What a Summer!!!
Wow!!!! It’s been a while since I wrote a blog post here, it’s one of those things that crosses my mind from time to time when I’m sitting at my desk at my day job, but by the time I get home I forget about it, or it gets pushed to the back burner in favor or tasks like ordering prints, organizing supplies, or MAKING ART! (Lol)
Anyway, it’s been a PACKED summer! Here are some of the highlights:
Participated in The Empty Corner’s “100 under $100” show for the second year in a row
Taught a summer-themed paint and sip class at Mikerphone Brewing
Watched my daughter perform at her last orchestra concert as an 8th grader and graduate Middle School
Traveled to Michigan for an Archery event, caught a Friday fish fry, visited an awesome local distillery and also an amazing meadery!
Upgraded my table/booth setup including getting a neck necklace rack,and redesigned business cards and banner
Had a table at Chicago Paranormal Convention - one of my best sales events so far this year!
I got invited to be Artist of the Month and have my work displayed all month at Mikerphone Brewing
Sold art at Church Street Brewing for their Artisan Market
Sold art at Homegrown Arts and Music Festival - despite everyone being moved indoors due to the threat of storms, I still had a great time with the other vendors and customers!
Participated in the Second Annual Area 22 Arts, Crafts and Oddities Fair in Elgin
And then I’m wrapping up the summer with two more events - the Summer Send Off Market at More Brewing and the next week the Fright Market at Camp Lake Zurich held at Phase Three Brewing.
Getting Back to Vendor Events - What I Learned (Part 1)
I dipped my toe into doing vendor events years ago, but due to life circumstances at the time it was just too hard to keep it up. My partner (now husband) was working long hours on weekends and we didn’t have a reliable babysitter who could watch our daughter while I worked events. I also had a much smaller car back then, and bringing her along meant there wouldn’t be enough room in my car to load up all of my supplies, and once we arrived at the event she would be bored and complaining (can’t blame her - kids will do that).
Then 2020 happened…and we all know how THOSE next couple of years went….
Eventually 2024 came around, events were happening again, I own a much bigger car, our daughter is older, and my husband’s schedule is much more flexible. Circumstances suddenly became MUCH friendlier for me starting up again.
I’m by no means an expert and I have an entire notebook full of plans and upgrades I’d still like to accomplish this year, but here are some helpful things I learned:
WEATHER:
WEAR SUNSCREEN. Even when the event is in early April. Even when it doesn’t feel that hot out. Ask me how I know
BRING WATER. Think you have enough? Bring even more. I learned this one the hard way too. After being at a July outdoor event, I got so overheated packing up my booth at the end of the day that I was blacking out, almost passed out, and ended up laid out for the rest of the night from a heat migraine. Do not be like me. Buy the big gallon jugs of water, at LEAST two, and force yourself do drink them. Bonus points if you stick them in the freezer a day ahead of time.
PORTABLE FANS ARE YOUR BEST FRIEND. After the almost passing out incident my husband purchased this fan for me. It’s fantastic. I bring two charged batteries with me, but even running the fan on medium speed for almost 6 hours, I’ve never needed to use the second one
PORTABLE PROPANE HEATERS ARE YOUR OTHER BEST FRIEND. I signed up for an outdoor Christmas market the weekend after Thanksgiving and it ended up being brutally cold, even for the Chicago suburbs. One thing that saved me was my husband letting me borrow the portable propane heater he uses for ice fishing. The propane tanks are only a few buck each, but keep in mind that it’s much more effective in keeping you warm if your tent has walls.
KEEP SOME HOT HANDS/ FOOT WARMER IN YOUR SUPPLY KIT. They’re only a few bucks each and are really a huge lifesaver. In fact, if you want to be a good neighbor, keep a extra set or two for fellow vendors who might not be as prepared.
