What single thing at faire hurls you off into the depths of rage?

[jackrocks]

Lady Renee, I wholeheartedly agree with your view! If we don't help support the vendors, they won't come to our Faires, and the Faires will dwindle away. This is why I bought a corset at a recent Faire from a new vendor! It was purely altruism.... (it really helped that the corset was a fabulous price, and just screamed at me to take it home. I truly couldn't turn it down, now could I?)

I walk through the faires and look at so many pretty things....I WISH I were in a position to buy some of the beautiful items I see for my kids for Christmas, or birthdays. I totally get the "support the vendors" ideas and I know without that business, there wont be faires. At MMRF, my daughters pooled their money and bought a "belly dancer" outfit (by that I mean, the sheer skirt with coins, and the equally sheer matching top)....Im not entirely sure yet how they plan to "share" the outfit, but, whatever!! lol At michigan pirate festival, although it was very small, it was VERY reasonably priced as far as vendors.....and it was our only vacation, so there we were able to get something small for each of my four kids. Right now, we are both unemployed and in school, and as much as I would love to, I just cant justify dropping a hundred or more bucks at a vendors shop. I love to go in and look, though.....I just love to look at the different materials, and how things are put together in different ways. Looking at pretty things is a treat to me, its just as fun as watching a show or riding a ride, IMO. I hope that vendors arent getting irritated with me, because Im just looking, not buying. Going to MIRF for Dh's birthday was a stretch for us just for the tickets. He saw the most magnificent leather pirate coat....I wished with all my heart I had the $500 to buy it for him!!

Where we live (mid-mi), SO MANY people are unemployed, its just a sad fact. In my small town, most streets have as many foreclosed homes as not. Businesses are shutting down...it would be so sad if the faires disappeared, too.

[Lady Renee Buchanan]

jackrocks, I hear you completely!  Our area depends on tourism for its livelihood, and the numbers are down big time.  I wish I could buy something every time I went to faire, but that would only happen in a dream world, not my reality.

What I meant was that I do try to buy any presents for others at faire, something generic like candles, jewelry, wall plaques that can be enjoyed by anyone, not just another rennie.  I have a limited list of people that I buy Christmas and birthday presents for, and if I buy them in July or August, I just store them away until the proper time.  If I am going to spend the money anyway, I budget it up and spend it then.

And if I am going to buy something for Steve or me, even if the vendor has a website, we try to buy it at faire, so we can support them there and make it evident that it is worthwhile for them to be there.

However, when I win the lottery, that will all probably change........     

[Merlin the Elder]

Jack rocks, your situation these days is unfortunately much more common than it should be. It's just been in the past 10 years that we've been able to go to faires at all. They aren't indigenous to our state, and the travel expenses used to keep us away. No one is looking to you to keep the vendors afloat...there will be someone to pick up the difference. If you are like us, the most important thing is the vacation from reality that faires provide. It's all we have to keep our sanity. I truly hope things ease for you soon...

[Anna Iram]

I think too, even if you can't afford to make a purchase, just visiting a shop can be supportive. If I see someone trying on garb I'll let them know if I think it looks great on them, or strike up a conversation with a fellow shopper if I already own something from the store and they are considering a purchase. If a shopkeeper asks I'll let them try something on me. Heck fun for me and maybe will help make a sale. Sometime your mere admiring presense can bring dollars to a shop.

[jackrocks]

Oh, I know. I just wish I could....my younger daughter is the type of kid who is very creative...she creates her own jewelry, and has a deep, abiding passion for unusual glass beads and funky jewelry....if I gave her $500 and let her spend it all at faire, she would spend it all on jewelry, I could guarantee it. Its things like that I wish I could get...bc those are things you cant get at walmart when youre Christmas shopping:)

It is hard, where we live, bc it seems like the whole county is trapped in this awful cycle...people lose their jobs, and they stop buying "extras"....the people who depend on others to buy their products lose business....more people out of work, less people to buy anything....more business shut down, more out of work, less people to buy anything, more places close down...etc etc etc. We are the type of people who have always tried to support "the little guy"....the small shops, the little town hardware store, vendors, etc and it stinks when you keep seeing those places close down.

