Every 4 years in Douarnenez, France, where I lived, there was a big event of old sailboats. It brought a lot of people in what was otherwise a 20000 people city. I lived in a farm, my parents had a quite big garden and in any place that’s 100 years old there was old garbages laying around. If you wanted to find some piece of old material you could just lurk around to find them. It was easy to find slates.
I was about 10 years old. I had fun carving very stylized old sailboats inside
slates.
My mother was very admirative of things I made, because she is a mother, but this time, carved slates were quite cool. I can’t remember how I figured out that I could sell them, but one morning I installed a little showcase next to where my parents sold vegetables. I had often sold with them, so this was a place where it felt normal to be. It was the first day of festival.
All the stock sold very quickly, so quickly that my little sister had to help
me to sell slates as I was making new ones.
The next day we were back again with all the slates that we had found. Some things are easy to sell. We were at the perfect place, feeling authentic
because we were two little kids selling stuff we had made. It sold so well that my mother said that we outperform her that day.
I regret one thing, one of the people who approached me at that time was a
russian sailor who came in on a military boat. He had no money, and would have like to trade one against a plastic pin of no real value. I didn’t really understand what he wanted, so I refused. I’m really sorry he was disappointed. Today I wish my little slate had come to sail on the sees.
After that I pickup the money and bought a box of lego. It was something I
really wanted, but now when I’m thinking at this story, I had more fun,
creating and selling stuff than playing with my little game box.