WalMart, Lowe's, Home Depot - What really happens?

Here's an interesting article I found in pdf format about how the big-box stores affect YOUR LOCAL ECONOMY. What really happens when one of these GIANTS moves into your locality. Very interesting. I wish that enough people would realize this and not allow these businesses in your community.

Five Myths about Big Box Retail I have included the first of these myths down below to get your attention. You can read about the other four by clicking on the link.

MYTH: Big-Box Stores Create Jobs
FACT: Studies by independent economists show that big-box stores eliminate more re-
tail jobs than they create.

A recent study examined 3,094 counties across the U.S., tracking the arrival of new Wal-Mart stores between 1977 and 2002. The study, conducted by Univ. of California economist David
Neumark, found that opening a Wal-Mart store led to a net loss of 150 retail jobs on average, suggesting that a new Wal Mart job replaces approximately 1.4 workers at other stores
(The Effects of Wal-Mart on Local Labor Markets, January 2007).

The reason for the overall decline is that a new Wal-Mart store does not increase the amount of money that residents have to spend. Sales gains at these stores are invariably mirrored by a
drop in revenue at existing businesses, which then must downsize or close. The job losses are larger than the gains because Wal-Mart accomplishes the same volume of sales with fewer
employees.

Although similar studies have not been done of other big-box retailers, it's likely that they also have either a negative or no impact on employment because the underlying dynamics (i.e.,no increases in consumer spending) are the same

Festivals of Texas

I just found a nicely designed website that lists events in Texas. It's called Festivals of Texas and breaks down into five areas of the state....North, East, Central, South and West. Describes event and provides contact numbers. Good site if you are either a vendor or are looking for festivals in your area.

Some of the shows included are: 12th ANNUAL SPRINGFEST WINE, ART & FOOD FESTIVAL, ROCKPORT’S CLAY EXPO, 63rd ANNUAL ST. PATRICK’S DAY CELEBRATION (in Shamrock), LUBBOCK ARTS FESTIVAL, OILMAN’S CHILI COOK-OFF, 37th ANNUAL REDBUD FESTIVAL and a lot more.

The have a page entitled 'searching for vendors' which comes in handy. There are parts of the website under construction. Very nicely done.

Time Capsule - My First Job

I guess that each and everyone of us recalls the experiences of the first job we ever had. Here is a recounting of mine..... picking tobacco leaves in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

I was born in Holyoke, MA in 1951 and moved to New Jersey in 1962. Long ago, my mom worked for National Blank Book, a paper manufacturer there in Holyoke, which was an Industrial city. My dad worked for A.G. Spalding in Chicopee and made golf balls.

I would return to Holyoke several times during the 60's and stay with my dad. The year of 1966 was one of those years that I went there, so I was 15 years old at that time. I enjoyed seeing several of my friends during those years and this time, my friend Joe and I wanted to get a job. We knew several 'kids' who were working in the tobacco fields in Southern Mass and Connecticut. At that age, all we could ever get as far as jobs went would be working on farms.

Joe and I went to someplace that was similar to an Unemployment Office and signed up. We would have to catch a bus at a location a few blocks away from where I was staying. The bus would go around and pick up maybe 8-10 other workers (kids) and take all of us south to the tobacco fields, where we would work for the day and then ride the bus home. Perhaps we went about 25-30 miles and each day we went to a different field. Our job was to pick the tobacco leaves which were used as wrappers for Roi Tan Cigars back then. This was referred to 'shade tobacco' and was used as wrappers on cigar filler tobacco from Honduras and the Dominican Republic

Since it was early in the season, we began picking the lowest leaves on these plants which stood about three feet tall. (that is NOT me in the picture) In order to pick these leaves, you had to lay on your back and scoot yourself along the row, taking 3 leaves from the right plant and then 3 from the left and then another three and you made those into a 'pad' and laid then down in the middle aisle as you worked your way up the row repeating the process. Later, a 'hauler' picked them up and placed them on the wagon and when there was a substantial amount, hauled them away.

During the early part of the 'season' you went from field to field picking the leaves. Then a week or so later, you would be taken back to the same fields and pick the next layer. These tobacco fields were covered with some kind of cheesecloth and it was rather cool in the morning and then around noontime, it heated up. It got pretty hot inside there.At the end of each day, the bus would take us back. I would take a bath every day and the water would be almost totally black from the juices which got on your body. Of course, the clothes got a little roughed up also. I worked there for six weeks and will never ever forget the experiences of my very first job. I only received $1.05 per hour, but that was good enough for me. I was just a kid. The very first thing I bought was a radio...I forgot how much I paid for it.

