De Anza College Flea Market

RAIN RAIN RAIN RAIN

Going to rain like hell on Saturday, so that shoots my plans for DeAnza College. Will probably try again on December 6. Looks like bad weather for the Orinda Holiday Bazaar also, which we did last year and hardly anybody bought from any of the vendors.

We will be at the Antioch Holiday Arts & Crafts Show at the fairgrounds over there. Indoors, space A28. Looks like more rain and I think that we are going to have a very wet winter. Snowing up in the Sierras tonight.

Show info - reviews and much more

Hi. Check out Starving Vendors to see many reviews of shows we have done this year....Paso Robles EOS Winery, Monterey Columbus Day Festival, Richmond Homefront on the Bay, Hayward Zucchini, Oregon County Fairs (Coos, Deschutes and Douglas County), Manteca Crossroads Street Fair, Marysville Bok Kai Parade and Festival, Arroyo Grande Strawberry Festival, San Mateo Fiesta Italiana and loads of other shows and locations.

Many resources available. Read about Tales of Woe and Flying canopies; repairs to canopies; where to get fixtures such as grids, hooks, stands, etc. Get the lowdown on devious unconcerned promoters.

Get info on Arts and Crafts Guides. Links to motels, gas prices, etc.

COSTCO GAS PRICES

Even though my tank was half-full, I decided to drive over to COSTCO in San Leandro (off Davis St) and get some gas. I was surprised to see it at $2.43 per gallon. Wow. The Chevron Station over at Southland was $3.07 and some of the other stations had gas in the $2.90's. But I haven't even seen anything close to COSTCO prices. Maybe they are trying to draw people to shop there.

So, if you deduct the 2 percent rebate you get, then the gas was $2.38 per gallon. Maybe it'll start going up after election, you never know.

GAS PRICES GOING LOWER

October 28, 2008. Oil has dropped to $63 per barrel as opposed to $140 just a short while ago. With the economy getting worse and the stock market collapsing, this will probably continue to drop.

Hopefully, all the gas stations will be selling their gas under $3.00 per gallon and hopefully we can get it down to $2.25. There are numerous websites out there that list the lowest prices and I have found an excellent one. Today (Sep 29) it shows COSTCO as being the lowest at $2.74 per gallon, a far cry from the $4.59/gal that we were paying just a short while ago.

UPDATE: COSTCO gas now at $2.55 gallon (Oct 29)

To see gas prices in the San Leandro area try this website:
http://www.oaklandgasprices.com/San_Leandro/index.aspx
For the Los Angeles area:
http://www.losangelesgasprices.com/

Those are samples of what they show. To find prices in your area, visit http://www.gasbuddy.com/ and enter the city or zip code and it will show you the cheapest in the area. There are other websites out there that provide similar information, but I like this one the best.

Betty Boop T-shirts

Check out our auctions on Ebay. We have Betty Boop T-shirts, shell and semi-precious necklaces and more.

Visit our website for more shell and semi-precious necklaces. We make these ourselves and whatever size you want. Great buys. Made with Beadalon beading CABLE, the strongest stuff around.

Also, our cowrie shell chokers are very popular and hand made. Many designs to choose from. Good deal!!!

Terrific Burritos

Try Taqueria Mar y Tierra located at 1475 Broadway in Redwood City. tel 650-369-2201

We did a craft show in this mall about 10 years ago and our booth was located directly in front of this Mexican Restaurant. It was raining and we didn't to go far for food. So, we tried a couple of their Super Burritos and they were indeed SUPER. Best burritos I have ever had.

Read the reviews on Yelp about this place: http://www.yelp.com/biz/mar-y-tierra-taqueria-redwood-city

We have been stopping by there many times over the years. Around lunchtime and dinnertime, this place is totally packed. Matter of fact, I went in there two weeks ago and every chair and table was taken. I passed by the Chinese Food Restaurant next door to it and there was absolutely nobody in side there. They had opened quite recently.