The thing is....ren faires, little county faires, etc are the only break and fun time many of these folks get....but when they dont get enough support, they go away, and it just makes everything else much more depressing.

[Betty Munro]

I believe that going into a shop, admiring and stating that you LOVE the item(s), but just can't afford it right now; is a far cry from saying you could make it yourself for less, or that it isn't worth the price listed.
I too am looking forward to winning the multi-million dollar lottery and spending the next 10 years travelling from faire to faire supporting the vendors.  LOL!  It just hurls me off into the depths of rage that the ticket I bought last month was not a winner!!! 

[Lady Neysa]

I believe that going into a shop, admiring and stating that you LOVE the item(s), but just can't afford it right now; is a far cry from saying you could make it yourself for less, or that it isn't worth the price listed.

It's just so awful that there are people that are rude enough to make comments like that, (that they can make it for less etc.)  I too have often longingly admired things in a shop with no intention of buying due to finances.  I really hope that isn't offensive to the vendors. A lot of times I will openly say right from the start that "unfortunately, I'm only browsing today."  I've never had anyone who seemed to mind.  I always try to ask an employee first if it's ok to touch or pick up something, and I'm always very careful.  They really seem to appreciate that. I know I would.

[DT_Masters]

.......   She was also carrying a large camera with a telephoto lens around her neck, though oddly she was not carrying a supply case for it, or even a purse..........

Just to note on that. These days, with DSLR's, one could get way with just having the camera. It is very much different than when I had to carry rolls of film, both to feed and shot. Could get away with just the rig.......but someone like me is usually carrying, somewhere, megaflash, spare batteries for that, spare memory card, spare power cells, lens cover, wiping cloth.....and ballpoints and sharpies.

About how much it costs for purchaises. When I was weighing in the off week whether or not to buy a coyote parka, I approach "friends" about buying something of great cost, that could only be used a few places, and might not be in use more than 5 times a year. They responded that if you can without going into financial distress and you want to, go for it. They further pointed out that many go off and spend hundreds on a rifle that might not see its way out of its vault except every few years. It is all relative.

As far as only browsing. Personally, from my habits, I think the vendor would prefer for a person to come into to browse than to walk by knowing that they can't so why bother to enter. Why? Because browsing might eventually lead to a return visit to buy. I made at least two trips to the fur store before I bought that coyote parka.

As things go, yes, it might seem foolish to pay $120 for an item that will only be used for garb accessory, but I had been dreaming about having a bullwhip for years so when it showed up, I bought it. My various attempts over the years of homemade approaches for that kind of "weapon" like a coil with a lariat at one end and monkey fist at the other did not result in decent looks. My early attempts at tying a monkey fist were marginal and non synthetic weaves, other than cotton, don't coil the best to be worn on the hip. Of course, it does help the decision to buy in that I bought it from a store where friends worked at.

[Rowan MacD]

.......   She was also carrying a large camera with a telephoto lens around her neck, though oddly she was not carrying a supply case for it, or even a purse..........

Just to note on that. These days, with DSLR's, one could get way with just having the camera. It is very much different than when I had to carry rolls of film, both to feed and shot. Could get away with just the rig.......but someone like me is usually carrying, somewhere, megaflash, spare batteries for that, spare memory card, spare power cells, lens cover, wiping cloth.....and ballpoints and sharpies.

This camera looked like it was pretty old.  She had it hanging from one of those cheap, thin plastic straps like the type that came with the cameras back in the 70's 80's.  It was so short, the camera only hung to her mid chest.   Can't have been comfortable around the neck for a rig that large.   With so many professional photographers around, she stuck out like a sore thumb.  She just looked....odd. 
 

