New Gazebo!

Gimme Shelter

If you’ve ever been to Wellington, NZ, you will know why the thought of outdoor markets gives so many stallholders anxiety. I have certainly done my share – trying to catch flying stock, hanging onto gazebos and umbrellas, worrying about rain, dealing with mud, watching the sky constantly… It can be calm and sunny when you leave the house, and by the time you pull over to start setting up, it’s like a totally different season. We have had gale force winds, snow, floods, electrical storms, weatherbomb lows… 

​And then there are the proper summer days. They say that you can’t beat #Wellingtononagoodday, and I have to agree – my city is simply stunning, when she feels like it. Thing is, here in NZ, we’re also dealing with something else – the ozone layer is thinner here, so we have a higher risk of sunburn and, of course, skin cancer. So whether the weather is foul or fair, we stallholders need a decent roof over our heads.

​The thing is, a cheap gazebo is more hindrance than help - and anyone who has ever seen a gazebo cartwheeling down a busy street can confirm that you need the sturdiest frame and fabric, as well as some serious leg-weights, to survive the Wellington winds.
I asked around other Wellington stallholders, listened to their horror stories and lessons learnt, and made my decision - I was going to get a Hercules gazebo.

I knew that I wanted a 3x3m, and I knew that I wanted it to be mainly white, so that the colour of the canopy didn't  affect the colour of my wares. I decided to spend the extra to get a custom-printed gazebo – why miss out on that opportunity? Luckily, Hercules have a very helpful set of packages on their site, which really helped guide my decisions:
http://www.herculesstore.co.nz/index.php?route=product/category&path=64
What frame? What sort of bag? What printing package?
With their advice, I chose the Pro 37 frame, and it was excellent at its first market yesterday – easy to set up, reassuringly sturdy, and it looked amazing. I can’t stop looking at the photos, and I want to share them with everyone - I’m like a proud new parent :)