FAEteam Exhibition: Return to Renaissance

Unfortunately, the renaissance faire season is already over down here in Florida but it's just picking up in the rest of the country.  If you're still looking for the perfect garb or accessory for the faire, I highly suggest checking out the Fantasy Artists of Etsy Street Team's current exhibition: Return to Renaissance.  Psst: my Chain Maille Coif is included!

So, You Want to Sell Your Wares at a Ren Faire...

I've been thinking A LOT about time management lately. Sounds kind of dull, I know, but I am desperately trying to figure how to make things work. It's been a goal of mine for a while now to build up my inventory so that I can start selling my chain maille at ren faires. Unlike setting up a table or tent at a craft fair, ren faires require a bit more work. I'm not trying to be dismissive about craft fairs in the least (I certainly know how much work goes into those, too!), but I don't think a lot of people understand how much more involved ren faires are for vendors.

At a craft fair, you want your tent and display to represent your brand, and you also want it to be distinctive (so people remember you) and inviting (to draw them in). At a renaissance festival, not only does it need to do all of those things, but it also usually needs to be representative of the time period. Many ren faires require structures to be built. Others are not permanent, but also don't allow standard pop up tents. Or if you are using a tent, it needs to be completely disguised to be period with no metal showing. When a customer steps in, they should feel like they are stepping back in time.

Along the same lines, the vendor must also dress the part with garb. Garb in itself is an investment. And since I can't just be a merchant wench (the warrior spirit in me would never allow it), I have to invest in a bit more than a corset, chemise, and skirt. I've already started to assemble my garb with a fantastic leather coat, some leggings, and a shirt; Scott bought me a fantastic epee as well. I still need to get all of the belts, pouches, accessories, and boots to go with the ensemble.

The length of time a faire is set up and also amount of people that pass through varies from faire to faire. It could be a simple weekend faire, but you could still have up to 50,000 people walking through. Or it could be a seasonal faire that lasts a few months and can have as many as 250,000+ patrons. The cost for setting up your shop and selling your wares can vary anywhere from a couple hundred dollars for a weekend faire with a tent upwards to $50,000 to have a structure. And, of course, you need to be juried in.

As a direct result of the length, attendance, and size of the fair the amount of inventory required will also vary. I know one maillesmith who did a very small weekend faire in Vermont. He brought a duffel bag and foot locker FILLED with inventory and practically sold out!! He made enough profits to buy a front loading washer and dryer set, a new digital camera, and some other high ticket items. That was a while back and I don't know how much that may have changed recently with the economy, but I'm hearing rumors that people are still purchasing at faires. I guess the theory is that the way things are lately, people need an escape and the ren faire (which is something that happens annually and they can save for it) is the perfect place to do it. And, let's face it, ren faire enthusiasts are there because they love it and will usually invest in something while attending.

The benefits of selling at a faire are great, if you can get there. Somehow, you need to do all of the previous prep work in addition to the grunt work of getting liability insurance, a business license, setting up business banking accounts, getting set up with a credit card processing company, etc., etc. It is no small feat. So, when you ask me "are you selling at the ren faire this year?" I hope you understand when I say that I'm not ready to do that yet. I would love to. Absolutely love to. But doing everything to prepare while working a full time job is proving to be challenging to say the least. It is still something that I want to do, I just have to figure out how to do it...

Getting to Know You: A Faire Survey

I was browsing around the Faire News blog and came across this Faire News Readers page and thought it would be fun to play along. Here's Escarlata's introduction to the section:

"There’s a survey circulating among my friends on MySpace especially designed for those of us who frequent Renaissance, Medieval, Fantasy, Pirate, and Faerie Festivals and Faires.

Thought I’d share it here as a way to get to know my readers. I’m going to post the questions, then I’ll start it off by posting my answers as the first comment. I’d love to hear from you. And my thanks to my friend Tremayne for the thoroughly novel concept of just deleting the questions that didn’t make sense. Instead of deleting, though, I modified the wording on a few."

1. Tankard, Goblet, or Plastic Cup and with or without a cover? So far, none of the above, but I suspect it will be a tankard (all the more room for the ale!).

2. Did you wear garb your first time at Faire? Nope.

3. What was the last thing you bought - other than food and drink? It was a pirate coin necklace on a leather cord at the Florida Pirate Festival (wearing it in the above pic).

4. What does your favorite pin say? I don't have any pins yet.

5. Do you go for historical accuracy in your garb? I only just started putting my garb together, so I've been thinking about this. I'm trying to stay relatively historically correct, but within reason: the styles will be period, but modern made.