   
   
 
   

[Rowan MacD]

I think too, even if you can't afford to make a purchase, just visiting a shop can be supportive. If I see someone trying on garb I'll let them know if I think it looks great on them, or strike up a conversation with a fellow shopper if I already own something from the store and they are considering a purchase. If a shopkeeper asks I'll let them try something on me. Heck fun for me and maybe will help make a sale. Sometime your mere admiring presense can bring dollars to a shop.

I do that too!  I'll fuss over someone trying on an outfit or item, and sometimes it's enough to convince them they have to have it.  Car salesman use the technique all the time 
  It's great fun to get others into the spirit of faire, and if a future rennie is born the minute they see themselves in a corset or wearing a sword....then they are welcome to join the madness!

[Kiss-me-Kate]

Something that I have noticed in our shoppe, this year especially.   It doesn't hurl me off into a rage or anything, but...
We try to make a point of greeting everyone that enters. 
About half of the patrons don't even acknowledge the greeting.
The other half parrot back exactly what we say verbatim.  (Hello.  Welcome.) 
Once in a blue moon, we get a chuckle when we ask if they wanna be tied up.  (laces-shoes...) 
If we are really lucky, we get a person deciding to plunge into being a rennie, and they are excited. 
They are the reason, I do my job.  The excitement is part of the magic we try to put out there every weekend.  Now if the rest of the population would "get it." 

Are people really that self asorbed? 

And Jackrocks, I think most people have been in tight financial situations at one point or another.  There were many weekends I came to fest, with my pass and five dollars just-in-case money-that I didn't spend. There were a few seasons I didn't get to buy anything- at all.  Hang in there, this too shall pass.   But continue to encourage your favorite shop keepers.  Sometimes a kind word goes a long way.   

[kcdcchef]

Kate, I get that frustration. Every November I stage this GIGANTIC, RIDICULOUSLY big gingerbread exhibit, and many people that see it love it. However there are a select few that look at it while on their cell, talking to someone else, and go out of their way to act like they dont see it. Or like it isnt that impressive. So annoying that people try to act like they dont see something because they are so absorbed in their own little world!!!

[Alexandra Johanna]

To add to the points being made about buying items at faire... I am also usually a looky-loo due to budget concerns. I love to look and I always take a card or a brochure if they have one from shops that have items I admire.  If I can't buy it during faire season, I can at least contact them in the off season and usually order it then. Hopefully this also helps the artisans crafting these items during the leaner months when there is no faire.

The only things that make my blood boil at faire are people who don't watch their children, or are obviously dragging around kids that have no interest at all in being there. I don't want to see kids with a Nintendo DS glued to their hands when I'm at faire.  And also, 'danes who are obviously and loudly rude about people's costuming choices.  I may not agree with those choices, but I keep it to myself and applaud their creativity and courage. Only on a few occasions have I been treated rudely or dismissively by a vendor, so I can hardly complain about that although it has happened. I just move on and find somewhere else to (eventually, lol) spend my money!

[raevyncait]

Vendors who are rude about OTHER vendors.  A few seasons ago, my friend, who, like me, owns several pairs of Medieval Moccasins, (all of which are obviously well worn & loved, when you see them off her feet) was in a shoppe that sells various leather crafts, from keyrings to belts to shoes to wallets, and wanted to try on one of their styles of sandals with a thong between the toes, to see how they felt.  The vendor, upon removing her MM from one foot said "oh, our shoes are so much better that once I put these on you, you'll want to throw away all of that brand because they are crap"

Now, I'm NOT opposed to things like "ours have a cushioned sole so they are softer on your feet" or "the cut of this item does xyz for your figure and we are the only ones with this particular style", or pointing out differences in items "our decorative bottle purchase includes your choice of oil included in the price".

They are all crafters, and sure there is competition for business, and I understand that everyone thinks their product is superior, but I am much more likely to purchase from one who simply says "the advantage that my shoe has over that one is that it's got more cushion" and leaves it at that, WITHOUT saying ugly things about other vendors.

[Merlin the Elder]

Badmouthing another vendor is an indication that you aren't confident about your own product, in my opinion. I will not purchase anything from anyone that I hear making negative comments about another.  It's the same standard that I use with politicians...