The sale was abysmal. The area was downtown Los Angeles, near but not in either the Jewelry or Fashion districts, in a part of town where you have ninety year old buildings that were once grand hotels but which now house mostly people who are one step above indigent. It's being redeveloped and will, one day, be kind of SoHo funky, but right now the people walking up and down the street were mostly homeless or fast on their way out of the neighborhood.
The store in which we had the sale was on the bottom floor of one of those hotels – retail on the bottom floor, rooms above. It was once a coffee shop but was now empty, gutted and being remodeled. NO signage outside to indicate what was going on inside, except one handwritten note on the door, which offered the only glimpse into the room because all the windows were painted over.
I usually walk away from a sale with three to five hundred bucks. That day I made a whole twenty dollars, almost the cost of the space I rented. But I did meet some nice, enviably creative people. I bought fishie beads from this woman (I like fish, alright??) and made this above necklace from them. I'm not quite happy with it - something seems to be missing, more of a seaweedy presence to it. Maybe I should have bubbles interspersed along the chains? Did I get the fish in the water feel right? Let me know. I have to get more fish from her. I have to have all the fish beads in the world.
I also traded a pair of earrings for a Grump. You either get them right away or you never will. I want a house full of them.
In other news, I now have a once a month contract to have a sale at a nearby assisted living center. I think I am going to approach several other centers in the area. At first I felt like I was taking advantage, but it was explained to me that these are lucid people who can't get out easily and that I would be preforming a service for them. Okaaaaayyyy - anyone else agree with that? Is it right to sell at assisted living centers or is it preying on the elderly? Even if they are lucid?
