I'm doing Mass Market again this summer - I'm not sure how many of these I've done so far but it's been a handful. I started when I first moved to Boston participating in the PRFM's and then kept going when it became Mass Market. I did the winter Mass Market last year and financially it was a bust, so I'm hoping that this one will be a little more lucrative (especially since they keep bumping up the table fee...). I'm planning on switching up my table this time around, making it a little more refined. I used to have just a mish-mash of stuff for sale, lots of blank books (all different cover papers, so I'd have to display lots at a time), lots of different greeting cards (again, many different kinds, so I'd have to display many at a time), some jewelry, some junk, some knitted stuff, some kitsch, etc etc etc. Last time around I tried to clear the clutter a bit, and this time I'm going even further.
I'm going to stop making pattern-covered notebooks and start making notebooks with images on the front. Hopefully I'll have about ten or so different images to choose from, so there will only be ten notebooks on display. I'll have a small box for the pattern-notebooks, for people to flip through instead of having them laid out on the table. I'm going to stick with the display set up I rigged for greeting cards - and have about 10 different styles to choose from. I hope to have a few amigurumi creatures/food cuties, as well as a few pairs of baby booties. Beyond that, I may have a few hardbound books, but I'm going to devote a good portion of my table to... FOOD. Oh yeah, food. I'm going to have bagels. I'm going to have cupcakes. I'm going to have loaves of bread. I may even can some spreads and sauces and pickles. I'm going to have samples. And I'm going to make money like all the other bakers do (because I watch, I see, they sell out).
So come one come all, and buy a book with your bagels. Or some bagels with your books. Either way, come out and enjoy. Mass Market is always a good time, regardless of whether or not I make money or you find anything to spend your money on. It's a great time for people watching (the creme de la creme of awful/wonderful/ridiculous hipsters/art students/nogoodnicks plus norms/hip families/grandparents on parade) and if you've got dough to spend there's a lot of really worthy crafters and artists overly eager to relieve you of that caysh.
