Karina's Creatures do Glastonbury

So, I went to Glastonbury Festival to do crochet workshops and sell some Amigurumi. We arrived there Monday 22nd June and built the little stall as pictured above (that is not me by the way). On Tuesday morning we had the Health & Safety check and were pronounced accredited traders :-) Business started on Wednesday 24th June. Nobody came to do a workshop that day and nobody bought anything. That was not surprising really as only traders were present at that time. On Thursday morning 10 am we set up and my first workshop was more of a babysitting session. The basket weaving woman from across the path dropped her 5-year old off to learn crochet. It is now apparent to me, that the age limit for my workshops has to be raised ... unless there are 5-year olds about, who have a better attention span than Lolly. Anyway, we made some crochet flowers with her and she was happy enough. First proper workshop attendees came Thursday afternoon. 3 women of more mature age :-) A lovely few hours with chat and some hooking was being had. About the same amount of people did come throughout the festival 4 - 5 a day, women who were saying that they had never managed the art of crochet mainly. So I taught a young woman with Dyspraxia to 'sling her hook' ... she was so happy as she had been told by doctors that she NEVER would do any knitting/crochet. Hence she is on a mission to prove the medical world wrong. She was so elated by the end of the session, that she bought a hook from me and took some wool away. She even came by a couple of days later to thank me again and that she was still crocheting. That was my best experience of the festival. Still there were other success stories and many happy, nattering hours were had by all.

As far as sales go, it wasn't too great. It has taught me to take more small items to a festival rather than large, more expensive Amigurumi. Jelly fish, octopusses and squids were the 'most wanted', followed closely by the celestine star baby rattles, although I must say that £15 seemed a lot to people, but I couldn't sell them cheaper considering the work that goes in them. Not even mentioning the materials.

Anyway, WOMAD childrens' workshops next. That should be interesting to say the least. My aim for next year is definitely Roskilde, that will be a challenge in itself if I think about the language barrier. Might have to do an overhead projector show to go with the workshops. And I would really like to branch out and do a couple of the continental festivals. Wish me luck, my fellow hookers.