Yesterday was to be my first show of 2008 in Sutter Creek. Sutter Creek is a charming former gold mining town. These days, there are a dozen or so antique & gift shops and several cafes & restaurants. In the past few years, Sutter Creek has become more "Carmel-ized" with the addition of an upscale restaurant and a couple of art galleries. The nearby towns of Amador City and Jackson, with a few dozen more shops, combine to provide a pleasant weekend adventure in the Sierra foothills.
Earlier in the week, when there had been steady winds of 30+ mph here at home in Sacramento, I was concerned about potential problems with the wind blowing my wares around at the show. Then, Friday afternoon as I was loading the truck, the skies greyed over and looked like they might open up at any moment! It did shower a bit Friday night, but it was rather pleasant (if a bit cool) when I left home at 5:30am for the 45-minute drive to Sutter Creek.
As soon as I unloaded the truck and started setting up, the raindrops started falling. By the time I was completely unloaded, I decided to grab the clear plastic tarp that I keep in the truck for just such emergencies, and quickly threw it over my "best" items. As many of my items are coffee-stained, they don't fare too well in wet weather! I awaited the arrival of my friend Jennifer, who was driving up from the Bay Area to share the booth with me. By the time she arrived and got unloaded, it was raining pretty steadily. We threw her tarp over her "best" stuff and decided to walk around for a bit to see if the weather might improve. When we saw two other vendors packing up, we decided to join them, and we were on the road back to Sacramento before 9am!
We both managed to make a couple of sales in the rain, but not enough to pay for our space. Jennifer also bought a very nice (but much-loved) antique quilt for $15; I would have bought it myself but it was just too thick to sew through.
My next show will be June 8th in Los Altos, California. It is a (small) folk art fair held adjacent to the California Country Antiques Show. If you like Country or Early American antiques, you must see this show! For those of us on the Left Coast who can't get back to Pennsylvania to shop for antiques in person, this is the next best place to see and purchase them! Look for us under the oak tree near the Los Altos History Museum.
