This past weekend was
the annual fundraising market at the local church down in Kelburn (suburb in
Wellington). I prefer to think of it more of a couple hours of blissful
madness. I had been last year when I first arrived in Wellington and was
pleasantly surprised at the great finds I managed to pick up even though I
quickly realized I had arrived late (it opened at 10 am and I had gotten there
around 11 am). The hoards of people left me needing to stop and take a few deep
breaths to calm my nerves before diving back in.
This time around I
knew better. I had seen the massive sign advertising the event for weeks and
had kept the date of March 15 in my head as though I was chanting some mantra
that was going to change my life if I just believed it hard enough. My heart
was set on trying to find some wooden frames I could get at a good price in
order to then upcycle into jewellery frames to sell through Paper Kite
Creations. My fingers, toes and everything in between were crossed in hopes
that my simple wish would become a reality.
And so Saturday
finally rolled around. I popped out of bed like a kid on Christmas morning and
raced to get everything done I needed to before walking my way in a state of
giddy down to Kelburn for the market. Heaven knows where the excitement came
from – maybe because I felt as though I was the only one that knew of this
hidden shopping gem (though I did invite my friend Jess along as well) or maybe
it was because there was something in the air last year that made the tight
spaces crammed of people fingering their way over goods something worth coming
back to.
I took out some cash
and then found my way to the church. It became apparent that the event
organisers were very serious about the start time of 10 am. There were
volunteers posed at the entrance with a big rope blocking any early shoppers
from entering. I was there only a few minutes before the big opening and
already there were people crammed up against the entrance rope craning their
necks to see how they could strategize to get to the best finds first.
The countdown began –
yes, there was a countdown over a microphone – and then a bell signalled it was
time to shop. I wove my way through the bodies of people and scoured the entire
market with no success at finding frames.
My eyes started to blur as I tried to process all the frantic activity going on around me. People squeezing into spaces I never thought possible to go. Feelings of claustrophobia as I'd head in a direction only to come to a gridlock with someone in front and someone behind and no way out. Scanning book titles was an art when peering through a wavering sliver of a gap between two individuals set on hoarding the book table viewing space. I was about on my third loop around
and losing all hope when my friend Jess arrived all excited that she’d bought
some art for her place. It was then that things changed for me.
 |
| My awesome fabric bag for $3 |
While Jess bought some
sheets – I found a massive overnight bag for $3 that was perfect for all my
fabric I’ve been hoarding for my sewing machine. On route back to pick up Jess’s
art, it was then that I saw them – the most beautiful wooden frames I could
ever hope to upcycle sitting there. Waiting. Begging me to purchase them. And
so I did.
And now my beautiful
frames sit proudly in my bedroom awaiting their transformation into something that
will one day hang on a woman’s wall (perhaps mine if they sit here too long)
displaying all her beautiful jewellery.
Can’t wait to see what
next year will bring!