Showers coming!!!!

Just checked the weather reports for this weekend.... San Jose (DeAnza where we will be in S-23) SHOWERS; Cambria (where we will not be) SHOWERS, SHOWERS, SHOWERS, TEMP 61; Orinda (Holiday Bazaar-where we definitely will not be) SHOWERS, SHOWERS, SHOWERS. TEMP 65. Last year we had great weather there and nobody buying, people definitely not coming. This is what happened last year. Orinda Holiday Bazaar 2007

A number of years ago we did a Rock and Mineral Show in Vallejo during the month of March. The first time we did it the weather was very poor with showers, showers, showers and unbelievingly, we did good because the ugliness outside drove people indoors. When we did it the following year, we had high hopes and brought even more things to sell. However, the weather was absolutely beautiful with temps in the 70's and we did very poor...we had an $8 day on Saturday and everybody else did quite bad too. People just went elsewhere because the weather was great. With ugly rainy, windy weather, the people were more or less, grounded and did not venture out very far and went to events indoors.

I've made some entries in the website. Check out NEWS

Wall Streeters Can Still Expect Big Bonuses

When the government agreed to bail out Wall Street, the goal was to provide funds to shore up banks' capital bases so they would start lending again. It wasn't to help them fund the bonus pool. But estimates run that as much as $70 billion will get paid out in bonuses to Wall Streeters this year. That amount equals 10% of the $700 billion bailout.

ISN'T THAT DISGUSTING!!!!

E-mail scam

Just received this one today:

From: frea2763507@gmail.com
to: xxxxxxxxx

Dear Business Owner,
I just reviewed your website and I feel certain that I can increase the traffic to your site at a fifth of what you are paying right now.

We are the number 1 SEO company on Google. Our pricing is extremely competitive and our results are phenomenal.

Please let me know if I can send you further information to help you increase the traffic and profitability of your web business.

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________________________________________________________
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I get quite a bit of spam and I never ever respond to any offer. Take a look at the email address. this comes from a gmail account and not from a website. STRIKE ONE!!

He says: he can "increase the traffic to your site at a fifth of what you are paying right now." One fifth? I'm not paying thousands to promote my website, so this one/fifth figure is absurd. STRIKE TWO.

I did a search on his mailing address...uh uh uh. The address is a UPS Store. He oviously rents a mail box there. Matter of fact, this guy is running quite a bit of scams out of this location. STEEEERIKE THREE.

DeAnza College Flea Market in Cupertino

On Saturday, November 1, we shall be at the DeAnza College Flea Market in Space S-23 in Cupertino on Steven's Creek Blvd.. Come on down and visit us. We are selling our shoulder-sling bags, fannypacks, backpacks, shell and semi-precious necklaces and a whole lot more.

Great time to do your Christmas Shopping. We will probably be there in December, but don't count on it. You can also find us at the Antioch Holiday Craft Faire on the following weekend.

Check out our website www.dandlcreations,com or you may also visit www.StarvingVendors.com to get the 'low down' on our shows, etc.

Vacaville Harvest Days

Would like to hear from any vendors that did this show this past weekend. We did two weeks there last year and ...... well, you know. Did anybody do the Los Osos Oktoberfest today? We did it two years ago and perhaps did that show 4-5 times over the past several years. Mostly a festival where people can walk their dogs and let them meet others and sniff their butts.

Police fear riots if Obama loses US election

Washington, October 24: : Amid rumours that Democratic supporters might indulge in civil disobedience and protests in case their party candidate Barack Obama is defeated in the Nov 4 presidential polls, the Police here fear riots and are preparing to control the same.
“We always try to prepare for the worst,” said Oakland Police Separtment spokesman Jeff Thomason.

