But what do I do if it rains......

With our next marking quickly approaching and the weather forecast not budging from its tale of early rain, I'm sure many of you are pondering 'what do I do if it rains'.

November rain: By strawberry paintbrush

All you indoor makers will be okay, but there are a good sum of us, (organisers included) who will be outdoors for the day.

So as in all of life's decisions, there are always options and it's up to you to weigh up the pros and cons of a wet weather forecast.

Option one is of course the easy out...

The option is to cancel, stay at home on the couch and think of what could have been.

Or

Option two.....Buck up, be prepared and wear a smile.

Cause you know what....we have all gone to a lot of effort to promote the event and you won't make any money or friends, sitting at home on the couch.

Margaret, Jennie and I all had to make the exact same decision on Thursday night as we all set up for our stalls at Northcote's Kris Kringle night market. (read my take on it here)

Yes it rained..... but we came prepared, we brought our rain coats and our smiles and the night was a success for all.

So my advice, just like the girl guides motto...would be...BE PREPARED.

Your customers are still going to come looking for you, your friends are still going to to pop in and say hello, and your stock is not going to sell itself from stock boxes in your study so........

Here are some ways to prepare for Melbourne's unpredictable weather:

• Bring an umbrella to protect yourself
• Bring plastic sheets or bags to put over your stock during the odd shower. (you can get clear thin vinyl table cloths from those cheapy shops for $2)
• Bring a tarp or plastic sheet to put on the ground under your table, so all your excess stock, packaging and boxes stays off the ground.
• If you are prepared to bring and share your marquee, let us know and we can jiggle the layout so that a few of you can fit under one. (Margaret, Jennie and I all squish into one)
• Don't forget the sandbags if you bring a marquee. If the wind picks up we don't want a "wizard of oz" moment!
  
• Bring rocks.....sounds silly I know, but you can weigh down the lighter things by putting rocks in or on them so the wind doesn't blow them away. Alternatively, a lovely fabric covered brick might work .... crafty!
  
• If you lay things flat on a table, think about having strings with weights (rocks) on the end that can lay across them and hold them down.
• Hanging things on nails and peg boards...just put elastic bands over the ends and they won't fly off.

But most importantly bring your smile ...

Your customers come to see you and all the beautiful products you've spent so much time making, so protect yourself, protect your stock and Be There! Your customers and you, will be glad you came.