www.FiberArtFest.com

The belief that the June event is over is only further reinforced by how tired I still am after several days of downtime.  The weather did cooperate though it was very hot and humid.  Everyone asked for no rain and it was replaced with humidity instead.  The temps were only in the 80s; but, with the humidity nearing 90%, it felt much, much hotter.

A few minutes after opening on June 12th, 2010.

This picture seemed to capture the growth we have seen over the last several years.  There were over 30 assigned spaces this year.  It was a great site.  As we have come to expect, there were power shoppers looking around right at 10 AM.

Demonstrating how hand made brooms to a young person Three generations of one family petting Moose our Icelandic Ram

These two images I thought truly captured the mission of our festival, passing on fiber artistry and the sources of those skills of years past to others.

With all the great fiber art throughout the entire day, it was hard to find just a few images to include here.  However, these two great pieces shows the amount of work, skill and patience it really takes to care and create these wonderful and often practical pieces of art.

Hand Braided Rug

This rug would easily bring alive a whole room with its brilliant use of shades of red.  The tight weave would allow for many years of use.

Rovings

This is a great example of the many different natural and hand dyed rovings that were available.  This is mostly the basic start of most projects, the roving.  From here, you can do just about anything from knitting, spinning or felting.  You’re only limited by your imagination. 

A Lucet is a 16th century braiding tool.

This was the simplist tool I have seen and be used in fiber art.  Through a series of twists and pulls, using this tool, you can make a square looking, long braid.  The braid is then used for rope, rugs or a variety of other items.  This tool was used back in the 16th century.

One of our great festival friends and volunteer, Pennie Christie, brought her bottle lamb.  This little (or not so little) ewe lamb allowed many people to see how friendly lambs can be when properly handled.  Shadow was great to see by everyone.

We received some great feedback from the exhibitors.  At the end of the day, I made my usual rounds and talked to each exhibitor individually.   In 2011, we are likely to see similar attendance.  With our added customer base this year, we had a couple issues with traffic and lack of bathroom space.  We plan on correcting these problems.  Sales were mixed but attendance was way up.  I am likely to get the approximate attendance from the owner of Side Track in the next few days.   Overall, exhibitors and customers seem to have a good day.

The task list to accomplish before Saturday is not as large as I had thought.  However, everything seems to be taking hours to complete if all goes well.  Getting a flat tire yesterday just about completely absorbed all my day. 

We have tried to expand the advertising again this year and already have received some wonderful feedback.  The multi-media (radio, TV and newspaper) appears to be the best approach.  Now, to refine the mix to reach everyone effectively without breaking the bank is going to be our goal next year.

I am building a set of eight-foot-square stall panels for the June even as sort of a prototype for the stall panels we will need for the October show.  The design is simple and sturdy.  We are going to try it out this weekend and see how it goes.

Thursday night and Friday during the day, I will be creating the final layout for the booths.  I wait to the last possible second to make sure everyone is ready to go.  I start calling everyone personally this evening to determine when they will arrive and finalize any special requests.  So many festivals do everything via mail or e-mail or some other non-personal communication.  It is amazing how much a few minute conversation can put so many questions to rest.

This year we once again have our priceless volunteers doing so much.  Our signs will go out early on Saturday morning throughout town and at the end of the exit ramps.  That’s another map I need to generate.  We will have another volunteer getting exhibitors to their assigned spaces.  In year’s past, we have been able to move people around due to one reason or another at the last minute.  It all works out well in the end.

The weather looks like it is going to cooperate.  I was getting a little worried.  However, for the last several days the forecast has been getting progressively better.  I think we need to be prepared for a little rain.  But, it shouldn’t be a big deal.

Looking through the list of exhibitors this year, I have noticed we have quite a few first-time exhibitors not only to our festival but they have chosen our festival as their first-ever event!  This is truly exciting to me.

After FAAF, I am likely going to sleep for a week and then get the pictures uploaded.  There is always a great number of folks with smiles and fiber to show off for the camera.

Over the next two weeks, our advertising will start.  We have print and radio ads throughout the area.  It is truly exciting to see everything come together.  Our exhbiitor’s listing has grown and have some new first-time exhibitors. 

If you haven’t checked us out on Facebook, please do.  We post snippets just about every day now about one thing or another.  Most of our exhibitors have Facebook pages as well.

