<![CDATA[STABLES SWAP MEET - Blog]]>

<![CDATA[STABLES SWAP MEET - Blog]]>Sat, 03 Jun 2023 07:19:47 -1000Weebly<![CDATA[Dog Days of summer]]>Mon, 08 Aug 2022 01:44:03 GMThttp://stablesswapmeet.com/blog/dog-days-of-summer

Aloha Friends and Neighbors,

Please accept my apologies for being a rather inconsistent blogger. Mostly when there is something to announce is when I'm inspired to speak here.

Much has been brewing in the last year since we started up again. When we did, we weren't sure if we would be able to maintain our regular monthly schedule. So we opted for Seasonally. Stephen, my better half, and he who hosts the best treasure hunt booth, has been very busy with his day job- being a realtor. As you all know, it has been a hot market. As he is my main helper with the Swap Meet, I had to decide to give him a break and not switch back to monthly. It seems there is a little more momentum this way too, people look forward to it when it's not always happening.

Hawaiian Shores Community Events Committee has a regular booth at the Swap Meet and they are going to begin having a Community Puzzle & Book Swap. Bring a puzzle or book and swap it for another. They will also be happy to answer questions about the HSCA Community Association (but it will not be a complaint booth!).

I have to give a special shout-out to Nohealani and her Puna Kapuna's for hanging in with us and always ready to participate. We really do appreciate all the vendors old and new to make our Stables Swap Meet a fun community event to join in.

]]><![CDATA[Our RETURN!!]]>Mon, 12 Apr 2021 23:20:44 GMThttp://stablesswapmeet.com/blog/our-returnFinally, something we can all do besides playing Ground Hog Day every day for time on end! Yes, Saturday May 8 is our return date with our Covid Safety enforced Stables Swap Meet. Everyone will be required to wear a mask, all booths will be spread apart and mostly out back, and we will only be hosting these events SEASONALLY. That's right, only 4 times a year, plus a special Holiday Fair in December. All of the events will be held on the 2nd Saturday of February, May, August, November, and December. We are extending our operating times by an hour, and looking forward to seeing all our old friends.....And many new ones too!

I'm sure you are aware of the Real Estate boom over the last year. We will be welcoming many new neighbors. And for those of you who are new and would like to participate, get in touch. You must pre-register to participate as a Vendor though, see our Booth info page, or just come and shop.

Sadly we bid farewell, as we lost a few vendors since going on hiatus. Koa of Koa's Oils passed over a few months ago. Miss Kitty passed over a month or so before we closed. Anthony, Sonia's son also passed and Sonia moved to Florida . They all shall be missed greatly. ]]><![CDATA[2020-Whooooooaa!!!]]>Mon, 14 Sep 2020 21:21:36 GMThttp://stablesswapmeet.com/blog/2020-whooooooaaAloha Folks!

Yes, it HAS been a long time, eons it seems like! I didn't post anything at all last year, and we are now way past the halfway point of 2020. I certainly hope everyone is doing well, and that your lives have not been in an unmanageable upheaval. Mine has changed plenty, yet stayed the same. I'm now a bionic woman with a new knee since the end of January, and then the fun began.

We had to close down the Swap Meet as Hawaiian Shores deemed it cautionary to keep things safe. A couple of months ago, we even considered re-opening. After a survey of vendors where we didn't receive enough positive responses, we remain on the side of caution.

Sadly, this covid event has sidelined all of our lives. Hopefully you have managed to focus on the positive things one can do in life when left to ones own devices. Stephen and I have done a bit of reflecting on the future of Stables Swap Meet. It had become more of a monthly chore than a joy. We were not getting enough interest for the vendors to feel like it was worth their while , and there are a myriad of reasons around that.....which I won't address here and now.

What I will address is that we would like to continue in the future sometime, when life returns to a new normal. Possibly a seasonal Swap Meet? Four times a year plus our Holiday Fair. As for this years Holiday Fair..... the jury is still out. If we do, it may be only outside in the back, maybe only a few vendors indoors with all the windows and doors open. It may be a mix of gift vendors and second hand vendors. We shall see. It depends on how this all goes.

In the meantime, have no fear, only respect for the covid and for each other. Wear a mask to protect those who would need it, and yourself.
]]><![CDATA[Stables Swap Meet , 2 yrs old 3/10/18]]>Fri, 09 Feb 2018 08:00:00 GMThttp://stablesswapmeet.com/blog/stables-swap-meet-2-yrs-old-31018It's been busy times! I forget sometimes that I could be adding to this blog to communicate with interested Stables people here, so apologies are in order.

