The last time we shared anything on this blog was late 2019! Our best craft fair season yet had just closed and we had no idea what was about to land on everyone’s head in 2020! For better or for worse, everything ground to a halt that year, and it wouldn’t be till early 2023 that we at Ashtree Wildcrafting finally felt we could get back into the craft fair scene selling our wildcrafted, locally foraged loose leaf tea. Our first craft fair this year was in March, which led to two more craft fairs and Marilynn’s first holistic fair as a Natural Health Practitioner offering Biblical Natural Health Coaching. We tried being a vendor at the Canada Day Bazaar this year, and won’t be doing that again.
Summer foraging and processing was both a bumper crop this year, and very different in where and how we obtained our wild-gathered food. At the Lumby Days craft fair in June, we got permission to visit a private property not far from Lumby, and that netted us Comfrey, Lemon Balm, Elecampane, Crab apples, Burdock root, and more! While Comfrey grows wild on Vancouver Island, we hadn’t seen it wild here in the Okanagan yet, so that was very exciting for us!
Private property where Ashley keeps her horse was full of Arrowleaf Balsamroot, yarrow, pine trees, fir trees, mustard weed, Hound’s Tongue, Great Mullein, Common Mallow, and Lamb’s Quarters. We’d also find St. John’s Wort growing wild and learn about Peppergrass!
Our fall season was initially starting out way too slow for comfort this year, with Marilynn up at the Vernon Wellness Fair in late September, and then at a small fall craft fair in our neighbourhood. It was at that fair that we learned other vendors were being run off their feet, and we got invitations to two other fairs. Checking Castanet’s event listings in late November revealed SO MANY craft fairs that one could easily crawl 5 different fairs every Friday, Saturday and Sunday till mid-December! Marilynn scanned the list for any fairs that might be a good fit for us, and now it was our turn to have busy weekends! By December 10th, we’d have ourselves booked for over 6 fairs where we’d only expected two, spread across 4 weeks.
Suffice to say that as we head toward December 10th, we’ve had an incredibly successful Fall/Christmas craft fair season, and Marilynn says our calendar is already filling up for 2024! You’ll notice the website has had an update! This is to accommodate a calendar to let you know where we will be.
We have plans for two new tea blends. It’s amazing how many requests we received this fall for a tea that helps with sleep. We believe we’ve found a blend that chemically acts to help the body sleep, while offering a pleasant taste and scent.
New to our table this year at the various fairs, has been the offer of reusable cloth tea bags. Those are not yet in the Tea Shop, but they are in the paper order form that accompanies the tea brochure on our table.
Prices are:
ATW-RTS – Small Reusable Tea bag – $1.50
ATW-RTM – Medium Reusable Tea Bag – $2
ATW – RTL – Large Reusable Tea Bag – $2.50
The tea bag sizes are in ranges just how they were cut and sewn. These are homemade from upcycled curtain sheers obtained from the thrift store. This is part of our desire to reuse and recycle. Current fabric contains natural fibers, and they stain! Articles we’ve read about 100% polyester say it is very difficult to stain and that it doesn’t accept natural dyes very well. So we are thrilled that our effort to reuse and upcycle this fabric has meant obtaining stainable fibers!
They make great gifts, and they fit in perfectly with children’s $5 craft fair allowances!
Stay tuned to the website for news of when the two new teas will be available. Tea purchases here on the site are at full price and shipping fees are automatic with the purchase. If you live in Kelowna however, we can refund the shipping fee, and make arrangements for pick-up/drop-off, such as holding your order for you at our next craft fair.
Keep an eye on the calendar in 2024, and we hope to see you around!
