The lines to get to the observatory at the Empire State Building are pretty long. This is what I learned from my first trip to the Renegade Handmade store in Chicago, the consignment shop spin-off of the Renegade Craft Fair. I learned this, because this is what the woman who sat at the counter was talking about on the phone while she ignored the four of us. We were walking around the area scoping out spots for our new Kids' store, and wanted to drop into Renegade Handmade not only to inquire about the area - but to buy stuff. The conversation that she should have been having was with the customer who was trying to get her attention to see what she could do to keep the six prints he wanted to buy from getting wet in the rain. And yes, that customer was me. One of us did buy something, and he managed to get a question in during checkout. The cashier didn't bother to put the phone down. Nice.

Mostly, I feel bad for the artists who trust Renegade Handmade to be an outlet to sell their goods. I hope they're not putting all their hand-painted eggs in one hand-woven basket.