We are into the new year, and that means a new round of markets to trade at. It felt appropriate to start the round just after Yule, with one at Frerin's Court, near Thorin's Hall. Many of us are from the area, so it was especially convenient. I did a particularly brisk trade, although rather shamefully, I had already run out of cloaks before I reached the market! I should have known better in the depths of winter!
I was able to correct that mistake by the time the second market of the year came round. It was only a little further down the road from the first, at Gondamon. And that time, I did remember to stock some cloaks. They sold well, too. Although the evening ended on a sour note with a missing fish dinner and Master Geoadoc worrying whether it was a goblin invasion or just a hungry local wild cat. No goblins appeared, and we all got home without trouble.
This week's market, on the 12th January was in the Shire, at Needlehole. I had been there once before for a market and it poured down with rain. The weather was much better this time, bright sunshine - and that seemed to bring out the customers. We had many visitors, including several that I certainly had not seen before, so it appears word of our market is getting out, not only to other Dwarves, but also to hobbits, and there even appeared to be an Elf or two!
Naturally, the hobbits gravitated towards the food stall, rather than my armour and shields, but I made some good sales, as well as receiving some advice about what I might like to stock in the future.
I am studying as best as I can to improve both my tailoring and metal-smithing, but progress is steady rather than fast. You cannot rush learning these techniques - rushing will lead to shoddy craftsmanship and I would never want that! Although my sales career is young, nonetheless, I like to be sure that, whatever they buy from me, my customers are getting the best quality that I can offer, made with care, not rushed through.
It helps that I am starting to venture further afield, into areas where ores are more plentiful. Hopefully this will also mean being able to attend markets that are a bit further afield too. There are some places my colleagues go to that I have only seen on maps!
I like to think that, by this time next year, I will have been to some of those places too!
