pearlescence
purveyor of pearls UK/EU
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2007
- Messages
- 4,055
Well, I finally have the opportunity to post a long note about my five weeks in the Manchester Christmas Market selling shed (or chalet as the city council calls it) (http://www.manchester.gov.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=1654)
The first thing to note is that it is indeed outside in the cold of an english winter so I wore so many layers that I could hardly move. Two pairs of thermal long johns when it was icy.
I had been put in one of the top positions of the whole city centre markets scheme, outside the Royal Exchange Theatre. This is the site of the original market which has grown to five locations, so it is the market that tends to be the one which many head for first, although the one outside the town hall tends to get lots of footfall. Exchange street is close to Harvey Nichols, Vuitton and other such classy shops so while there is not so much footfall those who came tended to look and often were pearl knowledgeable
Yes it was incredibly hard work, with ten hour days plus having to dash back to HQ (100 mile round trip) to keep up with internet orders every couple of days.
But it has been successful. I'm not entirely sure it has been successful enough for me to want to spend another five weeks next year out in the cold etc etc but I've done it and I am quietly pleased with myself and how it went.
While many customers were pearl knowledgeable some were most surely not and I collected some of the things said to me:
green pearls are when the oyster is sick
the hole is put in with a needle when the pearl is still soft after the oyster is opened
I really like these pearls, but my grandmother said pearls are unlucky so I won't buy them
I don't like pearls (wearing a pair of white studs...)
I've got some real pearls
little old lady to friend 'aren't these the colour you have been looking for?' ' no..I've been looking for a match for years now' <wanders off without looking at any other stock...>
These aren't pearls. pearls are round
can you match this (shows rose quartz chip bracelet) 'errr no, I only have pearls' 'okay, but do you have a necklace like this?'
several examples of people having got 'wish'pearls with silly valuations - not even natural colours - one got a green pearl (sick oyster?) from Anglesea Zoo in Wales. In Hawaii or san fransisco (I can't remember which now), there is an operation where they pretend to dive for pearls off the dock and lo - there is a pearl in every oyster brought up
In spite of what I thought was a fairly clear name sign I often got called pearl sense or pearl scene
The picture shows my assistant Ruth charming some customers.
The first thing to note is that it is indeed outside in the cold of an english winter so I wore so many layers that I could hardly move. Two pairs of thermal long johns when it was icy.
I had been put in one of the top positions of the whole city centre markets scheme, outside the Royal Exchange Theatre. This is the site of the original market which has grown to five locations, so it is the market that tends to be the one which many head for first, although the one outside the town hall tends to get lots of footfall. Exchange street is close to Harvey Nichols, Vuitton and other such classy shops so while there is not so much footfall those who came tended to look and often were pearl knowledgeable
Yes it was incredibly hard work, with ten hour days plus having to dash back to HQ (100 mile round trip) to keep up with internet orders every couple of days.
But it has been successful. I'm not entirely sure it has been successful enough for me to want to spend another five weeks next year out in the cold etc etc but I've done it and I am quietly pleased with myself and how it went.
While many customers were pearl knowledgeable some were most surely not and I collected some of the things said to me:
green pearls are when the oyster is sick
the hole is put in with a needle when the pearl is still soft after the oyster is opened
I really like these pearls, but my grandmother said pearls are unlucky so I won't buy them
I don't like pearls (wearing a pair of white studs...)
I've got some real pearls
little old lady to friend 'aren't these the colour you have been looking for?' ' no..I've been looking for a match for years now' <wanders off without looking at any other stock...>
These aren't pearls. pearls are round
can you match this (shows rose quartz chip bracelet) 'errr no, I only have pearls' 'okay, but do you have a necklace like this?'
several examples of people having got 'wish'pearls with silly valuations - not even natural colours - one got a green pearl (sick oyster?) from Anglesea Zoo in Wales. In Hawaii or san fransisco (I can't remember which now), there is an operation where they pretend to dive for pearls off the dock and lo - there is a pearl in every oyster brought up
In spite of what I thought was a fairly clear name sign I often got called pearl sense or pearl scene
The picture shows my assistant Ruth charming some customers.
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