I spent
this last weekend selling chainmaille at the Oxford Renaissance Festival and
there were a few things I simply had to share. Namely, the magic of shiny
objects.
Friday was
the first day of the festival, at least for school kids. It was Education Day,
so a bunch of schools came out on trips to have some fun, watch some jousting
and maybe learn something. Only a few of the vendors were present for the show –
in fact, we were the only ones in the indoor location (our tent is annoying to
transport – plus it is still broken from last year).
Now, it
should be mentioned that the festival was at a new location this year, which
means that there is a lot of trial and error in figuring out what will and won’t
work. For example, having a barn with only one vendor off to the side of where
the majority of the festival’s activities take place doesn’t work.
Because we
were the only ones there, Colleen and I moved our whole setup right into the
doorway of the barn, where we could be seen from outside. There were plenty of
kids there, but because there was nothing else where we were, no one even
looked in our direction (except one bus driver, who dropped by to chat for a
bit).
Until the
end of the day. The sun had shifted enough to shine into the barn, glinting off
the armour shirts at the front of our display. Finally, a few groups spotted us
and came over. They didn’t buy anything, but that’s okay – the rest of the
weekend made op for that with the normal festival days.
Ah, yes.
The rest of the weekend. The first thing that needs to be said about it is that
it was hot. Outside, the sun was beating down – though a nice breeze kept the
heat from being unbearable.
Inside,
there was no breeze. The barn we were in wasn’t one of those wooden barns, no.
It was a metal barn, with metal roofing that the sun was beating down upon.
Inside, it was an oven – even with doors open at both ends in an attempt to
catch some of the breeze.
A number of
the events attendees commented on the heat in the barn, but there was one
couple that went a step farther. After noticing we had an electrical outlet
behind our table, they actually went home and brought a fan back for us. Isn’t
that amazing? They left it with us for the whole weekend and came back to pick
it up at the end of the show the next day. Needless to say, we were enormously
grateful.
Anyway,
back to the magic of shiny objects. Along with the event’s move, the festival
got some new partners – namely the local(ish) Boys and Girls Club. One of the
new people involved came up with a wonderful idea. He’d grown up in an underprivileged
household and he remembered loving events like these, but being sad that he
never had any money to spend with the vendors. So he made “Coins of the Realm”
that were given to underprivileged families along with special festival
packages.
All the
vendors were asked to accept these “Coins of the Realm” at a value of $5 –
which we’d be reimbursed for at the end of the festival. From the moment I
heard the idea, I thought it was an incredible way to bring a little joy to people
who have difficult lives. I can’t express how happy I was when they were used
to make a purchase from me. Not only was I proud to be able to help these
people, but the gratitude I could see in the eyes of the parents who otherwise
wouldn’t have been able to buy something for their child – it was truly the
best part of my weekend.
Shiny
objects really do have a magic all of their own.
Also, make sure you check out my wife's blog and her life coaching website.
If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.
