I have to admit that I rarely take a lot of photos at the Bewitching Peddlers of Halloween show because I'm too busy shopping. By the time I'm finished, some of the booths are empty and others are nearly so. That happens within the first hour. I'm not kidding.
The Early Buy Ticket is $20 and starts at 8am sharp. Standing in line before the doors open is an event within itself. Collectors with numbers come early even though we have a guaranteed spot in line. I want to see who is there, hear what they're excited about, and check out their outfits. Most people take the effort to don their favorite Halloween clothing.
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| Jennie Hepler-Takens, Show Producer |
The best part of standing in line is when Jennie Hepler-Takens (show producer and artist behind My Dearest Witch) and Amy Schneider (show photographer and assistant extraordinaire) come through the line handing out tote bags, mugs, and an official ribbon to wear- all for the price of admission! Maybe someday I'll have enough tote bags to make a cape. Life goals. That's a joke....maybe.
I've found that there are two methods of attacking the show. Kristen Stafford (Halloween Art & Travel podcast) has a clear plan of which booths she will visit and in what order. She uses her map of the show like a football play diagram. It's amazing. Then there is my plan which is to pick the first artist's booth I will visit and then I just become dazed and wander around like a zombie. Kristen's plan is clearly a better one. She had a mission and completes it. I enter the doors and my mind goes completely blank! I know it sounds odd, but I'm actually waiting for my pieces to call to me. I walk into a booth with no thoughts in my head and look around till something catches my eye more than once and then I buy it. The only reason I come out successfully is because there are no bad choices at this show.
My husband, Rich, has even become fascinated with the show and runs ahead of me looking for pieces he thinks I will like and carrying all my shopping bags. He doesn't ever ask how much I've spent, just if I went over my budget and the answer is always "yes." Then he smiles and points something else out to me. He's a keeper.
So, that's how I spend one heavenly hour in Marshall, MI after driving 12 hours. It is so worth it.
Thank you for reading this far if you're only interested in what I purchased. I have to say it always comes as a surprise to me when I unpack my bags days later. It's all such a blur and then wonderful to get excited all over again. This year I purchased 12 pieces at the show, plus Ellen Gee's Memento Mori Skull the night before.
These photos are not posed where they'll be displayed. I try to document my pieces soon after I purchase them and when the photos to be bright and clear. You'll see them displayed in my collection during the next several weeks.
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