Mythical Market Madness

‘You’re entirely bonkers! But I’ll tell you a secret, the best people are’ – Alice in Wonderland

Ah the Mythical Markets. It came, it went, it threw faery dust in my face. It was a whirlwind of curious characters, magical mayhem, and in its entirety it was beautifully bonkers!

Nothing could have prepared me for the craziness ahead, and considering this was my first real life market stall I really, really had no idea what I was in for. I thought I was pretty clever as I’d even remembered to pack tea and coffee, cos you know, I thought I’d have time to make a tea or coffee. Ha! Turns out there were 4 times more visitors than expected! There was a dense sea of people, pirates, faeries and warriors from all universes flooding the tiny Ferny Creek hall and it didn’t stop for 5 hours. The weather was hot and humid, especially inside, and to add to the madness I was taking part in the Faery Quest as ‘The Puzzle Box Lady’ for 2 hours, with an expected 200 players to come through. It was mental, but oh so marvelous!

Thankfully I had two amazing friends to help me, Kerry (of Nieko who also had some of her creations on display) and Jess, because there is no way I could have managed both the stall and puzzle box on my own. At least I had that part covered!

I learnt a few valuable lessons when it comes to preparing a market stall, which I will know for next time. Firstly, when people suggest you set up your stall at home to get an idea of how it will look, do it. Just do it. Don’t think to yourself  ‘Meh, can’t be bothered, she’ll be right’ cos she aint be right and you’ll end up fussing about trying to make things fit, make them easy to see (Note to self – must get shelving of some kind) and last minute pricing while customers are gathering! But this is where my awesome friends came in to save the day, they managed the hell out of that stall.

But oh, the lovely people I met! Despite the heat and crowds everyone was in such high spirits and so friendly to talk to. And the costumes.. amazing costumes, I met unicorns, an owl, a gentleman dressed in full armor, demons, goblins, a peacock, just to name a few. (I wish I had photos of them to share)

Playing the Puzzle Box Lady was so. much. fun. Full on at times, but fun all the same! During the Faery Quest players had to find scrolls which had a map leading them to me in this little nook pictured above. I’d tell them I required payment of two blue crystals that ‘grow among the trees’ and send them back outside to search for them. Once they had the crystals I would show them the code on the side of the faery cabinet (above) for them to solve, which would tell them where the key was. The key opened the cabinet door and inside was a symbol they had to show to the gatekeeper at the cabin. How cool is that!? There was much more to the quest, but that was my part. It got pretty crowded in here for a while.

A quieter moment, two mythical beings working out the code.

By the end of the day I was exhausted! I had such a great time though, I feel that little bit wiser now, and inspired by all the beautiful things on display, the wonderful people with their stunning outfits and so happy I was able to be a part of it all.

Now, to get all my remaining stock uploaded to Etsy.. stay tuned!