As Christmas approaches we are all gearing up for all the things: food, presents, decorations, events. For the past 4 or 5 years I have started to decorate for Christmas pretty much the first week of November. However, this year I am letting myself enjoy Fall all the way through to Thanksgiving. I have been preparing for Christmas since late September though, purchasing decorations little by little as new products have been entering my favorite shops.
Today I went to my first Christmas Fair with booths and crafts and all the things handmade at a local event in my town. It was great! I had so much fun talking to all the people working booths this year and was so inspired for my own DIYs I have at home. I also went to see how big the fair was and if I have a place for my own booth there next year, and I am so excited because I definitely think I have my own unique flair to my products to set me apart.
As these events pop up in your community and as you browse online, if you are thinking about shopping a smaller business I highly encourage you to do so. I met the nicest woman who made and sold these buffalo plaid ornaments. They were well priced and I think are really handmade. I am really looking forward to hanging these up this year. As makers I think we sometimes feel we need or want to make everything. But it is also important to help support the fellow makers and artisans in your community. As a maker with a handmade business, I am definitely choosy as to what I buy but I still love supporting other people who are in the trenches too. We sell things for some profit, not a lot. A lot of us do it as a way to support our love for the process, and hopefully for a good amount of profit. Sometimes we just like to break even. It all counts. It all matters.
There was one booth in particular I loved. There was a boy selling his own handmade slimes. He was about 10 to 12 and we were his first ever customers. It was his first ever booth and he was out there selling his own slimes. His mother helped process the transaction and was so thankful to us. She said that 10% of his profits will go to an Autism Awareness Charity and that her son is Autistic. The fact that we supported his business made the absolute world to him and her.
I encourage you, even you introverts, go out there. Explore what is going on in your community. A little bit goes a long way to all the makers out there actively doing something they love.