6. Where was your last out-of-state Faire? Haven't been to one out of state yet.

7. How many different costumes do you own? lol. I'm still working on putting together my first one. Right now, I have a leather coat, leggings, a shirt, an epee, and will hopefully have my boots soon. I'm planning on borrowing Scott's accessories (belts, pouches, etc.) for now.

8. Do you carry a blade? Of course! I currently have an epee, but hope to acquire a dagger and perhaps a main-gauche.

9. Have you been flogged? Nope. I don't think I'd stand for that.

10. When was your virgin year? Fairly recently, in fact: I believe it was 2006.

11. Who originally introduced you to Faire? Scott brought me to my first one.

12. Had your hair braided? No, but it would be fun.

13. Had a henna tattoo? At faire, I had an arm band done. Outside of faire, my favorite henna tattoo was on my whole lower arm (all the way around) done in traditional henna designs. It almost looked like a fancy gauntlet.

14. Do you have pockets? Nope.

15. Do you carry a cell phone where it can be seen? That wouldn't be cool. It will be in a pouch.

16. Will you shed part of your costume if it’s hot? Only if I have to. My leather coat pretty much makes the outfit, so I really wouldn't want to lose it but I'm also not going to be stupid about it.

17. What part of someone else’s costume do you wish you had? I love what I've got so far, I just want to complete the ensemble.

18. Ever had a run-in with security? Not yet.

19. Do you bother with Faire-speak? I keep trying: I understand Shakespeare, I've studied speech techniques in school, I repeat actors in period movies. . . But it doesn't really sound that great. lol.

20. What do you carry on you, that most other people probably do not? I don't know. I'm kind of a Girl Scout though, and feel like I'm pretty prepared for most situations.

21. Is sunscreen a normal part of your costume? It will be. I'm pretty anal about not wanting to get burned.

22. What color is/are your blouse(s)/shirt(s)? So far, I just have the one in cream. If I ever figure out my sewing machine, I'll try and make some more.

23. What faires have you been too? Bay Area Renaissance Festival and Florida Pirate Festival. I think this year, I'm going to try and get to a few more that are in my area.

24. Would you date someone at faire? My partner's name is Scott. He brought me to my first faire and he's the only one I'll be taking home from a faire.

25. Describe your character? She's still in development, but she is a shield maiden.

26. What is your favorite show at faire? That's tough. I enjoy the Washing Wenches, Johnny Phoenix, Flights of Raptor, the jousting. . .

27. Worked at faire? Not yet.

28. Do you prefer tent or hard sites? I've never been to a hard site, but imagine that it's magical. On the other hand, it takes a bit of creativity and work to transform a tent and I can totally appreciate that.

29. Do you share the pictures you take? I haven't really taken many yet, but the few that I have taken I've shared here and at my flickr account.

30. Do you know all the words to at least one faire song? Not yet, but I suspect that will happen eventually.

31. Have you ever given or received a kilt check? No, but that sounds like fun.

32. Plan on doing any new characters? If yes, describe: I'd like to figure out my first one, first!

33. Most memorable character at faire? Don't have one yet.

34. Favorite moment at faire? Walking in for the first time and realizing how much fun it would be. I love history and have a theatrical background: it was a perfect fit!

35. Do you have a photo that best depicts your persona at faire? Haven't gone in garb yet, but here I am trying on a gorgeous leather corset:

Fun with Power Tools

I spent an enjoyable afternoon yesterday in my theatre's shop. I was busy starting to build some of my display items for my booth. Yes, I have a long way to go still with inventory, but this stuff has to get done at some point, too. I had an idea that I loved and couldn't wait to get started on it.

I needed to create something eye catching that would draw people into my tent, but it also had to appear rustic to fit in at a renaissance festival. I kept being drawn back to using wood; I think it makes a good balance to all of the metal that will be in the tent.

My first stop was to Lowe's to pick up some panels of lovely (looking and smelling) cedar. Once I got to the shop, I drew a couple different sized oval templates (drawing an oval is bit more complicated than you would think!). I've used a band saw before, but this was my first time with a jigsaw. Big difference: with one you move the wood, with the other you move the tool. It took a little getting used to, but I'm proud to say that I didn't screw anything up too terribly in my learning curve. It just took me a bit longer than it would have say Scott who's been using the tool for twenty years. I cut out and sanded six large ovals and twelve that are a couple inches smaller. I plan to make strands of three each, connected with handmade chain, and attached to the pipes of my tent. Step one is complete.

I also have a grand plan to make my own wood burned sign for the outside of my tent, so I played around a little bit with my burner for the first time. Fun! Oh, and I got two compliments that just tickled me: "ooh, pretty girl with power tools" and one of the guys compares me to one of my heroes none other than Rosie the Riveter.

