Artist Farmer Craft Flea Holiday Markets and Galleries have become trendy and gentrified. A community is not trendy cool nor hip, but it takes years and generations to nature build and maintain. By most measures gentrification is the negation "Columbusing" and destruction of an established community.
Columbusing In D.C.: When We “Discover” The Culture Of Others
http://thekojonnamdishow.org/audio/#/shows/2016-09-22/columbusing-in-d-c-when-we-discover-the-culture-of-others/92370/@00:00
For those folks who have built community and been regular customers for decades and in some cases centuries these venues, are the life's blood of where one calls home. They are places that one travels to as touch stones of humanity for food art simple pleasures unexpected merchandise and joy. Many have moved to areas just to be apart of vibrant rich diverse multicultural community based markets art shows and galleries.After more that a quarter of a century as an artists exhibitor client historian and human being at Eastern Market galleries artist craft Holiday and flea markets in United States and Europe- these are the rules...
Do
1. Do follow the golden rule ... at ALL TIMES!
Mathew 7:12 "Therefore whatever you desire for men to do to you, you
3. Do bring your friends and family to purchase at Markets and Galleries
4. Do bring your well behaved children and if permissible (one hopes not) pets to Markets
5. Do ...do your research before you coming to Markets and Galleries all have websites face book
twitter and instagram.. So that you know what kind of art produce and products are on offer and of those items which ones you wants to purchase when you come.
6. Do ask informed questions of the artists merchant gallerist or farmer after you have made a
purchase.
7.* Do remember at all times that the artists merchants farmers etc. are in business.
8.* Do keep in mind at all times that the artist merchant farmer are at these markets to SELL!
9. Do keep informed about the success new products new produce new pieces and....by following those merchants farmers artists on thier social media platforms: Face book instagram twitter and or....as well as on thier websites.
10. Do purchase often or exclusively from the markers artists farmers and small local merchants.
11. Do LOOK! Do listen! Do be present!
11a. Do remember to quote Market Manger Vernon Burnett..."These are small businesses, they can't survive on praise alone"
12*. Do remember that you are interacting with artists merchants and farmers that have spent decades making marketing and growing. It is thier life's work that you are in the presence of. Do Respect it and them.
13.* Do be aware that many markets art shows etc are very very expensive many costing thousands of dollars for just a few days or a weekend. We are there to SELL
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Do NOT
1.Do not come to markets to LOOK! We ain't animals in a zoo. We ain't the entertainment. Come and buy or stay your ass at home.
From the Washington Post
"For some growers, farmers markets just aren't what they use to be"
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/for-some-growers-farmers-markets-just-arent-what-they-used-to-be/2016/06/21/c5d93644-3271-11e6-8758-d58e76e11b12_story.html
2. Do not come to markets art shows galleries and take pictures. We are not animals in a ZOO! We are not a sightseeing side trip. It's a market for those who want to buy produce collectibles art and or rare products... not photography them. If you are so compelled that you want to take a photo AFTER you have at least brought something from the human being working at the stand...on bended knee ask politely and be gracious as hell if the person tells you to fuck off or that you can take a picture of them or their products or there presentation. Slavery was is evil -we artist farmers and merchants own our image our products our presentations not you.
3. Do not touch unless you ask first or are directed to do so.
or to quote Tom Rall Founder of the Flea Market at Eastern Market ... " When you're looking at items that are filed by category, replace them in the proper category when you're finished looking"
4. Do not bring poorly raised or trained children or pets. We will correct them and or you.
5. Do remove sunglasses ear buds and phone when entering a booth. Otherwise you are rude poorly raised and will be ignored.
6. Do NOT ask stupid questions. These are generally asked by morons who have zero interest in purchasing ...or asked by asses who have the horror of a little knowledge and want to show off and not a buyer. If you ain't seen it before tasted it before...you ain't gonna buy it. YOU are at a Market to shop. YOU want to be educated or curious or just want information for trivial pursuit- go to a museum or website or ask you damn momma.
