Barefoot Dilettante- Baking For the Farmer's Market: Part 1

 dil·et·tante  /ˌdiliˈtänt/Noun 

1. A person who claims an area of interest, such as the arts, without real commitment or knowledge. 

2. A person with an amateur interest in the arts.

Synonyms - dabbler This is certainly how I felt last summer, but all the time I am becoming a more committed baker!

*   *   * I filled out the forms to get a spot in the farmer's market last week. It makes a big difference to have a years experience under my belt. The butterflies in my stomach fluttered away and no longer curse me. Last year at this time I was desperate for some advise on how to bake for a Farmer's Market besides the "just do it" kind. Thank goodness I did have a few brains to pick (Thank you, Rachael and Diane, from the bottom of my heart).  Never the less I was on the phone with my sister non stop discussing recipes and problem solving sourdough  in hot kitchens. I never did get a banana nut bread recipe to do what I wanted! But I tried. That's the thing, I really learned: just try it and don't take it personal if no one likes it...and be prepared to be surprised what folks will love!

Where do you start? The first thing I did was find a market location. In our area every town has a market and they fall on different days of the week. I knew I'd need Bryon's help with the set up so Saturday was a must. Then to choose a town I picked one that I felt would hold a few more of the artsy type as we had  goodies other than bread to sell. I went with my gut feeling on this one even though it meant driving a bit further. Ask around, what do other folks know about your point of interest.

Cough up the fee and apply. The fee may also be a factor in where to go. I had an option to pay week by week or for the whole season. I committed for the whole season. That was tough to do the first time, committing my whole family to who knows what.

 Depending on the town there are rules on selling cottage foods that differ from place to place. Learn the dos and don'ts. A good thing that we decided to go to the meeting (once my application was accepted) that was provided for the vendors. A state inspector was there telling us as nicely as he could of all the things that they could give us a hard time about. There are certain ways to label your goods and a certain amount of info needed on your label and at times where you put your label matters...just follow the rules don't try and understand. But I'm glad we went to the meeting, I felt educated later in the season when the inspector came around and I passed! I quickly learned that selling farm eggs and raw milk was a real no-no in our area, unless my farm was inspected. I opted out of that headache.

The end of the day and empty bread baskets

Make a Plan to stand out from the rest, or just be the best. I was worried. Here I was going to try and sell artisan bread not 1/2 of a block away from a real established professional artisan bread bakery. What nerve! I had other things to sell so I thought maybe if I couldn't wing it there were my soaps, chemical free veggies, and Bryon's wood working to hide behind. So I over did it with the other things, which in turn became expected and sold well. This naturally made my plate so full I just about stretched myself too thin. I am glad we were diverse, because we didn't show very well in the veggie department. I planned out our products to be sure and have something different and unique. Sometimes it went over and sometimes it went over their heads.

 We spent a lot of time planning out our booth. I took time in making attractive inexpensive labels and signs.
Some ideas we ditched along the way, such as my appliqued banners that kept getting tangled into the shelter poles. Cute, but maybe I'll make potholders out of them sometime later.
We had lots of kids help so we could go all out with tables (the homemade saw horse and plywood kind and store bought) to fill up our space. But if I had to unload all this myself I would seriously simplify!

 My display became extremely important, we had to give people a reason to look our way, and to reward them with unbeatable customer service and good bread.  My sister came to the rescue again and again in this area, providing loads of big beautiful baskets and display props. Bread in baskets look really good, I'm telling ya. 

 Basically I tried to use what I already had around the house. I wasn't willing to put much cash into this. Other than the baskets (and my sister was going to buy them anyhow) the awning was the only thing we bought for our display.

Then of course we did our market research. I asked around and got a few opinions. Too much time was spent on the internet trying to figure out what and how everybody else did this part. I went to the famed bakery 1/2 a block away and bought a loaf, compared prices (and taste) to see what I was up against. So that leads to another subject or two to write about:

What do People Want and What do I Want to Make.
Pricing.
Read Part 2 Here 

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