“This election is going to mark in history a change in the presidency: you''re going to have a woman in the presidency or an African American as president. I think everybody around here is voting for Obama, so if he gets in the White House everybody''s going to be happy. But, we’ll have our SWAT teams on standby and traffic teams here, so if something goes off we''ll organise and take care of the problem,” the 'Telegraph' quoted him as saying.
According to the paper, there have also been Internet rumours about plans for protests or civil disobedience by supporters of Democratic candidate Barack Obama if he was beaten by Republican rival John McCain in the forthcoming presidential poll.

Thomason said Oakland was prepared to deal with unrest as Oakland Raiders fans rioted in 2003 following their Super Bowl loss. Other cities that have experienced unrest include Detroit, Chicago and Philadelphia and are also planning to deploy extra officers on election day.
James Carville, a strategist for former President Bill Clinton and advisor to his wife Hillary''s 2008 presidential campaign, hinted Democrat supporters could be angry if Obama lost, given his lead in the polls.
“If Obama goes in and he has a consistent five-point lead and loses the election, it would be very, very, very dramatic out there,” Carville was quoted as saying

Junk Mail

I think that a lot of people probably do this. All of us still get quite a bit of junk mail and just toss it in the trash. As for myself, I open it up, remove any part that has my name on it and stuff the remainder inside their post-paid envelope, which will go back to them. Of course, they have to pay the postage on them.

Just finished doing about 15 of these and wll toss these in the mail box today. Been doing this for a couple years. With mail volumes dropping, the postal service needs more business anyway.

If you have any of those small red bricks or pieces of wood you want to get rid of, just tape one of these postage-paid envelopes on top of them and bring them down to your post office. I do believe that they will take it. However, since you are going to the window, they might ask you to put your return address on the mail. I think that if anything is over 1 pound, you have to go to the window. Otherwise, just drop it inside a mailbox.

McCain Closing in

There are reports that the two candidates are running neck and neck (44 pct/43 pct) in one of the major polls. Other polls have bombar leading by 3 to 14 points, It appears as though McCain was look upon favorably in this last poll and people might be realizing what a farce the other candidate is

Pzlin is right. When the other candidate travels around the country, he continually changes his viewpoints to satisfy the wishes of the people he is speaking to. For example, while he was in Philadelphia, he favored the Phillies; when he was in Tampa Bay, he favored the Rays.

I guess that he's picking up strength from the older whites. College and younger 'adults' favor Obama. Asians and other minorities are siding with Obama also. In many of these polls, whites, etc., say that the are for Obama because they don't want to be called 'racist' and that is exactly what happens. They make racial issues out of this stuff. I am sure that you can account for a swing of 2-5 percent difference this will actually make come election time.

I really try not to delve into political issues, but I will not lie. I am for the Republicans and McCain. You had better take a close look at what Obama is proposing and just don't vote because you want changes. The changes that you will see, you will not like.

This blog is about shows, festivals, etc., and I try to sway from things that are inappropriate for this blog. However, this is MY blog and I am entitled to put in anything I so desire. Thank you very much and let's have a fair election. Damm..... if McCain wins, don't you think that the Obama crowd is going to accuse everybody of racism and claim that the election was fixed. Isn't it a shame that people act that way? We have all seen this behavior in the past.

Reviews of Recent Events

Please check out my reviews of the October events that we had at www.starvingvendors.com

EOS WINERY Arts and Crafts Fair, Paso Robles, CA Oct 18-19 "THE ZERO DOLLAR Arts and Crafts Show" Where are the people?

Monterey Columbus Day Festival Oct 11-12 Monterey is such a beautiful place for an event and over the years, many tourists (and locals, of course) have visited the many festivals here. However, with the economy in a downward spiral and the stock market taking a tumble, crowds were down here and people locked their wallets.

HOMEFRONT FESTIVAL by the Bay, Richmond, CA October 4-5, 2008

I have many other reviews and stories, information on the website and I am sure that you will find them enjoyable. Come take a look...see what vendors must endure at festivals, etc.