If you haven't visited with us lately, please do. We have lot's more vendors participating in both crafts, 2nd hand goods, and Food! We have hosted the WhattaWaffle truck a couple of times, Left Point Pizza, and our latest P&J's Tacos de la Calle. P&J's look to becoming regulars. They serve tacos tamales, and mexican breakfast omelets too. All can be boxed for later.

Last months swap meet (January) was very exciting. It was the day of the false missle "not a drill". I think we did pretty well. Everyone evacuated calmly and without haste. There were a couple of the older folks that felt that they were not gonna be much longer with us anyway, and opted to stay. We all returned and had a wonderful morning being serenaded by the Puna Kapuna Ukulele group. But I suspect our customers were glued to the TV screens because they sadly didn't return.

This month we have a Valentines incentive and we will have a few extra gift vendors . Please join us for breakfast, listen to some good music, and pick up some goodies for the ones you love. Next month (March), it will be our 2nd Birthday!
]]><![CDATA[Last Minute Holiday Shopping & Bake Sale]]>Sun, 06 Nov 2016 03:55:08 GMThttp://stablesswapmeet.com/blog/last-minute-holiday-shopping-bake-saleCan you believe that we are coming to the close of 2016? We have had a good year, and we truly appreciate all of our vendors for having the faith in us and keep coming back during the slow season.

Now we are headed into the season when all the snowbirds will return and new folks come to have a warm winter. I expect things to get very busy. Our Last Minute Holiday Shopping & Bake Sale is scheduled for the 3rd Saturday of December, the 17th. I know last year was a great showing of Vendors and a poor showing of shoppers. This year, now that people know we are here and not going away, I believe we will have a much busier Sale than last year.

I hope many of you will decide to give us a second chance. We have a great venue, great neighborhood, and good people here who will need last minute gifts. If anyone has any suggestions you would like to add for this year please let me know.

We also have 2 more Swap Meets till years end, and I look forward to a successful time for all!
]]><![CDATA[FIRST SWAP MEET A SUCCESS!]]>Wed, 13 Apr 2016 00:21:43 GMThttp://stablesswapmeet.com/blog/first-swap-meet-a-successSaturday morning folks sure like to get started early. Set up started at 7:30 and ran along smoothly and most vendors completed by 8. And THAT was a good thing because shoppers began to appear around the same time half an hour early. No problem tho, everyone was happy to see them and we had a steady stream for most of the morning.

There had been a little concern that we were the same day as HPP's swap meet, but it seemed like it was complementary as some shoppers form there came over here afterwards. We also had several inquiries for booth spaces in our next one , May 14th. Particularly, we are looking for food vendors, produce vendors & more yard sale folks. I do have one vendor signing up to sell coffee , which as we all know is much needed at 7:30 am!

We started small, with only 11 booths and have room for about 30. See our Gallery page for photos. All of the vendors were pleased at the end of the morning. So, if you're thinking of getting a booth, sign up soon, I think it will be a bustling market next time.]]><![CDATA[ALOHA & WELCOME TO THE STABLES COMMUNITY Swap Meet]]>Tue, 15 Mar 2016 23:57:31 GMThttp://stablesswapmeet.com/blog/aloha-welcome-to-the-stables-community-marketAs a resident of Hawaiian Shores for almost 20 years, I’ve never enjoyed it so much as this last year. We have classes and more open events for everyone to enjoy, not just the members of HSCA. Many newcomers and longtime residents as well are really interested in having more fun, social, and open events close to home.
Lately, one of our members Georgette Bell has been organizing classes that are being held at the stables. Restorative Yoga on Monday nights at 6pm, Gentle Yoga on Wednesday mornings at 10 am, Dog Training classes, Zumba & Qui Gong. There have been a couple of workshops too, like painting on silk. The classes are open to everyone, not just HSCA members.

In December I hosted a Last Minute Holiday Shopping Sale that attracted some really great vendors. That got me to thinking, we need a regular swap meet here, all the other communities have them! Turns out that the board thought so too and just needed the right person to organize it. They even re-graded the back of the stables to facilitate this.

So here I am, with quite a bit of experience of it too. In my hometown Chicago, I organized a huge yearly holiday sale that attracted up to 200 vendors at its height, plus smaller craft fairs during the year. After moving here and opening a bookstore/cafe in Pahoa in the 1990, I became one of the founding members of Mainstreet Pahoa and organized all of the craft fairs we hosted in town, including the original Farmers Market in the Akebono Parking lot, which eventually morphed into Makuu Farmers Market (tho I stopped being involved once it became the Farmers Market).

The vision for this market is for the community & residents to have a place to hold a yard sale without all the fuss of it being at home, people to share their overabundance of what's growing in their yards, artists and craftspeople to be able to display & sell their wares, and an extension for other small business people in a once a month venue.
I look forward to helping connect our communities this way and have some great ideas to make it more fun in the future. ]]>