SUPPLIES
PREPARE FOR EVERYTHING. It’s better to have it and NOT need it than vice versa, and even if you don’t need it, you may be the person who can help someone else out. Some of the miscellaneous things I keep in my kit are sunscreen, chapstick, Tylenol, snacks, pens, paper towels, garbage bags, s-hooks, zip ties, wire-cutters, scissors, screwdriver, windex, double sided tape, and bandaids.
HELPFUL TENT HINTS: Some pop-up tents are easier than other. Mine is of the NOT easy variety, especially when I’m running the booth alone. I had some spectacularly kind and helpful fellow vendors who lended a hand the first few times when I was struggling, but here’s a few things I learned:
KEEP THE CANOPY ON. When you break your tent down at the end of the day, keep the canopy velcroed to the top. You WILL have to undo the attachment straps to the frame to be able to fold it up, but keeping the canopy attached on top makes it much easier to setup the next time. If you’re worried about it getting dirty in transit you can put a trash bag over the top to protect it.
PUTTING UP THE TENT ALONE? I struggled with this SO badly until I learned this trick. Attach one of your tent weights to the leg at one of the corners of your space, then pull the OPPOSITE diagonal leg to open it. The weight will keep the first leg in place and much it much easier for you to open the tent without the help on a second person. It’s not a bad idea to practice a few times at home, if you’ve never done it and you have a space outdoors.
SPEAKING OF WEIGHTS….they are absolutely, positively, NOT optional. Whether the event requires them or not (and they absolutely should be requiring them) you NEED them. There are a lot of options out there - the ones I use are the canvas ones that you fill with sand and Velcro to the base of each tent leg. Weights should be a MINIMUM of 40lbs per leg. Yes, it sucks lugging all that weight from your car to your space, but a flyaway tent in incredibly dangerous to everyone in attendance, not to mention the risk of destroying either yours or someone else’s product. I attended a couple events this year where even WITH the proper weights, people were desperately holding down the legs of their tents to keep everything in place. Sometimes one location is protected from the wind, and someone else a few spots away is getting the brunt of it. Canvas weight bags are cheap. Sand is is cheap. Protect yourself and others.
BRINGING A DOLLY/HAND TRUCK IS INVALUABLE. You never know how far away you’ll have to park, and tent weights, grid walls, etc are HEAVY. I’ve seen a lot of other vendors using the fold up carts that look like wagons - this kind doesn’t work for me because of the size of the grid walls, but depending on what you sell and how your booth is set up, it may be a good option for you. When you’ve been out in the sun for eight hours, the last thing you’ll want to do is carry everything back in your arms. (Pro-tip I discovered- my dolly can only handle two tent weights at a time or else the wheels go flat).
GRIDWALLS, S HOOKS AND ZIP TIES - THE HOLY TRINITY. This is the best system I’ve found to hang up my framed pieces. A lot of artists who’ve been at this for a long time use pro-panels,and while they look fantastic and really professional, they are not currently in my budget. I bring 2 x 4 gridwalls (I got them on Amazon) and hang then up by attaching zip ties to the top frame of the tent, attaching more zip tie loops to the top of the grid wall, then hanging them up with large S-hooks you can buy anywhere that sells hardware. The great thing about this system is that all you have to do is unhook the s-hooks and just leave the zip ties attached for the next time. If it’s a windy day, you can zip tie the sides of the grid walls together to keep them from moving. Bonus points - the grid walls also provide additional weight to stabilize your tent on a windy day
I was planning on adding more, but since this post is already so long (I never claimed to be concise) I’ll post a part 2 soon!
Goodbye 2024, Hello 2025
What a year!!!!
With all of the end of the year craziness I haven’t kept up with updating around here as much as I’d intended. Not to make excuses, but summer vendor season led straight into back-to-school season, then wedding prep, then birthdays, then my wedding, then holiday vending season, then Christmas, along with the overlap of that entire time period ALSO being the busiest time of year at my day job….it was a LOT. A lot in the best of ways, I really did have a lot of great things going on in my life, but enough to keep me from keeping up with everything.
