometimes in Ireland, when someone dies the family will hold a wake and bring the relative who has passed away home so that friends and those who knew the person can call to their house, pay their respects and say their goodbyes. My family chose this option and while it can be a very sad event for some, I see it as a very positive thing to do. Stories which you might not ever hear or see the light of day are told by those who knew the person best, and this is exactly what happened over those few days. I enjoyed hearing those stories and meeting people who worked or socialised with my uncle......I began to see him in a new light, and saw a different side to the simple life he led.

Aunties from my mothers side brought photos to the house from when my grandparents got married and I even got to see a photo of my great grandmother! I found it fascinating, interesting and sad all at the same time.

This evening sees me tidying the studio and finally getting some shelving up.....I bought them months ago! A clean studio usually results in new work! Here goes!