On The Rose Bowl Flea

Alyson in Progress

Dec 11

My table next to a defunct Men’s room. :-)

This past Sunday, Alyson Jon Life headed to the Rose Bowl Flea Market. I set up shop with a very basic, no frills set up. I had 1.5 tables and no tent. My sales were few despite my sale on my old stock. It was slightly comforting to know that some of my fellow vendors felt ignored by the masses that came through those doors. Judging by the items people bought at the flea, my jewelry wasn’t on their radar when they stepped on the Rose Bowl grounds.

I know that markets are unstable. Success depends on so many factors like the venue, the day and your set up. I’ve actually had success with a lesser set up and crappy lighting. It hurts to have a day that seems worthless after having to wake up before dawn, lug everything to the flea, pay the space fee and try to be free and easy as people pass by your booth. Maybe that stuff isn’t difficult for you. It is for me.

The sunrise collection on block printed bandanas.

The bigger nag for me was that I failed to achieve a goal. I did this to get my brand in front of people in real life. It was to present Alyson Jon Life to the West Coast. But I felt like my real world experience was no different than using social media to sell my wares. Like my craft show neighbor said on Sunday, “It’s like we got swiped by.” The event was too large for people to really appreciate the vendors.

It took a day to deal with the blow.

The big lesson in this is that I was in the wrong venue. Yes, the space was affordable. And yes, there are hordes of folks strolling by. But Alyson Jon Life isn’t for the masses. It for the people who will love, cherish and keep coming back to AJL. I now know that AJL’s place isn’t among antique furniture vendors and kettle corn.

On a side note: someone bought a bandana that I block printed and used as table decoration. That’s a direction to consider.