GIVEAWAY!!! Ya baby, free stuff! :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!   It's 2014 and whatcha gonna do about it?  Well, I'm sitting here in my workshop just a hangin' out.  It's too damn cold to go outside and take pics of my products and I'm feeling very thankful for some recent happenings that have changed the course of my near future in an awesome way (more on that later!).  I feel like giving back.  I've talked about doing a giveaway before and I think the hour has come.  

Ya baby!  

Since I just decided to do this, the details aren't ironed out yet, but I'm gonna fly by the seat of my pants here.  I would like to drive some traffic to my FB page www.facebook.com/thehobotrain as well as to my Etsy shop www.thehobotrain.com and get a few more followers on this little blog of mine.  

Just took a few minutes and set it all up on Rafflecopter.  SO EASY!  About to install the widget... hope this works!  Here goes...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

WOW.  That was just too damn easy.  lol  Click on one of the options under 'enter to win' to find out how to get entries into the giveaway.  Each option gives you a certain amount of entries (gaining you more chance of winning).  The giveaway will run until February 6th, at which point the winner will be randomly selected by Rafflecopter.  Awesome! 

Here's a pic of the bag that you will WIN!  However, if you win and there's another bag that's screaming your name, then you're welcome to pick any other regular-sized bag, too.  I'm flexible like that.  :)

Here's a link to the listing if you wanna read all about this funky and sexy bag.... 

AWESOME BAG

GOOD LUCK to everyone!  Feel free to spread the word!  

HAPPY 2014!!

Much love,

Renee  :)

It's SHOW TIME! :)

Hey peeps!  Yup, it's mid-May and the anxiety is building.  Time to build stock for shows and inevitably I get some AWESOME bulk orders at the same time as I'm preparing for the summer (which is totally fantastic, but of course it all comes at the same time.... eek!). 

Here's my show schedule:

Art in the Park (Windsor, ON) June 1 and 2. 

Artfest (Kingston, ON) June 29, 30, July 1st 

Home County Folk Fest (London, ON) July 19-21st

Brome Fair (Brome, QC) August 31st, Sept.1, 2, 3rd

Ottawa Folk Fest, Sept.5-8

Oh my, I think that's enough.  *insert heart palpitations*  

Shows are great!  I get to meet my customers face to face, see their excitement for my bags, and make a lump sum of money (rather than one bag here, one bag there).  I also get to be on the road, out of my workshop, sleep in hotels (loves this!), collect carnie tales of adventure (oh my, do I have a few!), and come home stinky and tired but usually satisfied and feeling validated (except for a few crap shows over the years.... don't wanna remember those!).  Yup, shows are an experience!  :)

However, there is also a very ominous side to doing shows.  The fact is that the artisan vendor is always at the bottom of the food chain.  We pay upfront months in advance for ever-increasing booths fees (sometimes exorbitant amounts, with randomnly-set premiums for a corner booth) often with ridiculous cancellation policies, not to mention the application process itself which requires a life-story, and CIA screening (well, not really... but it can be an ordeal!).  On top of the booth fees we have to pay travel, hotel (not always, but often for me), and many times parking fees. I also pay to rent a trailer to tow my stuff behind my car.  All the shows I do in the summer are outdoors, so I have to have the right equipment (canopy with walls, etc).  There is usually 'security'..... ahem....  Some people do pack their stuff up at night, but it's really not feasible for most of us.  So I close my tent walls, cross my fingers, and hope for the best.  This is very unsettling when I usually have all my inventory sitting in a public park, separated from the open sky by a thin piece of plastic tarp material.  This is where I take a deep breath and surrender to the universe.  lol  Of course, these shows also require that I carry 2 million dollars liability insurance in case my tent blows over and injures some unsuspecting person.  This translates to almost $1200/year for me.  Yikes!  So, as you can see, just getting to the show and being set up is nothing to scoff at.  And after all this, I have to cross my fingers and hope it doesn't rain.  And the final coup de grace is that I've spent all this money, taken the corresponding risks, and there no guarantee that I will sell anything.  *Over and Out*

So as I was saying, shows are great.  hahahaha!  Obviously I do make money at shows, which is why I do them.  But ya gotta have nerves of steel and be just a little bit foolish, too.  lol

Hopefully I will have the opportunity to meet some of you at my shows this summer.  Come by the booth and say HELLO!  I highly recommend attending all of the above shows, as they're quality events with lots too see.  Yes!

All for now.  Would love feedback from other artisans who do shows, or any show-goers about their experiences.  Feel free to comment below.  :)

HUGS!  All aboard The Hobo Train!

Renee  

www.thehobotrain.com
Twitter: @thehobotrain

HOBOS

Hello my fellow hobos!!!!  Did you know that the word 'hobo' reportedly originated from the expression 'HOmeward BOund'?  Hobos were the original adventurers.  They were people who would ride the trains traveling around the country and finding room and board in exchange for work.  It is indeed the rare soul that would try this today, with all our rules and regulations and fears.  The original hobos were not considered outcasts or vagrants.  They were simply travelers.  Everyone is familiar with the stereotypical picture of a hobo with a sack tied to a stick over his shoulder....

The sack was called a bindle and the hobo himself was also called a bindlestiff.  Love that old-style lingo!  That was the original HOBO BAG!!!  lol  Now the bags that I make are a far stretch from the bindle of yesteryear, BUT I do have to say that one large improvement is the 'hands free' aspect.  In olden times the hobo would have to occupy one of his hands with the job of holding the stick.  With the more modern crossbody hobo bags, those of us with hobo spirits can be comfortable wandering throughout the land 'hands free'.  lol  

For all you music lovers, here's a hobo tune by Charlie Winston.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nOd5_Bdc8I
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Okay, so the big news is that I'm opening a new Etsy shop soon.  It will feature upcycled clothing and accessories.  LOVE the upcycled movement!  I'm 100% in love with the idea of making glorious new things out of already-existing resources.  No need to use more of the earth's precious resources.  There is so much that is awesome about upcycling.  Everything is so special and one-of-a-kind.  It's very personalized that way.  I like to believe that each piece finds its way to its rightful home.  Anyway, as soon as we get a break in the weather, I will be taking pics of the new products and opening the shop for business.  I will keep you posted!  

In an earlier post I mentioned a GIVEAWAY.  It is coming up soon.  I will post details here as soon as I know them.  lol

Big love!

Renee xxoo