Lake Havasu CIty Winterfest

February 7-9, 2009. vendor application Lake Havasu Chamber of Comm

24th Annual Winterfest held downtown along McCulloch Blvd. Reasonable fees for booths; check vendor application-fees vary. Bus License is require along with insurance.

We did this event for a number of years but didn't make much of a net profit because we drove out from the Bay Area and stayed in a motel 6. (This particular Motel 6 was located about 2 blocks from our space)

This really draws a large, slow-walking crowd but they looked like zombies strolling down the street, looking neither to the left or to the right. Most of them could care less...just enjoying the nice weather this area usually has to offer during the month of February. Some snow birds; mostly locals.... virtually all of which did not spend and we didn't see a lot of them carrying bags.

We have two micro climates existing on the street. If you are faced toward the sun, it can be a pleasant, warm day with occasional breezes and you can wear your shorts and t-shirts. While on the other side, you get very little sun and often you'll need winter clothing and the wind is much colder as it whips its way around the booths.

We will not be doing this event, since we will be at Tyson Wells at the Arts & Crafts Fair (Space PQ-2) until around Feb 15. I've enjoyed Havasu over the years and we had several good shows there, but we are getting older and we would rather set up once for 17 days instead of for a 2-day show. Lots of food there. You'll enjoy.

For more information about events and info, please visit Starving Vendors. I have many reviews of shows we did this past year. Menu: Guide to Shows>reviews> then choose the dates and the shows for that time period will apear. Get insight into a lot of events and read what vendors have to go through. Read our review of the Lake Havasu City Winterfest

Forwarding email

Any time you see an E-Mail that says forward this on to '10' of your friends, sign this petition, or you'll get bad luck, good luck, or whatever, it almost always has an E-Mail tracker program attached that tracks the cookies and E-Mails of those folks you forward to. The host sender is getting a copy each time it gets forwarded and then is able to get lists of 'active' E-Mails addresses to use in SPAM E-Mails, or sell to other spammers

Almost all E-Mails that ask you to add your name and forward on to others are similar to that mass letter years ago that asked people to send business cards to the little kid in Florida who wanted to break the Guinness Book of Records for the most cards. All it was, and all any of this type of E-Mail is, is a way to get names and 'cookie' tracking information for telemarketers and spammers - - to validate active E-Mail accounts for their own profitable purposes.

You can do your friends and family members a GREAT favor by sending this information to them; you will be providing a service to your friends, and will be rewarded by not getting thousands of spam E-Mails in the future!

If you have been sending out (FORWARDING) the above kinds of E-Mail, now you know why you get so much SPAM!

Do yourself a favor and STOP adding your name(s) to those types of listings regardless how inviting they might sound!You may think you are supporting a GREAT cause, but you are NOT in the long run. Instead, you will be getting tons of junk mail later! Plus, we are helping the spammers get rich! Let's don't make it easy for them!

Also: E-Mail petitions are NOT acceptable to Congress or any other organization.To be acceptable, petitions must have a signed signature and full address of the person signing the petition. Read the full story here: http://

Awards

It's the end of another year and it is time to hand out our Starving Vendors Awards for 2008. I would like to announce the winner's of the Rodney Dangefield 'Can't get no Respect' award for treatment of vendors far and above the call of duty.

We had a tie for this award, or should I say that we had two organizations that were highly qualified for this award and we would like to present plaques to the Ripon Chamber of Commerce (Ripon Almond Blossom Festival) and Lee Barron and the Quartz Hill Almond Blossom Festival. Thank you... and now the award.

Alameda Flea Market

I just discovered that there is a Flea Market in Alameda located at 1150 Ballena Bay Rd. Anybody have any information about it. Can't find an actual website for it, just a contact phone number. Fill me in.

I recall many years ago, we went to the Island Drive In Flea Market down on Webster in Alameda. The drive-in movie close down in the late 70's I believe, biting the dust the same as all the other drive-in's across the country. After it closed it left the Flea Market as the remaining tennant.

Chabot College Flea Market

We are 'officially' into winter as of today....even though winter did arrive a couple weeks ago with the cooler 35 degree tempertures, colder rain and snow on the hilltops around the Bay Area.

