earrings with feelings (nilalamig ka ba?): hello hiatus, how are you? (or finally, an overdue tiangge update)

…pasensya

So without further balderdash, here’s a flashback of the “1st-ever-Earrings-With-Feelings- tiangge” (next time ros, sama ka na sa amin ha. At maraming, maraming salamat sa weasel at buong Beltran family for the opportunity)

Insight # 1: (or we should be early birds but…) Early Saturday morning—of course, riza and I were late (wake up, sleepyheads!). Met up at the bee foodchain in Kamias then proceeded to mcdo Mindanao Ave. I remember that while in transit, I heard Today of Smashing Pumpkins and immediately deduced that it’s a good omen for our business venture. This is it! (kahit pareho tayong may disappointment-management angst di ba riz?)

Come one, Come all!!!

Tiangge crowd

When we arrived at the venue, we’re, well, sort of overwhelmed. All along, we thought it was just a small scale garage sale but—oh welts, NOT. But NOT in a good way. The place was bigger that what we expected (barangay hall in the morning, basketball place in the afternoon, lovers’ tagpuan in the evening). The scene there was already bustling with prospects— hardcore bargain wheelers and finders, just-waiting to be seen treasures, wafting smells of native food items (at talaga nga namang may pancakes with 3 different syrup na in fairness masarap), blaring pop music, loud dj announcements, the whole country-fair works. So lugging our set-up items and beloved earrings-babies, we looked for our # 42 stall (footnote: weee!!! # 42: another good omen—the answer to life and the whole universe. Kulang na lang si marvin the paranoid android) and promptly set-up.

Insight # 2: kung akala mo madali, hindi! (ang mag-ayos ng stall). There were too many (and some pesky + dubious-looking) people who kept on hovering in our space which prevented us from properly setting up. Good thing, Ivy and her boyfriend arrived to help us get things arranged. Di soon followed and within minutes, our stall was fixed and ready. From Di’s end, they sold some surplus clothes and other garments and from ours, of course, our precioussss earringswithfeelings (+ other consigned items—maraming salamat patty for participating. And sorry, di talaga kinaya ng selling powers namin yung tiger-print 2 pc bikini mo). Here we go! Businesswoman mode on!

Hello EWF ninangs!

Proud weasel

sinong masaya? :)

Kami!

Ms. PR sales-charms turned on (parang wala ng ibang magawa ung customer mo mare kundi bumili)

“Sige na Ma’am, bili ka na…”

Insight # 3: Kahit natutunaw ka na sa init at muka ka ng dugyot, basta may hotdog eating contest at animal shows, everything will be ok. Even though the venue was al fresco, it was SO HOT! We were like exposed vegetables quickly wilting under the sun’s heat. On top of that, we have to juggle a multitude of tasks- continuous bartering, lookout for sneaky shoplifters (hindi rin masabi, sa ganitong mga pagkakataon), arrange our items (last count, we arranged our stall 5 times), smattering conversations with customers (Hey! Nice meeting you, Menchie and Del! Thanks for the quick Evian spray. Hope we can work out an arrangement soon!) and managing our grumbling stomachs. The day wore on and we’re starting to feel weary….

Pagod na?

BUT…

Here comes Valeray the tiger and Nelson the Snake. Yep, totoo ngang may tiger sa tiangge! I can’t pass the chance having a photo op with Valeray—she’s sooo cute (and so hungry, judging by how quick she’s chugging down the milk). Instant perk! (Also my credibility issue about the tiger feature was put to rest. So there.)

tiger + turtle + weasel

Say hi to the (sleeping) Nelson the Snake :)

Then, there’s Riza’s moment: “Siguro kung ako yung sumali sa hotdog eating contest, mananalo ako...” Who would have thought she has a penchant for those kinds of things? She was the classic picture of an excited kid, completely enamored with the spectacle before her: clapping hands, gleaming eyes, silly grin and “cheerleader”-type callouts. (“Bilisan mong kainin yan! Hotdog lang yan! Dali! Dali!”)

Ivy’s boyfriend joined the hotdog-eating contest…ready…

Get set…

Go!!! (sayang di sya nanalo… dapat talaga riz, ikaw na lang yung sumali)

eddie brickwell's cool, laidback voice was singing the lines "Good times, bad times, gimme some of that..." amidst this fun commotion and everyone was having a carefree moment.

So what kung muka na kaming gusgusing jologs? Masaya naman kami! :)

Insight # 4: It’s how you contextualize events and things. We wrapped-up around 8pm, together with the other few remaining stalls (buti na lang din di kami umalis agad kasi may mga "rich churchgoers" that dropped by sa tiangge. yey.) . Despite a particular red-hand incident at the tail-end of the day, wearied bodies, shiny-oily faces and amoy araw, we had SO MUCH FUN. One can miss- even long for- that feeling, especially when trapped in the usual work humdrum. A break from this grind is always welcome. Plus, we did pretty well with our sales and even established new connections (pwede ko na bang i-assume at this point that our booth is one of the must-sees in that event? Hehe, I know, nagbubuhat na ng sariling bangko): Di’s items were a hit, EWF got LOTS of exposure and compliments, we sold most of our “challenging” items,” and we had the chance to meet quirky/nice people. Not bad for a tyco, eh? :)

Down to the last silkscreen display of EWF +
Blue Coleman jug= FMCG

We’d like to thank everyone who supported this “project” (especially to our “quali workforce”—maraming, maraming, maraming salamat!) + our buyers (please feel free to contact us. we don't bite, unless really necessary :P) Sa uulitin!

Tambay kayo for updates! :)