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Guilds of Requiem began as hopes and dreams in 2016, after nature decided to give our founder a "Life Changing Event" and Corporate America continued to prove that if you have a disability, then you lack the ability to work for them. When she founded her expanded business "empire", in October of 2016, the one thing she missed was going to themed events. For almost two years, she insisted on going to as many events as she could and gave the venues something extra to "talk about" when it comes to "eccentric" vendors. Her eccentricity quickly became a selling feature and events began to recruit her and her handcrafted soaps for their events. After a bout with a stomach bug, she had missed the cutoff dates to many Thanksgiving weekend markets in 2017. She didn't let it bring her down and approached her father-in-law about having a marketplace at the front of the property in Pipe Creek, Texas and the Black Pirate Market was born followed by the Yuletide Market in December.
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Everything else from there is history in topping each previous event, being good natured about the nickname they had received from many locals, adding a new level of uniqueness, and keeping on doing what she loves: Being the best at everything she touches. As personal life kept adding to her challenges, she began to recruit more people into the Guilds, and a more concrete foundation was laid for everything that her business had come to represent. Being acknowledged by the IRS as a Non-Profit Private Foundation/Corporation in 2022, then seeing they back dated that recognition to when they formed as a Texas non-Profit Corporation in 2020, is easily her most favorite accomplishment. From here, Guilds of Requiem, Inc and Requiem's Events will only get bigger and better while retaining the initial philosophy laid out in 2016.
Requiem's Events were created with the community in mind.
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The Community we live in
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The Community of Vendors
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The Community of Bandera County Businesses
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The Community of Guilds of Requiem, Inc as a whole
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The Community We Live in:
Everyone dreams of "country living", but many fail to realize the price that comes with this is fewer entertainment options and even fewer affordable entertainment options. Our first goal is to insure that our events are affordable to everyone in the community and that begins with free admission to our events. We would rather see our guests put their hard earned dollars to work with the vendors and any activities that are being hosted at the event. To this end, we also aim to ensure that our events remain family friendly as well.
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The Community of Vendors:
Just as we were once vendors just starting out, living paycheck-to-paycheck, and needing to keep an eye on expenses, so are many of the vendors at our events. Some interesting facts about one of our main events Ren Faire of Bandera County:
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Black Pirate Market 2017 - 75% of our vendors were in their first year of business, whether it was a hobby turned Small Business or a Direct Sales Affiliate still learning about their products and selling at events
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Black Pirate Market 2018 - that percentage of first year vendors went up to 80%, with an additional 5% living on a fixed income or just trying to make ends meet
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Ren Faire of Bandera County 2019 - This was the year we changed the name of the event to better represent everything that was happening at it - 60% of vendors were in their first year of sales, 25% of vendors were living on a fixed income, and 5% of vendors relied upon markets for a bulk of their annual sales
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2020 and 2021 - We believe that it is universally agreed upon that these two years did not happen
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Ren Faire of Bandera County 2022 - 50% of vendors in their first year, with at least two vendors at their first market, 30% of our vendors were on fixed incomes, and 10% of the vendors relied solely on market sales for their income
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The Community of Businesses in Bandera County:
This is way more than just the venue location, it is also bringing additional value to the businesses around our events. This is a cultured relationship that we have built since 2017, when we announced the formation of the Marketplace of Pipe Creek. We have survived rumors, a pandemic, and personal crisis right along with the entire Bandera County Community. Through it all, we have strived to impart that as a community of businesses working together, we can go further than everyone being "alone".
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The Community of Guilds of Requiem, Inc.:
Many businesses only have to answer to themselves when it comes to making decisions. We started out as a Sole Proprietorship that we could have easily said, "We are in this for the money." We didn't. From day one, those who joined the Guilds of Requiem Family understand that we had three purposes: Create a Community/Network of Craftsmen, Tradesmen, and Producers; Open exchange of knowledge and skills; and give more than we receive. That philosophy is what guided us in the hosting of events and is the continuing guiding principle in all that we do.