Fortunately, we had a nice break in the weather yesterday, allowing us to sell at the Chabot College Flea Market in Hayward. We arrived there a bit on the early side and it is now a good idea to do so as the parking spots are not as wide as they used to be. I have a small Windstar van and it fits within the two spaces with about 1 1/2 feet to spare. Pity me if the people on the left and right of me both arrived before I did.....then I would have problems squeezing my van in there AND pulling out the 5-foot high/long grids from the pack would be impossible,

In case nobody noticed, the spaces now run north-south instead of east-west. Maybe the weather gods will find this to be more favorable to them. Or maybe the money gods figured they could 'squeeze' in more spaces and improve their cash flow.

It appeared like they only used about half the parking lot for the booths as not that many vendors would brave the December weather and were fearful of rain. Sales started off very slowly as it was a late crowd that arrived. My hands were long-frozen, quite cold from the 35 degree temperatures we had during the early morning. Most of the vendors probably arrived later than usual preferring to stay under their warm blankets at home. I guess there was a decent crowd that stopped by the Flea Market and bought a lot of lower-priced items....$1, $2, etc. Since our items are new and many of them were created by us, we did not do so good. The vendors with the 'closeout bought' groceries appeared to do the best. At 2:45, we began packing and were gone by 3:30 as were a good number of other vendors. Fortunately, we did not do one of our 3-hour setups for this shortened selling day.

We'll probably be back in February or March. If you want to order one of our shell necklacesm, or cowrie chokers, etc., please visit our website www.DandLCREATIONS.com where we have secure, on-line ordering, If you wish to find out more information about Bay Area Flea Markets, click here. I have a listing on my other website. Check Events and Festivals for info on upcoming shows. Click here to see OUR 2009 event schedule.

Whiskey Flat Days - Kernville, CA

54th Annual Whiskey Flat Days, Kernville, CA. Feb 13-16, 2009. website and vendor application info. One of the most popular Festivals in all of Southern California. A short 3 hour drive from Los Angeles to the Lake Isabella recreation area and the quaint town of Kernville (50 miles east of Bakersfield on Hwy 178). Whiskey Flat is a leap back to the good ol' wild west days when the area was settled by gold miners, cattle ranchers and trappers. Join us when Kernville reverts to its old name "Whiskey Flat" for four nostalgic days of fun for the entire family. I quoted this from their website.

This event is not listed in Craftmaster's yet. I guess that they get around 50,000 visitors for the event. They have a really nice parade and other festivities. Great show if you can survive the drive through the Kern River Valley and if you can find an inexpensive motel room. Lots of curves. It snowed here 4 years ago and they often do get some rain, but not much. Kind of cold in he morning.

Please check my review of this past year's Whiskey Flat Days.

Quite a large number of vendors do this event. They come from L.A., Bay Area, Modesto area, Sacramento and other places. Good crowds.

Tips for sellers

I have just completed several pages on Starving Vendors. Maybe you can pick up some ideas for your next craft fair, festival, flea market or even a yard sale.

Crafts Fair Basics Crafts Fair Basics; choosing the right one for you

Garage Sales Make $$$ at your garage sales. Tips, etc.

Flea Market Sales Tips for Selling at Flea Markets

and of course, we have our link to Bay Area Flea Markets and Upcoming events, Events and Festivals

Chabot College Flea Market - December 20

DandL CREATIONS will be at Chabot College Flea Market this weekend and we will be selling our newest hand-made products made of shells. SPACE 400-401. These make great Christmas gifts and make wonderful gifts for weddings, anniversaries, etc. We will also be selling our necklaces for $5.00 and up; shoulder (sling) bags at a reduced price of $10.00. The weather looks pretty decent. According to reports, we will have some sunshine, but it will be a bit cool. At least we probably won't have any rain on Saturday and Sunday. Come on down and take a stroll amongst the booths and take care of some inexpensive Christmas shopping. We also sell these online through our website: DandL CREATIONS. We also sell hand-made, custom-sized shell and semi-precious necklaces. Any size from 13-24 inches. Cowrie Chokers priced from $8.95. Very popular and hand-made also. Wrap-around skirts. Shoulder Bags

Please be alert

I found this in a forum back East. You have to be alert at all times. I guess you just can's place your purse down anywhere.

My mother was in walmart today and had her purse stolen. She was in the ladies room, turned for a moment to dry her hands and a woman snatched her purse and ran. The police are aware of a tag team who are working the major stores together. She was lucky she was not hurt, but she was heartbroken. In her purse was a special rosary which I made for her. It has beads that are cancer survior beads-glass with pink ribbons in each bead