Thursday, December 22, 2011

Barter for the Holidays...




At every market, after I'm all set up and ready for the day, I try to spend at least 20 min checking out my fellow vendor's goods.  I am a handcrafted artisan, so naturally I am always trying to support other handcrafted artisans and their amazing talents.  There are a lot of artisans out there who are incredibly talented individuals. 

I am always excited when a fellow vendor wants to barter for goods...and why not...they want something of yours you want something of theirs...it's a win win!!

This year's markets were a treasure trove of amazing things from handmade jewelry to up cycled scarves.   I had just as much fun shopping as I did selling my own goods. 
As I put together all of my amazing finds I realized that I really scored on some amazing things...and I was a little selfish this year, everything is for me!!!! Santa can cross me off his list!!!

I wanted to give credit where credit is due: however, I have lost some of the business cards that went with some of my goods..so I will put at which market they were bought from and if it's yours..please email me and I will get you your credit.  I am hopeless when it comes to miss-placing business cards...next on the list for a barter is a business card holder that will fit into my purse.


Handmade Glass pendant necklace.  Love this necklace.  The Green is less blue than the picture shows, it's a beautiful lime green (my favorite color BTW).  I can't for the life of me remember the name of the company I got this from.  I got this one at the Washington Public Market in Snohomish in November, I think opening weekend.  I got the necklace and the pendant from the same vendor.  She had some amazing stuff and I had the hardest time choosing just two things. 
 
The purple pendant looks fantastic with just a small silver chain.  Very plain, but elegant. 



My favorite score of the year.  I did not barter this one, this is one I just had to have.  If you know my stuff, you know that this tree looks incredibly similar to my company logo, and of course I just had to have it.  Have you ever had something just speak to you..or call you from a distance?  I was at the other end of the building getting a mocha before the show and out of the corner of my eye caught a glimpse of a vendor putting out this necklace on the table.  I was so focused on my coffee..who isn't at 8am...that I almost missed it.  I literally did a double take, picked it up, and bought it in the same breath.  This one I scored also at the Washington Public Market, I don't remember the company/vendor but she was right across from the coffee stand. 


Another great score from the Washington Public Market.  This is an UP CYCLED T-shirt scarf.  It's kinda funky, kinda fun, and actually surprisingly warm.  It's really fun to wear and can be used to dress up a plain jean/t-shirt ensemble or to dress down something you don't want to be too fancy.  I love scarves and am aware that I have way to many...but that's OK. 
This one was made by: Creative Design, you can find them online at www.mycreativedesign.com


My last score from the Washington Public Market comes from Sheila @ Handbags Gotta Have It. This purse is so much fun! It's sparkles in the light and has a ton of bling.  The front belt flap is my absolute favorite part of the entire purse!  You can find your Gotta Have it Handbag @ www.handbagsgottahaveit.com



Last but not least I got this adorable hair clip at the Abba's Sanctuary Craft show.  It's a beautiful gray and looks fabulous with my favorite ruffly gray shirt/sweater outfit.  I have become a girly girl as I have aged and LOVE that flowers have become fashionable to wear even for us grown ups. 

I got some amazing tasty chocolate from a few of the shows too..(White chocolate Egg Nog Truffles r to die for BTW) but of course that was long gone before I even left each show! 

Thanks to every vendor for putting out amazing products.  I love all of my goodies and look forward to the next show season where I can score some more amazing new stuff from local vendors/artisans! Not only do I get to score...but I get to support fellow artisans who want to share their creativity with the world!
Happy Holidays and Keep Creating! 

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