Irene Cao, a painter I covered in this article previously, opened a stall in Hemel Hempstead, Marlowes Town centre, right in time for the bustling Christmas season, alongside other small businesses, food stalls and the likes!

On Saturday 24th November, bright and early from 8am to the dark British evenings at 4pm (why is it so dark already?), Irene Cao opened a stall selling her artworks, and spread her works to more people. However, it was very cold, so not many people were outside and able to visit her stall. So next time, she decided she wouldn’t pick a stall outside during the winter season, and instead pick one inside, where people would most likely be, and just pick a stall during summer.

“It was a great experience as many of my friends came to visit, support and buy my works, so although it was cold outside, it was warm inside my heart, as they stayed with me for a long time.” - Irene Cao

Irene wanted a stall to sell her artworks as she felt her artworks began stacking up and filling up space in her house, and her works weren’t selling when she put them up online. So she wanted to try a new method of getting them sold, in a stall, which during the cold winter months was not a good idea as nobody was outside.

Even though this time was not that successful, Irene won’t stop trying. Next time, she will pick a more populous and warm space to host a stall, so there will be more opportunities, and also, if possible, a place that has more art lovers. The one good thing about Hemel was that all her friends were local, so they all could visit her. The moral of the story, never give up, keep striving for your dreams!