A Well-Kept Secret
November 14th, 2008 | View Comments
It’s a common theme for most of us, I think. We craft. We perceive just how huge the crafting industry is. And…nobody else gets it.
But I found an unlikely craft appreciator on our way back from our trip.
We were tired. Due to gross airline incompetence, we were over twelve hours delayed in getting home (they did put us up in a hotel overnight, but not without quite a bit of haranguing). I was half asleep aboard a Super Shuttle and the driver and another passenger were having a conversation about what it’s like to be a shuttle driver.
“You can make some good money from now until April. I make 30 or 40 grand in the spring alone, but the rest of the year, it’s slow.
“It’s not the holidays; people traveling for the holidays, that’s nothing to us. It’s the conventions, see. Houston is a big convention city and that’s when you can make a killing. We just had the quilt convention…man! I love the quilt convention!”
The other passenger expresses surprise that a quilt convention would be a big draw.
“I know! Who woulda thought it? But yeah, little old ladies and their quilts! They get out here and spend some serious money!”
My brain grumbles at the “little old ladies” remark, but I’m too tired to object.
“This year was a slow year because of the economy, but they still had 20,000 people! Last year it was closer to 50,000! Super Shuttle gives us a list of the upcoming reservations every day so we can see how many people there are. Normally it’s like, 400. During the quilt convention, it was 2,000! A day! I love the quilt convention!”
And there you have it.
A post on my Japanese yarn-shopping experience will be coming shortly.
CogKnition posted this on November 14th, 2008 @ 2:51pm in Life as a Knitter | Permalink to "A Well-Kept Secret"
cogknition
My brain grumbles a bit at the conversationalists valuing crafters for their ability to spend money, rather than for their ability to make beautiful and useful things, but even this recognition that we are a powerful force is a positive step.
Looking forward to the yarn haul!