Sincerest of Thank Yous

An enormous, and heartfelt THANK YOU to all who came out to see us this past weekend! Charm City Craft Mafia had our best Holiday Heap on record. Thousands of folks came to show their locally made arts support, and we raised DOUBLE the funds we normally do with our charity crafty raffle, bringing in close to $900 for Heart's Place Shelter, just downstairs from the fair itself.
I can't possibly convey the pride I feel in being a part of the craft mafia after a successful event. We all work so hard for this one day, and to see the effort turn into something tangible - that benefits so many other people in the craft community besides ourselves - and effects the community and their shopping locally in Baltimore, if only for one day... is just such a cool feeling. A woman at the fair told me she had crossed off her entire christmas list Saturday, and two people nearby jumped in and said "Oh, I make that my goal EVERY year! We always do all of our shopping at this fair! My family gets all locally made presents!"
I could have cried, I was so proud of my city.
Supporting local businesses isn't just adorable and trendy. It also puts a HUGE percentage more money back into the local economy than buying at a large chain store. Plus, you look really good doing it, get to meet the artists in person, and find unique things. Not to mention, large amounts of inspiration to make your own crafts (or is that just me?)

The icing on the (already tall & delicious looking) cake came for me on Saturday night, when I saw that the curator of contemporary art for the BMA wrote on our facebook event wall "I am so excited to visit this again! It's the best place for holiday shopping in the world!"

I couldn't agree more.

A special thank you to Phil for jumping in as usual and both drumming up customers at the Farmer's market, and running the booth with me. What on earth would I ever do without you, my friend? Life would surely be all sorts of lame.

My sweatpants are on, my tea is steaming beside me, and I'm planning to be completely worthless today, before jumping back into action tomorrow to gear up for one more fair.
Thanks to all who made this weekend spectacular. BOTH Holiday Heap and Merry Mart were a success for us, and we truly appreciate all the work that went into both for everyone.