*Today’s post was made possible by Perkins Hollow Retreat, and features content created during a gifted stay. All opinions are my own.

I don’t really know why folks make such a big deal about turning the big “4-0.” I reached the milestone this past April, and have actually loved the shift into this new decade. I still feel like me, and am looking forward to heading into this next season. It feels like my forties will be quieter—more settled, in a way. Maybe I’m able to say that because I’m childfree and I’m allowed to be a little more selfish with my time because of that choice, but the truth is that I’m feeling extra glad to fully embrace the sense of peace that I’ve afforded myself.

Speaking of peace, rather than a big blowout party or trip over the border to celebrate my birthday, I opted for a weekend away with just me and my little sister at Perkins Hollow Retreat in nearby Nelson County. My sister led the planning on this adventure, giving me two options for our getaway: a “staycation” an easy half hour away from home, or a city trip about two hours away. I’m sure you’re not surprised to hear that I ultimately chose the “staycation,” homebody that I am, and I’m so grateful that I made that choice because Perkins Hollow was perfect in every single way. It was the best weekend I’ve had in years.

We booked our weekend at The Cottage on Perkins Hollow’s property. This 1-room studio-style space had everything we needed and more: a screened-in porch that we used over and over again for yoga and conversation, a fully equipped fire pit area, outdoor bath and shower, full-size kitchen, luxurious indoor bathroom with a rain shower head, and quite possibly the most comfortable king size bed we’d ever slept on. I’m not exaggerating. This cottage was beyond cozy, so much so that we found ourselves making notes of who made the bed pillows, kitchen ceramics, and robes so that we could upgrade our own collections at home.

And did I mention that there’s a resident dog on the property?! River the black lab was a very welcome guest during our hangout time on the front porch. The first evening at the Cottage was spent unpacking and snapping all of the photos that you see in today’s blog post, then we immediately got into comfy clothes, poured some wine, and enjoyed a big storm that rolled through the area from our respective swivel chairs on the screened-in porch, River snoozing away on the floor beside us.

The following day, I got up early and spent a little time on the porch by myself with my book watching the morning light stream in through the screens, and then I made myself breakfast before waking my sleepy little sister up so that we could get the day started.

We spent our Saturday in downtown Charlottesville, which was just about a 40-minute drive away. We treated ourselves to some specialty stationary and pens from Rock Paper Scissors, perused handmade treasures at Cville Arts, shopped secondhand clothing at Darling x Dashing and Arsenic & Old Lace, then got lunch at Zocalo.

The one special thing I wanted to do for my 40th was get a nose piercing (my version of a “midlife crisis,” I guess, except a much more thrilling and joy-filled version!), so we headed over to ACME Tattoo after lunch to cross off this bucket list item. I only have a couple of traditional ear piercings, so getting something a little edgier was such an adrenaline rush. My sister wasn’t planning on getting anything herself, but ended up with another piercing in her ear to mark the occasion. I’m now officially addicted to piercings, and will definitely be getting more from our girl, Riess Ferrebee. Thank goodness my career is shifting toward the full-time art scene, where things like tattoos and piercings are more the norm!

After getting back home from our Cville excursion, we made ourselves a massive pot of caramelized fennel pasta, then ate on the cozy in-room leather couch while listening to throwback music from high school and college from a playlist that my sister had made the week leading up to our trip. A long soak in the outdoor tub in our bathing suits was the dreamiest way to end our one full day of the trip. River wandered over to play guard dog for us, and we chatted about movies and music with the evening bugs buzzing way up high in the trees above us.

As for the following day, we were sad to leave Perkins Hollow behind, but we spent our ride back home talking about ways to get back to the cottage along with our family. Let’s just say that plans are being hatched! Before getting all the way home, she and I ate breakfast at Belties in Nellysford, then we went to a sound bath that we had booked ahead of time at Afton Mountain Vineyards. It was glorious and such a relaxing way to finish off the trip of a/my lifetime.