Puka Shell necklaces

lease shop at our website: http://www.dandlcreations.com/ Support the author of this blogs' business. We make custom sized puka shell necklaces, semi-precious, cowrie shell chokers and a whole lot more. Come check us out. Been in business for 15 years now.

If I could re-live this past weekend....

I would have done the Pismo Beach Clam Fest instead of the sick-ass EOS Winery Arts and Crafts Fair. I really didn't want to pay the extra $200 for booth space and extra for motel. I know a number of vendors that did this one and they said they did good. There were less vendors there this year....I guess the economy, etc., has hit us pretty hard,.

Or there was the Campbell Octoerfest (San Jose), which I really should have done. Much less on gas, no motel and some people said they did okay. Perhaps, next year look for us over there.

EOS WINERY Arts and Crafts Show

Oct 18-19 PASO ROBLES. Craft show was held at the EOS WINERY on Highway 46, 5 miles east of Hway 101.

Approx 20-25 booths with assorted merchandise. Saturday was slow and Sunday was even worse. TERRIBLE. First time that my sales were $0.00 for a day. Correctamundo....ZERO DOLLARS. On Saturday, there really weren't that many 'tasters' visiting the premises. The drunks stayed inside while they sent the wives out to shop, which was just a walk for them. Hardley any sales for anybodyl

Sunday was a nightmare to behold. Hardly anybody... The two vendors beside me left for other events....... Pismo Beach and Cambell's Octoberfest. Kettle Corn packed it up on Saturday also. On Sunday, I took my big ZERO and packed my stuff just after noon and got out of there. My neighbord, who was also ZERO for the day, packed up and left also.

I really can not explain why this show was so screwed up. Not really the promoter's fault though. Just nobody coming and nobody drinking. Don't know what the people lof Paso Robles do around here, with all the beautiful wineries located in this growing region, but they sure the hell are not frequenting the wineries.

Vote for President

CAST YOUR BALLOT FOR PRESIDENT:

____ Joe the Plumber

____ Barracks O' Bomber

____ DAVE THE VENDOR

____ Candy McCane

2008 Dia de los Muertos Festival

This festival is held annualy in Oakland along International Blvd and this year, it shall be on Sunday, October 26. We are getting closer to that date and I wish to give some strong, stern and helpful advice.

VENDORS BEWARE. I know quite a number of people (vendors) who have sold here and they report a lot of merchandise being stolen. If you are selling rings, jewelry and other small items you can kiss your butt good-bye. I did this show 5 years ago and around 9-10 years ago and I did lose some jewelry. There are a lot of people at this event and it is mostly a get-together, party type festival and they are not interested in buying...especially with the economy the way it is.

I have a friend who sold jewelry and he had it arranged in cases. Somebody actually pilfered one of his cases, jewelry and all and stood there laughing at him with his Mexican friends, waiting for him to chase after him so they could steal more.

I do a lot of events throughout the year and everybody has bad things to say about this event. Maybe they should rename it the "Thieves Festival" because vendors suffer a lot of losses. Nobody has ever told me anything good about this event and I strongly advise all sensible vendors to stay the hell away from this one. Nobody is going to buy....you are going to get things stolen left and right.

I would like to hear people's comments on this one...especially vendors who have gotten ripped off.

Los Osos/Baywood Oktoberfest Sunday Oct 26

We did this one-day event for a number of years, but we have discontinued mainly due to the high gas prices and slow sales, which have dwindled there the past couple times we did it.

It's a nice social event and gathering for the locals and the dogs get to smooch one another's butts, as there are hundreds there for the dog show, etc.

There's a good number of vendors stretched along 3-4 blocks selling a vast array of merchandise. Usually, the weather is pretty nice here, but we did have some sprinkles a few years back. However, the people do not buy very much, as I have mentioned that this is more or less, a social gathering.

These two communities sponsoring the event are located between San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay.

Please click here to read about more shows that we no longer do.

