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1 | The beginning of Liberty Bodies
I was racking my brains as to what I should write about and I decided that I should write about my experiences since I started Liberty Bodies last year.
What a roller coaster ride it has been!
Last year I had a stall at London, Nottingham, Oxford, Cardiff and Brighton Pride. This year I am so far booked in for Brighton Pride and YLAF and I am hoping that I am booked in at Manchester and I may be doing Cardiff again.
Having a stall is a strange experience; it’s like having a little square viewing screen opening onto all the fun and merriment going on at the other side of the table. The other strange phenomenon is that some people make comments about the merchandise as if we’re not there and so you do get the full on feedback experience, which can sometimes be very frank, and also very funny.
I love the buzz that I get from selling direct to the public; there is something hugely uplifting about designing a product, getting it produced, designing the packaging to be as eco friendly as possible and somebody then actually pays for it!
The other topic that took me completely by surprise is the fact that a lot of people said that they couldn’t buy the mugs because their mother doesn’t know they are gay and so they would have to de-gay the house when she came round. This was from both men and women. The funniest conversation I had was with two strapping Scottish guys who lived together and one of them said that his mother would go mad if she saw the men mugs in the house and so decided not to buy them. 4 hours later they returned, fairly merry, and in a fit of bravery, bought 2 men mugs.
I congratulated them on their decision to face the WRATH of MOTHER and they said ”Oh no, we’ve decided to leave them wrapped up under the stairs and wait ‘til she leaves!”
Of course my mother nearly fainted when she saw what I was selling and her comment was predictably “They’re disgusting!”
It didn’t come as a complete surprise I have to say, as I know she struggles with having a LESBIAN in the family but has accepted my partner finally, though still introduces her to people as my “friend.”
My one word of caution: don’t come out to your mother whilst she is driving, like I did – not a good idea!
Jan – Liberty Bodies. |
