….that before The Farm Chicks Fair became The Farm Chicks Fair….

I had tried for years to convince a local organization that I should organize a similar event annually, to benefit a charitable cause.  I eventually stopped trying to convince the organization it was a good idea and decided to hold a sale on my own.  I asked my friend Teri to join me in my dream of a little sale.

The sale was originally supposed to be held in this barn, owned by friends of mine:

When my friends grew concerned that the barn wouldn’t be big enough for the possible crowds, another friend, who I volunteered with at my children’s school, offered her barn as a substitute.

We named it The Spirit of the Farm Sale, hand-lettered homemade advertising signs in my living room, and my sister hand-drew our flyers:

I met a reporter for our local newspaper at a committee meeting for our schoolboard.  I told her about our planned upcoming event and she wrote a wonderful article:

The article attracted hundreds of shoppers:

After the second sale, we decided to change the name of the event into what we had called ourselves from the beginning: The Farm Chicks.  And the The Farm Chicks Fair was officially born.

The Farm Chicks Fair has proudly sponsored The Wishing Star Foundation and Spokane’s Junior League for many years.

IT'S ME, SERENA!

I bounced through the first years of my life in a hippie gypsy wagon, hand-built by my father, wandering the back roads of the U.S., Canada and Mexico. My family eventually settled into a tiny cabin in the woods on property that was once inhabited by Native American Indians.

I spent my childhood days searching for arrowheads, teaching myself to sew on a treadle sewing machine and to bake in a wood-burning stove, with no running water, refrigeration, or electricity in our home. My family lived frugally and early on, inspired by my parent’s thriftiness and style, I gained a knack for thrifty creativity and turning ordinary objects into something useful. And I dreamed of the home I would create for my own family someday.

Now I’m married to my husband, Colin, and our children are all grown. After 24 years of producing The Farm Chicks Vintage & Handmade Fair, I'm spending time visiting other markets around the world. You can watch episodes of Serena Goes to Market here.

I share more about my life story from time to time, here on my blog. You can also find me on Instagram, and Facebook.

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