Paso Robles EOS Winery Craft Show

This coming weekend, Oct 18-19, we shall be in Paso Robles (Hwy 101-north of San Luis Obispo) at the EOS Winery. Arciero Vineyards, Harvest Wine Tour Weekend, for all of the wineries in the area. EOS is one of the largest, and most visited wineries, with the best location for an arts and crafts fair, in the whole area. The weather is usually awesome this time of year, in Paso Robles and surrounding environs.

Weather forecasts show temps in the mid-80's and sunny. Great weather. No rain in sight. Enjoy your weekend here.

Quite a number of quality vendors will be there, so come on over and check us out. We are DandL CREATIONS. Look for the canopy with shoulder bags, fannypacks, shell necklaces and a whole lot more. www.dandlcreations.com

Monterey Custom House Plaza swamped with 35,000 people

Oct 11. Monterey, CA. I wish that was the title for this. Figures submitted to Craftmaster News for Monterey's Columbus Day Festival showed crowds supposed to be 35,000 in number. Well....I guess we have more people missing in action. There were quite a number of vendors at the event, but I don't think we had much more than 3,000 people visiting the show.

I've been doing events here for 14 years now and this is the absolute worst that I have ever seen. The promoter's did pretty good. They filled the place up with vendors (however, way too much jewelry) and had a decent number of food vendors and entertainment. Setting up wasn't too difficult, if you came early, but as time passes on, it does become congested.

Weather forecasts called for temps in the 60's and very strong winds sustaining speeds of 30 mph. However, we were pretty much spared the wrath of the winds. During the morning, the Parks Dept (of the Historical Park area) came to each booth to ensure that everybody was weighed down adequately. This is the first time I ever saw them do this and I wonder if previous winds at shows here have uplifted very many booths and they are very cautious.

So, crowds were low as compared to previous shows here and they just were not buying, having been even more scared off by events in the Stock Market this past week and many of them probably lost a lot of money as a result, making these shows more difficult than they already were. Sales were very low for pretty much everybody and the booths that had larger crowds surrounding them were merely engulfed by looky-loos.
'

Shell Necklaces

Check out our website www.dandlcreations.com for great buys on puka shell and semi-precious necklaces. Huge assortment of hand-made, choose your size necklaces; also wrap-around skirts and a lot more.

Visit www.starvingvendors.com to read about craft shows, festivals and lots of other things pertaining to selling at events. Advice, stories, etc., reviews.

Polls

When you are walking around festivals, etc., does somebody ever approach you and ask you to take a poll, etc. or answer a bunch of questions? Usually there's about half a dozen individuals stopping people and asking. If you say 'yes' they show you over to a tent which has a bunch of computers there and you answer the questions. I have no idea what is being asked, but I stay away from them. The main purpose of these polls are not to collect information, but rather to collect names for mailing/email lists which they sell to companies. I believe that they get paid $1.00 per name collected. Sorry, but they are not interested in your opinion.

I was at Home Depot this morning and the guy hands me my receipt and tells me that if I call a certain number that is listed and take their 'poll' then I could win $5,000. Well, just think of how many people nationwide follow through on this and they compile their mailing lists and sell them. Once again, not interested in your opinion.....just interested in making many times more than the $5,000 that they are supposedly giving away.

I stay at Motel 6 and they also offer a chance to win a cash prize. Your chances of actually winning anything answering all these people's questions is extremely thin, But their chances of them making money off the use of your name, etc., is what it is all about.

So, it's up to you. That's what is happening,

Monterey Columbus Day Festival Oct 11-12

Hi People. We'll be down in Monterey this weekend for the Columbus Day Festival at the Custom House Plaza. The weather looks decent and it'd be a great idea for you to trek on down to the area. Great scenery. Do your Christmas shopping.

We are DandL CREATIONS and we sell hand-made shell jewelry, fannypacks, shoulder bags, wrap-around skirts and a lot more. We will be located in Space 28 in front of the 'Museum.' Come on down and check us out.