7. Do not come to visit a artists merchant or farmer at Markets or Gallery shows. We are there to sell not chat. Do take us to dinner or drinks if you are in town, but at the markets be a customer.
8. Do not be rude ...don"t assume we don"t understand you ....many merchants artists and farmers are polyglots. Silence is golden
9. Do not bargain with the merchant artists or farmer!
10. Do not ask the merchant artist or farmer to donate thier work! No we don't need the 'exposure! If the rich folks at your charity or event love art et. al. so much they will/would come and buy it directly from us and donate it to the event charity themselves other wise...they are soul sucking asses that aren't worth shit and should not be catered too.
11. Do not ask the merchant farmer or artist how much money they make or made.
12, Do not try and sell products services to merchants artists farmers at Markets or galleries.
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What the fuck is this Shit here....
Prejudice happens...history is an evil bitch so deal with your shit. History whether we like it or not has taught folks ignorant shit about other peoples history and cultures...
1. If you have never seen a...person making doing being. Really really that"s a shame, but don"t share...we give not two fucks.. We are ....and we are at these venues like everybody else that you find normative to SELL....not be your cultural experience.
2. To quote ...Doris Little..."you might be my color but you ain't my kind"....Jesus wept at the amount of time one can watch folk head over to look at....as if staring at an exotic creature....Folk who look just like the artists merchant or farmer....YOU looking ....you ain't doing me Us Them "a favor" by coming by...folk fought and died and still are dying for all of us to be appreciated based on our skills artistry humanity character....not color race or ethnicity. If you don't like our work produce products based on there merits ...that is to say aesthetics design taste texture color smell ....keep moving . We give not a fuck that our parents or grandparents came from the same countries or our hair kinks in the same way or our eyes tilt in the or....WE ARE THERE TO SELL not be your paysano cousin auntie sister or brother.
3.Men- women are not there to SMILE at you or with flirt or....they are there to SELL there work period.
4.Same goes for men and transgender folk...they ain't there to be your piece of...buy or leave.
5. On intersectionality of bigotry classicism or just on being a moron.
a. Yes -were you in the Peace corps...wow...and you know that in said country this hand made object in front of you in America costs....in local money. Wow so...since plane tickets to said country are so damn cheap not to mention hotel transport food. Take your I want a bargain ass back to said country and buy if for...that local price. Oh and yeah and for some reason you did not buy it in the first place...when you were their...but now your cheap bigoted stupid ass wants a bargain...sick!
b. yes it is recycled...yes it is abstract...and yes I do have a masters degree from...in Sculpture Art History Psychics or I was a full time....for....before I changed careers. Yes, I have been doing this for thirty or twenty years. Yes, I have a studio a workshop with tens of thousands dollars of tools equipment...but yeah it is recycled....
6.Yes this shit happens ....we artists merchants farmers are human...so...if after more than a quarter of a century the vast majority of...purple or orange or blue folk that one encounters never buy anything and are by artists farmers merchants standards rude cheap vulgar ill informed and or....prejudice happens. If you have no interest in buying...spare us the interaction...it leaves a stench and while there is a small minority of orange blue and purple folk that perhaps will buy... truth is....school your people for all our sakes.
7.Do not waste our time. We know ...we see...we feel...ya'll got energy. This is our lives...if you ain't buying keep moving. Your low self esteem ...total lack of imagination....sexism bigotry racism or envy poverty small mindedness etc.- are your problems- don't make them ours. We do not want to waste a millisecond of our precious life energy on you. We can tell before two seconds are up that you ain't buying shit...so don't bother...life is to beautiful to sweet to short.
This is a reminder that these markets are thousands of years old. They have existed through out every country or peopled place in the world. They are not new hip cool or trendy but ancient. We farmers artists and merchants have spent in some cases the last moments days weeks of our lives...at markets some knowing that there days were numbered...some just gone before the next festival market opening harvest. This is our life. It is rare! It is precious. The goal in this list is not to have a second wasted on folk who do not come to these places and spaces to buy.
Witnessing
Sonda T. Allen
Turtle's Webb
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