Market Adventures: Lessons Learned from a Windy Day
Last weekend's market adventure turned out to be quite the learning experience for us.
The day started with pleasant anticipation and a beautiful display of my paintings, cushions and mugs. Mother Nature decided to throw in some curveballs for us. As strong winds picked up, we found ourselves in a race against time to save our setup.
The first challenge was a sudden gust that threatened to collapse our gazebo. I had to lean against the wall holding the paintings to prevent it from falling. Thankfully my lovely neighbour came to visit just in time, saw me and rushed to the rescue. Together, we carefully removed all the paintings and the frame. My husband came back to the market and quickly modified the frames, so that we could display the paintings again, it was in the corner but still okay. (suddenly we had a support beam that pushed against the wall, he is a genius)
Just as we thought we had everything under control, the wind grew stronger. Other stall holders started to pack up an hour early and we decided to do the same. When we took down the last painting from the rear wall, the gazebo gave in to the wind and started to lift off. I instinctively jumped onto one of its legs to stop it from flying away. My husband, thinking quickly, tied that leg to a nearby light pole. I then ran to secure the other leg before it could take off as well. Our roof didn't have a vent, so the gazebo turned into a giant kite. It was quite a challenge to get the roof off the frame. Thankfully more people came to help us with taking down the wild gazebo.
Despite the chaos, we managed to prevent any damage, (besides the gazebo) and the day ended with valuable lessons learned. We are now preparing for our next show with a new, stronger gazebo and self-supporting picture frames to ensure we're better equipped to handle whatever comes our way.
This experience was a testament to the importance of being prepared and adaptable. We're looking forward to our next market and hope to see you there.
Warm regards
Petra
The stall before the storm 😊
