Miles, Markets & a Little Bit of Madness

I pulled into home at 3 a.m. last night after a weekend in Ohio.

By Friday, I’ll be packed up and heading to Delaware.

And somewhere between unloading the car, unpacking bags, restocking products, answering messages, doing laundry, and figuring out what needs to be made before the next market, I’m supposed to pretend this is a completely normal way to live.

It is not.

The Part You Don’t See Behind the Booth

When you visit Reberry at a market, you see the finished version.

The booth is set up. The products are displayed. Everything has its place. I’m there talking, laughing, helping people find something that speaks to them, and probably rearranging something on the table for the hundredth time.

What you don’t see are all the miles that came before it.

One weekend might mean loading everything up and heading to Ohio. A few days later, it all gets packed again for Delaware. Then another market, another city, another hotel room, another stretch of highway.

There are late-night drives, early mornings, gas station stops, sore feet, forgotten meals, weather watching, unloading, loading, and the occasional moment of wondering why the hell I willingly signed myself up for this.

And then the doors open.

And Suddenly, It’s Worth It

Someone walks into the booth and laughs at a shirt I designed.

Someone picks up something I made with my own hands and immediately says, “I need this.”

A customer tells me they came specifically to find Reberry again.

I get to meet people who love the same strange, witchy, sarcastic, beautiful things that I do.

And just like that, the exhaustion takes a back seat.

There is something incredibly special about watching something I created at home travel hundreds of miles and end up in the hands of someone who genuinely loves it.

That part never gets old.

Building a Business Somewhere Between Here and There

Running Reberry this way isn't easy.

Sometimes “being your own boss” looks a lot less like freedom and a lot more like getting home at 3 a.m. from one state and realizing you have four days before you need to leave for another.

But those miles are becoming part of Reberry's story.

Every market brings new people, new memories, new ideas, and usually a few new things I suddenly realize I need to make.

So yes, I'm tired.

Yes, my stuff is currently somewhere between just got home and needs to be packed again.

And yes, on Friday, we're doing it all over again.

Delaware, here we come.

Because apparently, a little bit of magic requires a whole lot of mileage.

-Rebecca