I genuinely couldn’t recommend Perkins Hollow more if you’re looking for a quiet mountainside escape from it all. I would go again in a heartbeat. Everything was so impeccably decorated and the little details were all so clearly considered well ahead of time. I love its proximity to Charlottesville shopping and dining, too, as well as more rural destinations like the wineries all along the Nelson 151 Brew Trail and Glass Hollow Gallery in Afton. Comment or message me if you have any questions, and, before I go, I want to say a big “Thank you!” to the team at Perkins Hollow Retreat for hosting us and, of course, to my sister for planning the loveliest 40th birthday celebration that a quiet, homebody-leaning girl like me could ask for…

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I’m a newbie when it comes to being a vendor at art markets, but I did almost an entire year’s worth of what I’d call intensive research leading up to my first in-person market last December. I’ve now got three more solo seller events under my belt (all within the last three and a half weeks), so I’ve picked up lots of tips along the way. In case any of you are looking to grow your skill set in the world of selling at markets, whether you’re an artist, baker, vintage curator, or any kind of seller under the sun, I thought I’d share a breakdown of the most important advice I’ve gained while styling a booth or table setup.

DIY Beginner Art Market Booth Styling Tips:

1. Create height in your display by turning wooden crates like these on their sides and placing them at the back of your table. If you don’t love the look of crates, cover them with fabric to hide the boxes from sight. The bonus is that crates double as carrying totes for all of your market essentials before setting them out as display on your table!

2. Another way to add visual height to your booth is with smaller tabletop risers like these. You can arrange them in all sorts of ways on your table, so they allow you to really tap into your creativity, and help get your pieces up closer to eye level for your customers to view.

3. For a cleaner look, I would encourage you to gather risers and display stands all in one color scheme or finish. You’ll notice that almost all of my display accessories are in raw unstained wood. That consistent blonde-colored wood tone keeps the focus on my ceramics, not on the display itself.

4. When it comes to tablecloths, I always opt for a style that goes all the way to the floor. That way you can hide anything that you might stack or store underneath your table, like empty tote boxes and extra shopping bags.

5. Since my pottery is colorful, I went with a light cream tablecloth that doesn’t distract from my work, but if your collection is already in a neutral palette, consider using a tablecloth in a brighter accent color or black to help make your pieces pop.

6. A custom fabric or vinyl banner is a great thing to pin on the front of your table, or you can hang one up high at the back of your vendor tent. This creates brand recognition, and tells your customer exactly who you are from the moment they step up to your booth.

7. In a lot of cases, customers aren’t going to want to be forced to ask questions about your work, so make sure you have signage out that clearly communicates what certain pieces are. The function for my Peace Petals, for example, wasn’t immediately obvious during my first event (pictured in today’s post), so I later created a sign that said what they were—ceramic versions of worry stones—and now customers know exactly what they are without having to wonder or ask.

8. Keep pricing visible. I price every single thing on my table with a printed sticker, and if I notice browsers struggling to find the tag, I make sure to mention that everything is priced on the back. I think I’m eventually going to upgrade to these types of magnetic price signs once I get my collection to a more consistent grouping of items at more limited price points, that way customers don’t even have to pick up an item to know what it costs.

If you’d like to know where everything from my beginner booth setup came from, you can click here for a full linked list. As I said, I’m still very much in the learning stage and have yet to even put together a tent-style vendor booth, but I’m hoping to get accepted to a few larger markets later this year so I can get more experience under my belt. The good news is that I think a lot of the same rules apply when it comes to styling a booth, whether you’re in a 10×10-foot tent or have just a 4-foot table to your name. The more events I’m a part of, the more tricks I pick up, so I’ll be sure to update this post if I think of anything new. In the meantime, feel free to use the comments section of today’s post to share your own advice!

*This post contains affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission when you purchase products that I recommend at no additional cost to you. This allows me to provide free creative content for you to read, save, and share. Rest assured that I never recommend products we wouldn’t use or don’t already love ourselves.

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