Megan + me

I was going to call this post "Experiential Learner" but I'd rather dedicate it to Megan Humphrey. I got to spend the entire day (and night) with her on Saturday as peddlers of rare handmade goods at the Vermont Women's Expo.

Here's Megan of Sweet Basil Cards, her line of incredibly charming vintage collage and sweetly transporting photographs.

After the show Megan and I went to see the Green Mountain Derby Dames thrash the Calamity Janes of Maine. Two of Megan's neighbors are skaters on the VT team. We hung out with their boyfriends, who were wearing "roller derby widower" t-shirts, in the beer corral. It's too far from Topsham to go home that late at night (ahem 8:00pm) so I spent the night at Megan and Terry's house, where I slept in until noon on Sunday, something that would not have happened had I been at home. She took very good care of me <3.>

Though the artsy-craftsy types were far outnumbered at the Expo, we were in good company. Folks filled Stacie Mincher's booth the entire day, as is usually the case : >

Loree Gunn of ZeZu & Company had a sharp looking display at my opposite corner.

Painter Kimberlee Forney showed off her cows and friends downstairs in the main exhibit hall, you know, near the Chi Machine display and demo (!?!).

Claudia Venon got the word out about her new boutique and studio location in Burlington.

Here I am holding down the fort. I love it when I get to use my quilted banner. This was not the kind of vending event I usually do. Since I know I am an experiential learner, I'd rather try things out than sit at the computer and make lots of phone calls doing research. I do some of that, but on the ground learning is my way. Can we call it field research?

Check this out - the crowds waiting to get in before the gates opened at 10:00. Traffic was Very Heavy for a few hours on either side of lunchtime. Absolutely packed isles. I have never been asked so repeatedly by different people, "Do you have a store?" It took me the entire day to realize how I should be responding to this, since Bruce Baker advises that the last thing you want to tell an in-the-flesh-and-in-your-booth potential customer is that you have an online store they can shop at later, unless it is the last thing you say to them.

Okay, the hidden agenda for this post is to show you the brand new bloomers I wore for the very first time at this Expo. I have problems with slips. They are always showing, and not evenly all the way around, which would be cool in the case of my grandmother's red petticoat that I usually wear at shows. Also, my legs get cold and I need something pretty to hide my snuggies. Plus I am usually standing on my bar stool at some point fiddling with my display and I am quite modest. So there you have it. I searched on Etsy and bought four pairs from Loulahbelle, which is in England. They are very well made and comfy enough to wear as pajamas. The shipping was surprisingly fast. This is the only satin pair I have. The others are cotton and different lengths. The shop is very fun to browse. Just so you know I didn't buy any with extra ruffles in the back, though maybe I should have!