The Old Sun Shop

Fieldwork Week Six

 

             Today was a nice day. A little bit breezy, blue skies, and not to hot or cold. The flow of people was pretty steady all day and would get a little busy from time to time. I had the candle light and the door open for most of the day.

              The day started off pretty good with quite of few sales of small items such as the semi-precious stone bracelet, crystal bracelets, angel bells, and crosses. However, a little bit of drama aroused with Boss and potter venders from Mexico. Boss had to leave by noon to take care of other business. Pottery vendors were supposed to show up before or not come at all because they knew that Boss had other important things to take care of. Vendors called the store past one ‘clock and asked to speak with Boss. I was telling them that Boss was not working until Monday when the call got disconnected. I contacted Boss and she told me she could not come back in until Monday and to let them know. I tried to call back but there was no answer.

              Around 2:00 P.M. vendors called again. They explained to me that the bridge to cross from Mexico did not open until noon. I let her know that the Boss was not going to be able to come in. She insisted on coming anyways and having the Boss come see her. I told her I would see what I could do. I contacted Boss and let her know of the situation. She was upset that they did not contact her that they were running late until three hours later after their appointment. Already annoyed Boss told me once again that she was very occupied and could not make it back in to work until Monday. About 40 minutes later the vendors showed up. I let them know once again that Boss could not come back in to work. The vendors said they had talk to her the day before and that she would be there at 10:00 A.M. I reminded them that she set an appointment with them and let them know that she would have to leave by noon. Vendor asked if I could call her. Knowing how furious Boss would get I simply replied that Boss made it very clear to me that she could not come in until Monday. They asked if I could give them her cell phone number. Remembering that Boss asked me to never give out her personal number I told them that that was personal information I was not given permission to give out. Vendor looked very upset but kindly said “very good” and left.

              Besides the very unpleasant drama I was stuck in the middle of, the rest of the day went pretty well. A few pigs sold and a large majority were noticing the pigs and complementing them and over all chatting about them. Last time I had left the door open not many people noticed the pigs. They remained in the same spot, in front of the door, and where noticed quite a bit and even sold a couple. Some pigs have a bare back and I got asked today if they were for candles or even planters. Since they are made from clay I told them they could be planters if they liked or could put a small candle or simply decoration if they wished. Many like the sound of that and the different uses of the pigs with a bare back.

              I noticed that having the door open today seemed to bring more people in. Usually people who don’t want to come in the store continued walking by. Today people who were just walking by would look in for a quick glance and most walked in to take a better look. It’s funny how simply having the door open can bring in more customers.

              With the candle burning the room filled up with the beautiful smell of birds of paradise. Even with the door open the smell remained quite strong. I noticed that people either loved it or had some kind of perfume/scent problem. Today was a bit unusual that a lot of customers complained about having a scent problem. Some complained very dramatically like if they were about to die and others liked the smell but said that they could not stay in the store too long. Others quietly and politely stepped out without making a big scene.

                             There was a Hispanic couple that came in and quickly asked what the smell was. I let them know it was our candle and the name of the scent. The lady quickly walked to the candles and started to smell them. She tried a few other scents but went with Bird of Paradise. She didn’t even bother to look around at the store and quickly brought up the candle to me to pay for it. After the purchase she looked around a little bit with her partner. Before they left I noticed that they were both wearing white caps and dark blue clothes. By how similar they dressed and even the way they acted was almost as if they were perfectly in sync with each other.

              Near closing time a very nice couple came in.  They were dressed in southwestern attire. The lady heard the country music and started snapping her fingers to the beat and even swaying her hips a little. The man looked at some wallets and asked if we had a certain one in black. I apologized and let him know that that was all we had left. He asked if I made them and I simply replied with “no” and I giggled. He then started teasing and said “Aw man I was going to buy all of them if you made them.” He kept teasing and cracking jokes with me and his wife. He was quite the upbeat person. Finally the man went to stand next to the lady and the lady grabbed his hand and started dancing in the store. The man stopped and said “careful, they might charge us for dancing in the store”. Lady and I both started laughing. They looked around a little longer and left. As they left I thanked them and wished them a great afternoon and they replied the same.