We are now on Ravelery.  I have put an entry there for our June 12th event.

The days are clicking down quickly.  The advertising is out and I have already received several comments about what people have heard or seen.  What is great is that our customer focus is on the new fiber artist.  Our advertising and our mission are tightly wound (excuse the pun) and are working together well.

A few days ago I received a call from one of our exhibitors.  There was a discussion about payment, placement, weather and everything about the June 12th show.  Since we do not manage by committee and I can bend my own rules whenever it fits the need of the festival, I was able to work with this exhibitor about their placement.  I feel that we can be more responsive to our exhibitor’s needs since I don’t have to consult with anyone or worry about last-minute changes like so many other festivals need to do.

The 10 day weather forecast looks great.  Right now, they are forecasting upper 70s and low 80s with partly cloudy skies.  I’m crossing my fingers that it stays that way.

We will again have a special menu for the exhibitors this year.  I am working with Side Track Ice Cream to produce a portable lunch in a box that the exhibitors can order with several options.  It will be delivered personally to everybody’s booth.

It’s been a while since I last wrote.  So, I’ll try to get everything caught up here.

FAAF is on Facebook now and we are posting snippets of different things every day.  It has been great to interact with so many people about their likes and wants about different aspects of fiber art.  I look forard to keeping people up-to-date.

Our June event is growing.  We have been receiving exhbitor’s application just about every day now for the last week.  I expect more to come in as the date gets closer.  Since it is an outdoor event, many exhibitors wait until the last minute to send in their application.  This has the added benefit of knowing (or at least the forecast) weather will be for that day.  However, our spaces are first-paid first-served.  So, those who get their applications in first, get the spaces closest to the incoming customers.

For the October event, we have booked a sheep judge and we are looking for a few good volunteers to assist with just about every aspect of the event.  I should have the sheep show application up on the website in the next few days.

In regards to farming, we have had a wonderful crop of lambs this spring.  Just about every color and shade that Icelandic sheep come in, we seem to have this year.  Definitely more rams than ewes this year.  But, they are all fun to watch.

We started a small brood of Black Australorp chickens too.  Twice daily, I go out and feed and water them in their heated tank.  It will be nice when they can go out and wonder around with the rest of the hens.  They should lay brown eggs throughout their life.

Well, only a few weeks until the June event.  I’m looking forward to it!

The Icelandic Sheep Breeders of North America (ISBONA) has decided to have their Annual Group Meeting (AGM) at our festival in October.  This is a great honor and we are coordinating the meeting as well as our new sheep show already.  The classes are being put together now and I am searching for a judge.

The Michigan Llama Association (MLA) has decided to help with our “Llama Show Off” demonstration.  We will have a large outdoor pen with obstacles setup.  Anyone from the public can walk a llama through the obstacles for free.  Of course, we will have handlers available to assist.

We have confirmed that we will have our sheep shearer back in October as well.  This was very well received.  Our entire flock of 40+ sheep will be sheared at our October festival.

For our June event, the City of Marshall has rezoned the river front area near Side Track Ice Cream.  This new zone allows for one-day events and festivals without having to renew or issue new permits.  I have also talked to the owner of the business right next door.  Last year, we accidentally setup on their property and if it weren’t for their generosity, we would have had to move nearly have the exhibitors somewhere else.  This year, we will talk with our friendly neighbors before the event to ensure there are no issues this year.

It is going to be another great year of growth for FAAF.  Both venues are scheduled to run rain or shine.  As always, admission and parking continue to be free.

The June festival is over.  It was a huge success!  My day started somewhere around 5 AM.  I am not counting all the work I did on Friday or the fact that I didn’t sleep well at all that night because I was thinking about all the things that still needed to be done before the exhibitors arrived.  Anyway, after I slapped the alarm, the day started off quite well.  I had found my FAAF clothes the night before and put them aside so I wouldn’t have to think about them.  By 6 AM, I was outside starting to feed everyone to get them through the day and getting the truck and trailer hooked up.  At or about 7 AM, Pennie (our most outstanding volunteer) arrived.  I gave her the rundown on what needed to be done and a map of where all the exhibitors were assigned and she was on her way by 7:30.  By 8:00, I was on my way down to Marshall as well with Moose and Buck our two Icelandic rams and Sterling, Zoey and Merle our llamas.  For whatever reason, the llamas were the hardest to get into the trailer.  Here I was all geared up to get the sheep in the trailer.  Shows you how much I know about animal psychology.

