Opening Day of the South Florida Renaissance Fair 2011

Good day and well met to all Ren folk and fellow Bloggers

  We opened here in South Florida to a cold and very rainy,wet morning , not what the weather guys promised. My day started at 5am as a normal fair day does with any show I do. The truck was packed last night and everything was set. So all I had to do was make the coffee and pack the grazing kit that I now carry. Our days can be as long 13 hours. It can be harsh on the eating schedule. I arrive at fair site at 7:30 and the hard part of the day begins, since I don't leave stock in my Tent, it requires setup every morning, all of my clothing is packed in the big blue tuppers, as to keep it clean and neat for my clients. So the staff comes in about 7:45 and 8:00 am, which means that the stock must be put on hangers and put on the racks, each day and all of this must be done by 9:30. We have to be fully dressed by 10am, try putting a big dress on and being on task in that time frame it is quite the rush. Our Canoneer fires our Canon at 10am every morning, sort of a off the the races salute ,it gives us a heads up. So here are the pictures of our setup, to give a behind the scenes look at the before canon that most patrons never get to see

Skirt and Bodice Rack

I have been designing and creating Renaissance Clothing for this show for 17 years, trying to achieve the highest quality clothing for my clients. I have always put quality before price, and now with the jobs going to China, I try even harder to produce the Best clothing on the Renaissance circuit, regardless! I have had the pleasure of seeing some of my pieces 12-15 years later and that make me feel really good knowing that when a client buys something of mine, it will be around a long time. I make many friends this way and very happy clients. It has become very important to me to know that my clients are getting the best clothing they possibly can.

Derek is my manger, and yes He really is a aerospace engineer. He has been with me now for 2-3 years, a great salesman and bodicelacer. Rocketman

This is Kell, I have had the pleasure of watching this lovely young lady grow up in to a beautifully woman , she knows the booth as most as well as I, great with colors and people.
This year Zak has joined us for setup, breaks and tear down, Derek's Younger brother and quite the personality.

So this is The Needle Fairy crew for the South Florida Ren Fair 2011, I think they are the best team on the fair site but I might be bias, but that's me.They kept the banter up even through the rain and wind, and made it a really good day for all of us. Our Patrons were game and came out to have fun, some chose to add to their garb,and others began new outfits.  And so you have now seen behind the curtain so to speak and I hope you will come out and join the fun. Perhaps stop and say " hello in there"