So the summer has started off with a bang! Normally the first event we attend is the highland games in Gourock (which we did attend). However this year was a little different…..this year we attended our first major indoor selling event, the Girls Day Out. I must say it was very pink…. I can only imagine how many bucket loads of fake tan and make-up came walking though the door.
Urban Pirate has made it through its first Highland Games season, which has not been without its ups and downs….the road to Glen Urquhart in particular.
It looked like all was lost before it even began, when the van, purchased specifically for the highland games travelling, decided to die….timing belt snapped. For those that don’t know, if a timing belt goes in a diesel engine then its tie to get an new engine……result….scrap. Bugger…. Thankfully due to an incredibly generous donation from a family member we managed to get back on the road. Saved!!!
One thing to be said about attending the highland games, the locations and views were always stunning, regardless the weather. In-fact, Lochearnhead was pretty “wet” and misty and made everything more mystical. On the other hand, Perth and Southside Festival there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and I have the tan-lines to prove it.
This years Piping Championships was a massive step up from last years attempt, people really digging the new t-shirts and bags. So much so someone decided to walk off with one of the t-shirts…..he was quickly apprehended by our chief of security….. The event was a record breaker with well over than 50,000 people attending, a fair chunk of that may well have been the pipers families….its like each group have a diva-like entourage. The weather was perfect for the pipes too, though strangely my ears weren’t ringing for days afterwards.
We have made many new friends, bother fellow traders and customers, from our little “tour”. A big thank you to everyone who came by to say hello. I’m looking forward to next years already which promises to be bigger and better.
Still, keep your eyes pealed for new designs and products which will be hitting the online shop soon. Also watch out for new stockists for Urban Pirate products which will be added to the “Stockist” section of the site.
So my latest outing, attempting to bring my art to the masses, was situated at the Southside Festival next to Victoria Park in the south of Glasgow. I was looking forward to this one for a number of reasons, a) it was only 15mins away from where I live/am based, 2) it is a festival that is free…ie, loads of people and c) it was to be the hottest day in May in Scotland since records began!!
So the day began at a nice and healthy 8am, no need to get up at stupid o’clock, although Jac felt the need to get up at 6 to get herself ready……I dunno….Anyway, loading the van was nice n easy, only had a few boxes, things are starting to streamline! When we got there there weren’t many other people setting up, so seemed pretty empty but people soon started to arrive. Most of the stalls had been taken up by around half 10, the majority of those were charities, however the pitches either side of us were still empty. That didnt last long, I was just in the process of telling Jac that we were the only ones selling the specific type of products when we noticed that someone was about to start setting up next to us.That person was none other than Gillian Kyle (you can find her website at gilliankyle.com). For those that dont know, she sells items, such as tote bags and t-shirts, that have been branded with illustrations of Scottish products. Gill is a thoroughly nice person and even gave me some advice for places that I could go to help promote my stuff. It was quite a nice looking section of stalls if I do say so myself, Gill had her items which were predominantly white contrasting with mine which were predominantly dark (I had put up a marquee side behind me to protect from the wind) it was almost like a wee boutique in itself.
The day progressed nicely, lots of really positive feedback from customers and visitors. Jac was out front sunbathing whilst I decided to play it smart and stay in the shade. I had decided against the kilt for this occasion purely based on the weather, it was crazy hot, was starting to sweat whenever I went for a wee wander. However Scotland being Scotland there was a slight problem with the weather, namely the wind. It wasnt too bad to begin with, however it did start to pick up, and in doing so had started to destroy one of the stalls next to us. The stalls were common market stalls, metal frames covered by a tarpaulin. The wind had caught the tarp next to us an was pulling apart the metal frame. The event person on hand wasnt doing much help, whose only suggestion to solve the problem was to take the tarp off the entire row of stalls….which quite frankly was just mental. In doing that would have put everyones stall in jeopardy, had it rained (which it didnt in the end) and it would have been biblical rain due to the crazy heat, everyones stock would have got wet, also the wind would then have just been blowing everyones stuff around…So it came down to yours truly to solve the problem. Tie the metal frame together so that it doesnt come apart…..It baffles me why people try to solve problems that would end up causing bigger problems. It’s like using a hammer for a thumb-tac….bizarre.
After that like fiasco, everything started to calm down. All that needed to be done was to take apart the stall and pack up. This also ended up being really easy, I think I’m getting the hang of it! The next event I’ll be at is the Highland Games in Cornhill, which is near Banff and Macduff, in two weeks. So its a crazy o’clock set off time for that one. The difference with this one is that I shall be accompanied by my father, due to Jac setting up an indoor carboot sale…Fingers crossed for a good weekend.
Well my first event of the year has been and gone, all in all it went rather well.
Ok so I’ll not be giving up the day job just yet, though I would need to get a day job to give up first, but I think I did ok for my first crack of the whip.
The day started at 6.30 am when I decided to get up, with the aid of my girlfriend, and make a move. Had to load all the stuff into the spanky new van….well new to me. True to form it didnt run smoothly. I found out that the clothing rail, which I had to purchase specifically for the event (I was given other rails, but my nephew would have been able to blow them over) wouldnt fit into the van….aahhh panic! It was too long by about an inch….redonkalus!! I managed to fix sed problem by removing one of the sides/legs, even then its a tight fit, just as well that I dont mind about scratches….
The journey then began, took only 20 mins to get to Gourock, iPod told me it would be 44 with traffic…..liar!! So we were miles ahead of schedule. Set up at the event in no time as well, so we ended up having a good few hours to kill. Nothing really kicked off until around 12, and no-one really started visiting the stalls till 1.
There were the same faces passing rather often, so I was starting to lose hope a bit on whether I was going to sell anything, I had sold some t-shirts and bags to the stall holders next to me which was nice, so at least it wasnt going to be a total waste of time. The parents then turned up, complete with sandwiches….which was very much needed as hadnt really eaten anything other than breakfast. they bought a few items which was nice, if you cant even sell to your own parents you gotta be doing something wrong!!
Around 3 things started to pick up!! Yay!! Bags were going, badges were selling and people were commenting on the t-shirts. Only sold a few of my Seconds Map t-shirt (thats a whole other story) but people were liking the Creamola foam prints. The crowd pleasers (pictured above) were doing a good few rounds and seemed very interested in the stall. Thoroughly nice people. 
There was plenty going on around the event, heavy events, pipers…..alot of them and highland dancers. Everything I guess you would expect at a highland games I guess. I keep forgetting how MASSIVE the heavy events guys are. Built like brick houses!! My aim for this year is to have one of them, at any games, to buy a t-shirt from my “Urban Heavy Events” range. (Ok theres only two of them at the moment…but I’m working on more)
In the end it was a great day, and a very good test for my first event. the next one will hopefully be even better.
I’ll be at the Southside Festival on the 22nd May, my next Highland Games is in Cornhill, up near Banff and Macduff. So will be a very early morning for that one…..
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