Renaissance Reflections

This past weekend, Richmond, Virginia was home to its inaugural Renaissance Faire. Hosted by Virago Alley, the Richmond Renaissance Faire spanned two days and saw over 7,000 guests attending both days. Despite the scorching sun of Saturday and the windy rain of Sunday, people from all over the area gathered in Dorey Park to drink mead, say huzzah, and just have a generally good time. Amongst the performers, food trucks, chainmail, princess hats, and people selling swords and cloaks was me, just another humble artist with a pop-up tent and a dream.

Okay, maybe I’m being a bit dramatic. But I have been vending at events for a little over two years and every event still feels like a new experience, a learning moment. I have learned how to recognize when events will be good days or when they will feel like a waste of time and energy. The Richmond Renaissance Faire, luckily, was the former. And it wasn’t just good- this event was the best event I’ve ever had.

I am so immensely grateful for everyone who stopped by my tent, even if it was just to look at my art and maybe throw a compliment my way. Sometimes when selling art online, it can feel a wee bit lonely. You don’t really interact with people, nor do you get to hear their genuine first reactions to your art. So being able to hear people exclaim that they love my style or that they just know their best friend would love my stuff is incredibly touching.

Events are always unpredictable- in terms of weather conditions, in customer base, and just in the general vibes of the day. My mother (who is almost always supporting me at shows and behind-the-scenes) and I have started making it a game to guess what item will sell first but we are almost never correct. I love seeing what pieces catch peoples’ eyes because it’s almost always a different piece and almost never what we would expect.

I always leave events with fresh ideas and renewed motivation for creation. Suffice it to say, my mind is swimming with concepts and plans for new pieces and items to share with you all after this weekend. Hopefully, at least a few will actually come to fruition. As anyone who knows a creative person can attest, a lot of ideas, no matter how cool, just don’t get made. It’s the nature of the beast- we only have but so much time and energy to create! But I know that whatever I do end up creating, it will be someone’s favorite.

…Hopefully.

Huzzah!