So let’s recap the year!!!
January
After YEARS of having an outdated and badly broken website and just posting everything on social media, megandowntherabbithole website got a fresh new update!
Several pieces of my work were accepted to sell at Sideshow Galley in Chicago
February /March
After taking a break from vending for several years, I dipped my toes back in the water by participating at the monthly Smittytown Market at Temperance Brewing in Evanston
Displayed work at Side Street Studio Arts in Elgin for their Year 11 Show
April /May
After just missing one of their events at a local brewery last year I looked up Streetz Artz Alliance on Facebook and started following for future vending opportunities. In April I did my first show with the Alliance at Elmhurst Brewing company and despite getting a wicked sunburn and some serious raccoon eyes from wearing sunglasses all day, had some great sales, met a ton of other great vendors, and resolved to try and find even more shows with them
Participated in Temperance Brewing’s Smittytown Market - outdoors this time!
June/July
After working together since 2021, I was thrilled to get an invite to the release part for Meggan Emily’s “Sacred Sound Sacred Sight” deck. See my previous blog post for more details about that!
I participated in the “100 Under $100” show at The Empty Corner in Arlington Heights
Had a booth at the East Dundee Depot Market
Hosted a tiki-themed painting party at Pau Hana Lounge in Wood Dale
August
One of my most anticipated events of the year was the “Area 22” fine arts, crafts and oddities fair, put on by Side Street Studio Arts in downtown Elgin. We have have been melting in the heat, but what a fantastic event! Not only were event volunteers constantly circulating to see if the artists needed breaks for food, bathroom, etc (a MAJOR plus when you’re running the tent by yourself like I usually am) but they had a cooling room set up for participants where you could get a needed AC break, snacks, they even provided lunch for us! It was the festivals first year, but I’m really hoping that they’ll continue it again in 2025
Participated at The Night Market at The Empty Corner in Arlington Heights
Vended at MoRE Brewing End of Summer event, organized by Streetz Artz Alliance
September/October
Instructed an Oktoberfest themed painting party and also a Halloween Pumpkin Painting party at Mikerphone Brewing in Elk Grove Village
Had a booth at MoRE Brewings Oktoberfest event
Participated at a few more events at East Dundee Depot Market
Participated in “Merchants of the Macabre” Market at Wolfden Brewing Company in Bloomingdate, and Elmhurst Crafts and Drafts Market, both organized by Streetz Artz Alliance
Displayed “Slither” at Side Street’s “Something Wicked” exhibit
November/December
I got married!!! After 15 years together Mike and I made things Officially Official at Hawk Valley Retreat in Galena IL. We had a small ceremony of less than thirty people, I had a gorgeous teal dress, beautiful weather, incredible food, and the weekend could not have been more perfect.
Participated in The MoRE the Merrier Holiday Market at MoRE Brewing in Villa Park. It was an outdoor event intended to feel like the Christkindlmarket downtown, but unfortunately we were hit with unseasonably cold temperatures hovering around 19 degrees. Despite the conditions, the organizers did a great job of prepping everyone with tips for staying warm at outdoor show, and I had surprisingly good sales and chatted about some really exciting future opportunities with some customers. The thing about Chicagoland weather right after Thanksgiving is that it can be 20 degrees or it could be sixty degrees - you just never know! If I have the opportunity to try this same event next year I definitely will
Last market of the year was the Holiday Makers Market at Church Street Brewing in Itasca - nice to have an event only 5 minutes from home!
Overall I participated in 26 different events, saw a project that begun over four years ago get published, completed 8 new works, started a HUGE commission piece, a couple business logos, and upgraded my vendor booth. I feel a little disappointed that I didn’t complete more new work, but the pieces I did finish had a lot of depth and detail, so I’m trying to look at is as “quality not quantity.”
