Dubtoberfest - Not So Ace On The Base

We've traded at fifteen festivals and, just like with vintage fairs & markets, you expect the occasional duff event. Three years in and sadly last weekend's Dubtoberfest (held on the site of an old MoD airbase) was the one.

Saturday Evening on Vintage Street. More like Dereliction Alley if you ask me.

If it had been just us who hadn't done well we'd have put it down to having the wrong stock but when the tea stall had to give their cakes away for free and some traders hadn't even covered their £60 pitch fee then you know something was seriously amiss. In fact, between all three vintage clothes traders not one of us sold a single dress throughout the entire weekend which, with over 1000 camping tickets sold and hundreds of day visitors through the gates, is absolutely bizarre. 

We were promised an exclusive area packed with vintage traders, the entrance marked by a huge banner, there would be Hot Rods, a BMX display and a pop-up tea room. Instead we got a tiny chalkboard sign that most of us didn't even notice until Saturday afternoon, six vintage stalls surrounded by sellers trading in hand made, mass-produced or imported goods, a tiny caravan selling cake and a vintage truck parked at the end of the row. 

Admittedly gorgeous but, in my opinion, not a patch on this vintage Indian which belonged to the partner of a fellow trader.

Linking to Judith's Hat Attack #25

The Show & Shine, a big draw at any classic car show, was arranged on the runway behind us, instead of the usual set-up where the trade stalls face the display, enabling people to admire the vehicles and browse the market area at the same time. The way it had been arranged meant that the visitors only saw the back of our pitches so once they'd seen the display they headed back to the main arena, completely bypassing us.

I'd have liked to have shown you some photos of stylishly dressed shoppers but with the exception of our fellow traders you could have counted the number of women in clothes other than jeans, VW vests & hoodies on the fingers of one hand. If we'd have been given a programme we might have taken some photos of the activities we'd only heard about after reading about them on the Facebook page after we got home last night.

The bands only played during the evening so most of the weekend's musical entertainment came from our boombox. A rockabilly covers group did a live set on Sunday afternoon but, by then, the traders had already decided that we'd given it our best shot and were too busy dismantling our stalls (and battling with the gale force wind) to go and watch.  

If you ignored the stench wafting over from the neighbouring landfill site, the setting was picturesque, the sunsets were stunning, the toilets were immaculate and the company was fantastic.

With our friends Hannah & Laura from Make Do & Vintage

Several festival goers (admittedly one so pissed he could barely stand) told us it was the best weekend of their lives so Dubtoberfest must have been a success for some, just not if you're a trader.

We're off to spend all our profits on a slap-up lunch in Wetherspoons (a whopping £17 to show for the best part of four days of hard work).

See you soon!