Renspace: Myspace for Rennies

My fellow Fantasy Artists of Etsy Street Team member Sacred Oak recently introduced me to Renspace. I must admit, I never really 'got' Myspace until I started exploring Renspace: it totally makes sense how people connect over there now! Again, I must admit, I still haven't signed up for Myspace yet, but I did for Renspace - it just seemed to make more sense since it's dedicated to the faire folk that I'm trying to connect with. I've neglected my blog a bit lately (the month of May has been insanely busy!) and so too with my Renspace page, but here it is. Come check out my page and explore the site - it's a really fun resource!

Mission: Ren Faire Research

Yesterday, Scott and I attended the Bay Area Renaissance Festival at MOSI in the name of research. Of course it was a ton of fun, but our primary mission was to scope out booths, costumes, and displays as I prepare to build my own. There were quite a few booths that were very professionally done up (read: beautiful and expensive) as well as some that looked like they may be just starting out and maybe not too terribly invested (perhaps they work more in the craft fair market than the ren faire one). There appeared to be many vendors selling commercially made goods and not quite as many hand made artisans and crafters. I also only saw one maille vendor and their main focus was on jewelry. There were lots of really fun display ideas, too: there were the scarves that one vendor used to decorate the inside of her tent, the wooden shades and trellises used for displays, oriental rugs and bamboo matting for floorings, faux animal skins for table coverings, and more.

I felt reassured seeing such a mix of booths and displays: it gives me hope that since I'm just starting out and not investing in one of the $800 booths available, I can still throw something really nice together. It was also nice to see that maille is kind of in the minority among the items for sale. Hopefully, that just means that there aren't many maille vendors instead of a lack of interest in it! I'm also excited about the fact that I'd like to offer more than just jewelry and be able to offer my customers that much more in the way of options. Jewelry will always be a huge part of my inventory, but they will also be able to browse armour, bags, accessories, housewares, and more!

And of course, in the name of research, I had to look into a costume as well! I looked at a few fabric, steel boned corsets and some bodices but didn't really fall in love with any of them. Then I saw the leather corsets. . . I just had to try one on:

I don't actually know the lady I'm standing with. She just happened to be passing by wearing a green skirt that matched the inlay on the corset. =) I fell in love with it, but could NOT freakin' breathe in the thing. I couldn't imagine wearing it for any length of time, so alas, I moved on.

I finally came across this Elizabethan Era Coat, apparently it's the same style Arwen was wearing when she rescued Frodo on the horse in LOTR. I wish I got Scott to take a picture when I was wearing it, but I was too sidetracked thinking about how much I liked it and what I would wear with it. It is a lovely chocolate brown and so soft! The lacing in the front gives a busty look without cutting off circulation! Fun part of the story: I picked up my usual medium but when the shopkeeper saw me, he said "That is WAY too big for you. You need a small." I have no problem with my size, but I nearly hit the floor when he said I needed a small. =D I eventually also picked up a cream colored shirt and some brown leggings to match, now all I need are my boots and accessories and I'll be set! Oh, and the couple of pieces of armour I plan to make for my costume as well.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

History Comes to Life

I've always been interested in the medieval and renaissance time period. Even as a child, I would go to museums and gravitate towards the armour and swords of the time period. I took a medieval art course in college and learned that although I wasn't a huge fan of the painting, I loved the sculpture, stained glass, and tapestries. I love reading historical fiction, especially with strong female characters. I've always been a creative person involved with scrapbooks, candle making, collages, sketching, macrame and knotwork, and eventually beading. The thing with beading is that although I find beads to be quite beautiful, I've always loved metal jewelry more. So, when I came across a tutorial (Euro 4-1 Bracelet) to combine my interest in the past (armour) and my love of metal jewelry I just had to try it. And, as they say, the rest is history.

So, it confounds me to admit that despite this interest in history, armour, and entertainment I had never been to a Ren Faire until just a few years back. I'm originally from New York and just a few hours upstate is the famous Sterling Renaissance Festival as well as the New York Renaissance Faire. It wasn't until I moved down to FL with Scott that I ventured to the Bay Area Renaissance Festival. Why hadn't I done this sooner? My theatrical background loved the entertainment and my inner geek thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere.

Although, it doesn't have a strict storyline like many other faires, it is still deeply rooted in the history of King Henry VIII and his sixth and final wife Catherine Parr. I also recently found out that there is a special day dedicated to bringing school children in; allowing teachers the opportunity to truly bring history to life for their students.

Unfortunately, I was unable to make it to the faire last year, but one way or another I plan to make it to at least one day of it's seven weekends this year. I have to. For research. . . ;)