It's dark, the air is crisp and the birds are singing and starting to wake up.
I stretch and yawn as I load up the last minute things into my car ready for another big day at the Market .
Once again I am really thankful that I packed up my car with my market stall kit the night before.
On the odd occasion that I couldn't be bothered loading up my car the night before, it makes the market day so stressful and a lot bigger than it needs to be.
I load up my car in the order that I want to remove them. Meaning the gazebo and market kit bag is on top , or close to being accessed first.
Having a full car . I head off. I love the feeling of heading off to a very busy market day. I turn on the local ABC radio with a mixture of feelings, both of expectation and excitement. Who will I meet? What kind of connections will I make? Will I have high sales?
But , for now my immediate thoughts turn to can I get into the market with my car, can I turn around and will I be able to find a free park for the day.
Arriving at the market the road is blocked off except for market cars only. I drive into my spot. No21 . There are over 300 market stalls each Saturday . So this makes manoeuvres very difficult. This isn't my favourite part of the morning. I unload my car and place everything on the footpath , except for my stock .
It's time to get out. I try to back out 3 times using the 300 point turn method. But, can't get out. I'm really worried about hitting neighbouring gazebos. A couple of women come out to help me from other stalls.
They guide me out and I'm away. I find a free park and head back to my market stall site. I have 90 mins to go until the market is open.
It's all systems go. Setting up the Gazebo and sides first and attaching the built in bolts to the ground. The council provides screw holes in the road and pavement , so that you can purchase the required bolts to screw in. A great fixture method. I still have guide straps and sand bags . In case of a really windy day.
The rush is on as I start to set up automatically. I have done this so many times. I do it without thinking. Sometimes I set up by myself and other times with family help.
The council have already delivered my table before I arrive. I start the set up. I do it without thinking . Automatically I know what goes where.
One hour to go and the smell of coffee causes me to pause and take a break. I head off through the market in search of breakfast and toilet break.
I love this location. I feel part of history. Being part of the iconic Salamanca Market. With the old colonial buildings of sandstone on one side and Parliament House on the other.
I stop by and say hello to a few stall holders I know along the way. With noises of clanging, boxes being moved. People shouting as the unload trucks. And then an expletive $@#% as someone loses control of a board and it crashes on their car and causes a dent . Ouch ! Not the greatest of morning for them today.
I grab a coffee and food for the day. Make a toilet stop then it's back to my market stall and I head back to my car to get my cases full of stock. I load them into a trolley and head back to my stall and very quickly set up with 45 mins to go. If I have family helping me set up. I leave my stock with them while I get coffee.
I unpack the cases and start the creative process of setting up. I don't know about you. Some weeks I have the creative flair and some weeks it just looks like a jumble sale. I take photos so that when I am seriously lacking creativity I can fall back on the photos.
There we go all set up ready to go. With expectation and excitement. The day begins..my next blog will be about Market days . Stay tuned and happy selling.
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