darling dearie under the pink tent!
november 2022
helloooo, dearies-
i've just recovered from my first ever pop up market. which i have to admit was a fan-tas-tic experience! i was thrilled with how my stall turned out and received so many lovely comments from market attendees about its overall appearance, as well as the craftsmanship of my items for sale.
probably one of my favorite complements was from a woman who exclaimed, "you have the prettiest booth! i feel like i stepped into a fairyland!"
below, some pictures snapped at the event...
and i'm doing it again next month in december!
you can learn more about the event and, if you are fountain hills or one of our surrounding communities, please stop by and say hello.
december will again feature a curated selection of items from my e-commerce boutique and specially priced one-day-only sale items, as well as my holiday season dresses and special holiday-themed oddments.
when i say that i have "just recovered" it's because i've spent the last several weeks preparing for the market. many times, it felt an awful lot like when i was preparing to get married (18 years ago last month). for that event, i created and produced much of the attire and décor, and mr. dearie and i created our beautiful invitations, wrote the ceremony, and designed the reception paper goods (menus, table tents, cd favors, order of ceremony programs, etc.).
now, between creating marketing postcards (seen above, or perhaps in your letterbox), stall signage and item hang tags . . . i didn't get much sleep. i just had too many ideas and not nearly enough hours in each day. i even sewed and hand painted my darling dearie logo banner for the front of my tent!
coming up this month is the arizona 'make it with wool' competition.
last year, i took third place for my dilly dress created using three wool fabrics. my frock was accessorized with lace gauntlets of my own design, and a fascinator created using remnants of pendleton wool plaid from my dress. a vintage pearl choker, colorful floral tights, black net petticoat, and bright yellow trippen shoes completed a very steampunk, yet quintessentially "darling dearie" aesthetic.
photo: barbara trainor photography - trainorphoto.com
after the event, i discovered that i'd been technically disqualified from placing any higher because one of the fabrics used in my design, a brown wool inherited from my late grandma's stash, did not have the required percentage of wool necessary to meet the contest's stringent guidelines. well, boo!
fear not, for i have learned from my mistakes. this year, both of my garment entries are entirely made from 100% wool! i look forward to sharing more details and photos in a future missive.
until then, i hope to see you in person next month at the market - don't forget, look for the PINK tent!
xo,
darling