I had all the critters in the stall I had setup the day before by 9:00 AM.  I was able to move the truck and trailer out of the way.  However, before I did, I helped one of the exhibitors put their critters in their pen.  However, one of the little lambs darted right out.  The chase was on.  After 15 minutes of pure panic, she was caught and put back into her pen.  Somehow, she caught my barn shirt and tore it along the seem.  I was very happy she caught my shirt and not me.  The rest of the critters went into the pen without incident and the truck and trailer were put far enough away as not to get in the way of anyone.

The band began to play at 1 PM.  The traditional Irish music was great.  You could hear it well throughout the grounds.  The speakers just happened to be pointed directly at our booth.  So, we heard every word from every person of the band all afternoon.  It was very entertaining as they sang to the llamas.

The people were easy to work with.  I had some wonderful conversations with people of all ages and skill level.  This one family from North Carolina just wanted some wool to start their kids on felting projects.  Others were looking for inexpensive fiber to start spinning.  Some others yet were looking for specific items up and down the row of exhibitors.  One family in particular started at our booth about mid-morning and promised she would be back.  Honestly, I had forgotten about them by mid-afternoon when they returned.  They had spent all day talking to every exhibitor about what they were presenting to the public and tried to learn something at every booth.  She had come back to our booth with big bags of projects in her hands and a large grin on her face.  It looked like she had found treasures beyond belief.

The festival ended at 5 PM and mostly everyone started to tare down.  There were quite a few customers milling around.  The band took an extended break until 7 PM.  By 6 PM, just about everyone had cleared out.  We took ourselves and our most awesome volunteer out for a celebratory dinner.

Our feet, legs, arms and voices were all tired.  It was a wonderful day!

Today has been full of errands and setting up the site for the festival tomorrow.  I have all the spaces marked.  I just need to attach the signs.  I put our tents up already to cut down on the amount of setup we’ll have to do tomorrow.  I have the exhibitor’s menu produced and published.  This year, I edited the exhibitor’s application and will hand out 2010 applications at this year’s event.  I thought that might be handy for folks.

I have the batteries for the camera charging.  But, when I get a chance to take some pictures, I will post them.  You will be able to see our issues with space creeping up very soon.  We do have many different ideas and opportunities if we were to grow bigger again next year.

The weather has been flip-flopping back and forth between sunny and possibility of rain.  Well, I can’t control the weather.  As they like to say in the government, we are ‘go’ for launch.  Rain or shine.

We have counted the number of booths to be setup this year.  With only having a few days until Saturday, we will have 25 booths setup.  This includes multiples for fiber producing animals such as our llamas and those who are bring sheep and such.  Last night, I called each exhibitor individually to make sure they knew when to arrive and to answer any last minute questions.  I truly hope nobody thought I was rude calling late into the evening. 

The small display signs have arrived and I need to go pick them up.  These are corrugated plastic and single color.  They are not as nice as our large, heavy steel 4-color sign.  However, they are much more economical and can be easily moved.  Now, of course, I have to figure out where and who is gonig to put them out and about.

Friday will be the day that I go and get all the booth spaces set.  I have a spreadsheet already produced with everyone on it.  All the special requests or accommodations have been accounted for.   I need to find the field paint that we didn’t use last year due to the rain the day before.  I think I have enough stakes if we need them to stake out the corners of the booth spaces.

I looked at the weather forecast for Marshall for this weekend.  Wow!  It appears it will be in the upper 70s with practically no chance of rain at all.  We couldn’t order better weather if we tried.

In regards to our booth, we have the tents, tables and stall panels located.  Now, we need to clean them off and account for all the pieces-parts.  I think we’re pretty much set on which critters will be joining us.

We’re quickly approaching 30 days prior to the June event.  We added a few more exhibitors and are excited to see such enthusasm from everyone.  We have confirmed that we will have a four-person folk musical group playing in the afternoon.  In the spirit of free demonstrations, we will have an exhibitor showing how to make simple cheese with goat’s milk.

I still need to update the June workshop page.  Now that life has calmed down a bit, I expect to have some time in the next day or so to get that done.