Big plans are in the works for 2025 - be sure to check back here to see what’s next!!!
Shop Update! Zodiac Mandala Mugs
My zodiac mandala has continuously been one of my best sellers and I’ve been looking into options for making them into mugs for a while now. I’m excited to announce that I now have mugs for all twelve signs available in my Etsy shop!
Mugs are printed in vibrant color over white ceramic, hold 11 oz, and are both microwave and dishwasher safe.
Enter discount code “RABBITBLOG” to get 10% off until August 31st, 2024.
Sacred Sound Sacred Sight Deck Launch
2020 feels like a lifetime ago in so many ways. It’s hard to believe it was over four years ago now that the lovely and warm Meggan Emily contacted me with a proposal. She was in the beginning stages of working on a deck based on the mantras she has recited and taught throughout her over 25 year yoga practice, and would I be interesting in creating the illustrations for it? We’d connected from various local events in the past and I had created some custom artwork for her a few years prior, so I already knew that I would enjoy working with her. I was excited and honored to be considered and of course I said yes!!!
Over the next few years she would send me emails with the descriptions and inspiration ideas for five cards at a time and we methodically worked our way through the image creation as she simultaneously wrote her guidebook and compiled the music list for the mantras. It felt a bit surreal when I finally emailed the last batch of images to her - this was one of the longest and most in-depth projects that I’ve ever gotten to be a part of. Even though my part was completed, Meggan was still busy writing and working on the publishing aspects. Although we were still in touch, things were quiet for a while….until I got the call that the deck was ready to launch!
And now, I’m excited to announce that her deck, Sacred Sound Sacred Site, is now available for purchase!
Sacred Sound Sacred Sight is a mantra and visionwork oracle card deck inspired by the sacred science of yoga. It is a tool to learn, practice and meditate on mantras and yantras traditionally associated with yogic practices. It can be used for readings and insight or to go deeper into studying Sanskrit, mythology, yogic philosophy and meditation. This deck is a gateway. It is an invitation to intentionality and self-directed introspection. The seeker is invited to be mindful, to control the senses and establish concentration. Sacred Sound Sacred Sight contains insight into numerous aspects of ourselves and is a tool for self-observation, self-discovery and self-realization.
You can purchase your own copy of this beautiful deck here! **
Here are some images from the recent launch event Meggan hosted, with beautiful photos credited to Shelly Ryan Photo
Meggan had a beautiful table display of decks for everyone attending her launch event - it was my first time to actually hold the physical copy!
The author, Meggan Emily, holding her deck.
The illustrator…me!!!!
A sneak peek of the cards she introduced at the launch event.
It was a beautiful launch ceremony as Meggan led us through the mantas for five different cards selected from each section of the deck.
** legal disclosure - this is a affiliate link, and I receive commission for any purchases made by you via this link
Here We Go Again…Let’s Do This!!!
It all begins with an idea.
Back in my Wordpress site days, a million and a half years ago, I had a blog on my site. At some point I lost interest in maintaining it, and actually maintaining the entire website in general, then fast forward almost ten years later and it was out of date to the point that trying to update to the latest version of Wordpress broke it completely. Whomp, whomp. At first I was sad about all of the content I’d lost, but another part of me felt rather liberated and excited about the prospect of a clean slate. I barely recognized the person I was when the old site was created and my life had changed in more ways than I could count since then. Pluto had just moved into Aquarius and it felt like a rather auspicious time to turn a new page.
So here we go! The site has been live for months now, and originally I had zero plans for it to include a blog again, but I realized pretty quickly that there are all kinds of odds and ends I’d like to talk about that don’t really fit anywhere else. Things where I want to go deeper than socials will allow for, but also not quite warranting their own page on the site. Besides, I like to write, and sometimes it’s fun to share glimpses of projects before they fully come to fruition.
I’ve been working really hard on a lot of different projects, shows and events this year, so stay tuned! Much, much more to come…