And Christmas is off and running on the island...
A good turn out for our first Christmas market and a difference in spending culture was detected. This is my third year at this market and I detected a real confidence returning as people gathered up lots of Christmas goodies. With Love from Arran and Sugar & Spice held their own amongst some quite stiff competition. The standard of craft work is definitely on the rise on the island which is pleasing to see.
As usual there is far too much to get on the table so the set up is all about compromise but with Pete and George helping all went well. When the doors opened people began to move around the stalls in their usual fashion. Everyone goes right round the room once before going back to their favourite stall to start buying. I had nudged my prices up this year because they have been artificially low the past two years. No one seemed to object and With Love from Arran sold steadily for three hours. George was an absolute star sorting out all the money and we did make the best of teams. Angie and I do the same events and always ask for tables together because it makes it such an enjoyable experience. I do love Angie so much. A chance to catch up on all the news and start thinking about the next big market at the end of the month.
With love from Arran is blessed with really loyal customers from the days of Arran Trading Post and then Nature's Larder. Every time we change they continue to follow and we are so grateful. We do work hard to introduce new products in every collection. It would appear that the homespun collection was successful so the gamble might just be paying off.
Now home with the fire lit and the said cat on lap I can begin to ponder the next market. Santa Sparkle is a huge deal for the island but this is our first year of doing it and I am reflecting on what sold well today to guide me forward. Without doubt the natural soy candles sold the best as they always do at this time of year. That wax pot will be back in operation tomorrow and everyday until the end of the month. The house will, once gain, be full of Christmas fragrances. The trick is not to spend anything more and focus on utilising what materials I have. At Santa Sparkle we will be in full wreath mode and this will include our own coppiced willow. This is just a gentle introduction to what will become a major feature of our work in the coming years. The red willow is my absolute favourite and this week the coppicing will be underway. We are also making wreaths using woven straw bases and I suspect these will be our top wreath this year.
I do not know where this year has gone but I do know it has include over 300 blog posts. Once we are in December I want to spend some time looking back before setting out my plans for 2014. Everything is now inked in in my planning journal so now it is just a matter of rolling it all forward. My writing commission under a pen name is perhaps the most intriguing project as I have know idea what that will lead to. But then who would have known Scottish island mum would have led to so much?
Just logging on this afternoon to find that a short story that I submitted to a competition months ago has won second prize. I have to go back through my emails to figure out why I entered it! Anyway, I thought you might like to read it.
Until tomorrow. xx
Inside a beating heart
It is inside his beating heart that I feel the love. It is not a love that exists outside his
heart and it is not a love that he shares.
Deep inside his heart hides a secret love that will stay with him for a
life time. I can feel it now.
She just came along at the wrong time because his life was
full. It was full of people who needed
him and full of old horizons. She
brought new horizons that he could barely see but knew to be there. Lying in bed at night he could feel his heart
swelling and he could hear it beating.
He feared not turn for his face would tell a story that should not be
told. He had made his decision much
earlier in life and his partner was right by his side. She was always there and she would always be
there and he knew that as well. But
still his heart beat to a new rhythm.
This rhythm brought a new energy that he did his best to hide for fear
of clues escaping from his beating heart.
His life changed shape and no one noticed as a new path
meandered away from him. In small
moments he wanted to walk that path and his heart beat stronger. He did look down the path and he did fall in
love with the new crisp horizons but he never stepped on the path. He never took a single step.
So when it came it came in a shudder that his beating heart
could not suppress. He had been so sure
his secret love was hidden so how did she know?
She knew all too well and the look in her face told him she was crying
inside. Tears wept to the ground as she
stood in front of him waiting for an answer.
He knew the answer but, in that moment, he could not utter a single
sound. He was fixed to the ground as the
tears washed his feet and he stared back at a face broken with fear. He had broken that face and he had brought
the tears but still the answer stayed silent.
Seeping from the edges he saw the new path and the crisp horizons and
his heart began beating again.
Preparing to give the answer he watched as the broken face
looked to the ground and in that second his heart stopped beating. He gave the answer that erased the path and
smudged the horizons and the broken face looked up once more. The tears dried and the face healed but still
his heart did not beat.
Lying in bed he knew he would have to turn and look into that
face once more.
I watched him turn and I watched the bodies connect but I could not
feel a heart beat. I was about to leave
when I heard the slightest sound in a silent room. She was there all along and would always be
there. It was in his beating heart that
I felt his love.
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