Last month I was a stall holder at the Ikigai Sakura Festival in my town of Leamington Spa.

First off I have to say what a fantastic job the team at Ikigai did of promoting the event – it’s a big task you never really know if it will pay off until the doors open on day 1. I was there wondering if anyone would turn up but was happy to see a steady stream of visitors on both days of the event and it was all thanks to their hard work so a big thank you to them!!

The great news is that it was a hugely successful event for me! That can be difficult to quantify sometimes because it’s not just sales. For me it just comes down to how many visitors are curious, intrigued, and approach the stall, even if they don’t make a purchase.

(I’ve done shows before where I was walked past all day and it’s a little bit heart breaking! But not all shows are suitable for all makers so you have to try things out and hope for the best)

I was overwhelmed with all the compliments and kind words from people coming over to my stall, watching me drawing, and admiring my work. It’s so touching and it’s why I do these. Selfishly maybe it’s validating or making me feel like my drawings are worth sharing and not keeping to myself.

It wasn’t just the festival itself either, I had lotf of new followers over on instagram and messages from people after the event. It was just magical..I can’t really put it into words…

It was two long days but it was such a fantastic event, hosted by the amazing Ikigai, who were running experience workshops through the day, and all the other stall holders who each brought a little piece of Japan with them.

There is no insight to be shared from me! I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who visited and I hope to see you again soon.

My next show is 4th & 5th July at The Ceramics Studio, link here: https://www.warwickshireopenstudios.org/summer-g/libby-bess-2/