Here are some reviews of recent shows we have done:

Homefront on the Bay, Richmond Oct 4-5
Castro Valley Fall Festival Sep 13-14
Pittsburg Seafood Festival, Sep 6-7

If you are a vendor, there's at least two shows in the Bay Area that I would recommend staying away from. The Orinda Holiday Bazaar (nice event and a great effort by the promoters, but NOBODY buying...they've got money here, but they don't spend) Last year's review.

And I would stay away from the Vacaville Harvest Days Festival at the Nut Tree. Did it two weekends last year and virtually everybody did poorly. Was located next to the Pumpkin Patch and people just ran by, grabbed their pumpkins and got the hell out of there. They force vendors to pay $25 for a 'police permit' where you MUST give them yours SSN and Driver's License number and be treated like a criminal when they run a check on you. Absurd.

Homefront Festival by the Bay

OCT 4-5, 2008. RICHMOND, CA. This was a nice community-type event for the local crowds as it centered around the contributions the area made in WWII....

However, the Homefront Festival was not good for vendors selling their merchandise and several of them left after Saturday. There was no admission fee, so that brought in some of the local riff-raff for which Richmond is noted for. Hardly anybody buying anything, except for some food, etc. and carnival rides.

I am certain that the organizers worked very hard getting this thing going and I commend them. You can lead the horse to the water, but you can't make him drink it and that was the main problem. However, information submitted to the Craftmasters News showed that 10,000 people were expected for the event and that number is grossly inflated. Closer to 3,000 than 10,000

All in all, the City of Richmond should take pride in the areas surrounding the National Park area and there are great views of the Bay, etc.

Homefront Festival by the Bay

We shall be at the Homefront Festival in Richmond this coming weekend. The City of Richmond, the Richmond Chamber of Commerce, and the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park are teaming up again to bring you:
Great music & entertainment; USO Dance
Local food specialties; Carnival
Kids' play activities; Tours and exhibits about the WWII Home Front
Vintage Car Show; YMCA Fun Run/Walk

Here's a link to their website: http://homefrontfestival.com/home.htm

FREE ADMISSION. Oct 4-5. Visit DandL CREATIONS and check out our shoulder/sling bags for the great price of $12.00. Excellent for travel; make great gifts. Look at our website.

Harvest Days - Vacaville

This is a very lousy event. So many problems. Just received an application for the Harvest Day's Festival in Vacaville at the Nut Tree. Dates: Oct 18-19, 25-26. Please read what I have written about this event in the past.

http://www.starvingvendors.com/do_you_remember.html 'Vacaville Harvest Days' on right.

http://thisaintparadise.blogspot.com/search/label/vacaville%20harvest%20days read previous entry made earlier on this blog regarding this event.

I can't believe they are having the Harvest Days Festival again. I did two weekends last year there in Vacaville and it was terrible. On the first weekend, we were located in an area in front of the Nut Tree. About a dozen vendors there. Very poor traffic flow, as people headed into the Nut Tree and the amusement area, not even paying attention to us. Very very poor sales and strong winds, which blew over our canopy at night. Everybody had to pack up at night because it was unsafe.

For the second weekend at Harvest Days, we were located near the Pumpkin Patch in the back and traffic flow was even worse. We packed up and left after the first day, as did a number of other vendors. Virtually nobody buying anything. The kids went over to the pumpkin patch with their parents, grabbed their pumpkins and got the heck out. Absolutely terrible show. Had to walk about half-a-mile to go to the bathroom. The promoters claimed that the city wouldn't allow porta potties. Bull Marlarky.

They force you to pay $25 for a 'police permit' which means that you have to submit your driver's license number, SSN, etc., to them and the police run a check on you like you are some kind of a criminal.

People, this is a terrible show. Stay away from Vacaville's Harvest Days. You are not going to make any money here and there are just so many problems which will drive you crazy.