My Craft Show Season Summary

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Well another year has come and gone doing craft shows. As far as rating how I did I would say on a scale of 1 to 10, about a 7 or 8. The first show I did was a show that was trying to make a comeback. It had been slipping over the last 5 years and after talking with crafters and trying to find out what to do to turn it around not much difference showed. There were about 125 crafters and the attendence was down even with the great effort in advertising. If it weren't for my regular customers who look for me at this show I would not have done well. I had a couple show up with pictures of all the things they bought from me over the years and how they were placed throughout the house. I must say it made me feel good and was happy they were happy. At this show I sold the 20 of my turned birdhouses and thought they were going to be a huge hit but only sold 3 others at later shows. Other things that were a hit this year were napkin holders, armed forces clocks, desk watches ( both solid band and flexband). Also big were my fruit baskets both large and small. These always sell good.

The next week was another show and at this show there were 75 crafters and I had one table so my sales were about half of what I did the previous week.

The next week was a show I never did before but knew of it's reputation as being a large show and a well run show. It was a large show with over 300 crafters and the quality of crafters was A+++ It was in a affluent town and the crowd that came out was great but have to say even though it was a one day show it was my worse of the 3 and I thought it would be my best. People were not taking their hands out of their pockets. I was surprised. I did meet some talented turners there that gave me a few pointers so all was not lost.

I have to say with all 3 shows I cleared after booth fees and all about $6000 Now this is a far cry from years ago and it seems it still is going down hill at least in my area. I still hear all the nice compliments but all the excuses as to why not buy also. I am not sure you can blame the economy as much this year but the jury is still out on that one. I did pick up a few orders and am currently working on them. I guess it was still a good experience to get out there and mingle with potential buyers. I am still trying to weed out some older stock and will be adding more turning items next year and other different clocks that have been requested.

Well that is my story and I hope things are going well for those who have done shows and are still doing shows. This is a good place to tell us what you have been finding and also if there are things you will be doing different next year. We should always use what we learn from year to year to our advantage.

[pops-shop]

Clearing that much sure give you a lot of "play" and "toy" money.
I cleared just shy of that - we went to 6 shows this year. Of course, the Quarter Maps were still our best seller by far. (JT, even sent a couple to your neck of the woods.)
For those that complain about the economy being down, folks seem to really have spendable cash on hand for well-made hand-crafted items.

[Deanna]

WOW! I thought I was doing well when I came home from my sales with over a thousand lining my pocket! Mind you, I only did two shows.. with one more to go.

I have yet to travel out of town for any shows, but it is certainly something that I want to do... but, I may not get to do that any time soon as I have just accepted a full time position, so my "shop hours" will dwindle considerably.

In my limited experince, I have found that my wall hangings do not sell well, but they do attract alot of attention. I sold a huge amount of Christmas tree decorations at my last sale. I made a few Christmas clocks and the lit Nativity scenes, and those also sold well.
Speaking of which, I better get busy, cause I have three more Nativity scenes waiting to be finished!

I'm glad to hear that you are back to the shows JT. You may have not done as well as previous years, but I think it's a good step to get out there again!

Deanna

[thebigv]

Ok now I am more then ever interested in getting into these craft shows. I have always thought that would be a great way to make some extra money. I know the pay per hour is not grreat but hey I would even be happy with an extra 500 to 750 a year around christmas.
What is the best way to get into selling works? I am wondering if doing farmers markets once in a while would be better as a beginner then large craft shows.

[pops-shop]

Deanna

Regarding the nativity scenes - aren't you finding it absolutely amazing that they are doing so well????? I have sold 16 and am quiting for the year. :eek:

[GrayBeard Phil]

TheBigV:

Fred gave me this link a few years ago, I pass it along with strong recommendations:

http://www.craftlister.com/

I also endorse the advise I received:

1- Go to the craft show before you pay your fee.
2- Look over the other vendors, get a feel for what type of products are being offered.
3- Go with shows that have a track record, or in other words: shows that have been around for several years.

and I add the following: Learn what you can about the debate between shows that have a lot of import re-sellers as opposed to cottage crafted items. The link above has loads of debates on this issue.

JT:

Welcome back, and glad to hear from you again. You don't sound as down on crafting and craft sales like you did last spring. Congratulations on your sales.

Phil

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Hi Phil,

Good to hear from an old friend and yes last year was down year because two of my popular shows decided to shut down and it was late in the year and I was unable to get replacements. I still see though the craft shows are just not what they used to be and there are many factors. But having made a few dollars this year does take away the sting. It always is a good moral booster hearing all the kind words from people, of course you would like that to translate to dollars but that does not always happen.

BigV

Phil gave you some good pointers to start with and am sure others will chime in. You do want to scout out prospective shows especially if you are putting up some fees for tables. But to get the feet wet it is perfectly fine to find a small show and get noticed. Talk to customers and get a feel for what they want. Talk to other crafters and get a feel for doing shows and what to expect. Crafters always like to share knowledge. Pricing is always a big issue but here again it comes with experience. You will learn what price range your stuff will be in. There is no other feeling when people actually pay you for your projects. Good luck.

[wisconsinwoodch]

I must say ,this year has been the best year I have had in the last ten years,I have ben doing shows for about twenty five years . This year I did twenty shows, Thirty is the most I have did , It gets to be a big drag after about fifteen. I will not do any thing that says farmers market or flee market. I perfer art shows or art and craft shows. juired is perfered. This year I found that the custumer that was buying was the hi end items the one doller ,three dollar items were slow .the five dollar ones were good, but the three & five hundred dollar items were the ones selling. I also sold four of my collector train & tressel pic. They run twenty eight hundred & fifty dollars each. that just dont figure, I usualy sell one a year since I started it .I interduce one new car a year, to add on , every custumer has called and ordered the new car ever year. Good Luck To Every One. :) :) :) :)
thewisconsionwoodchuck

_______________________________
www.wisconsinwoodchuck.com

[Deanna]

Fred: 16? Really 16??...wow, you must be bored stiff with making those! Now, I didn't sell nearly that many.. but I guess I've only made two for the sale.. sold them right quick, another one ordered, and would have sold a fourth if I it was ready at the sale. Truly, am not suprised, it is my favorite pattern, I think. But I also really like Tom Sevy's patterns.... tried to order some more off the internet, but I can't read his website (german)! This time around, I stacked enough to make three complete sets... and I have to tell you, I hope only two sell.... I want one ;)

The BigV - Why don't you tell us where your from... in my opinion, it will make the difference on the advice you get. For example, I live in a really small town, and there are only a couple of sales I can get into a year, but the table rental is also only 20.00. I've read here that sometimes tables or booths can go for 200 plus.... so that will really help make a difference in deciding how to approach. This is my second year doing craft fairs, so I am still very new to the game, but I can tell you, even though I was terrified last year, I jumped in with both feet. My head was high when I came home last year with $400..... It was the first time I had ever really even shown people what I made... so it was quite nerve racking.... I was scared nothing would sell or there would be critisisim.. but it went fine. And this year went even better!

How busy is the farmers market that you are thinking about going into? Might be worthwhile to head down and spend an hour or two next time and see what the crowds are like? How much does a table cost? If the table isn't too expensive, it might be worthwhile to try the farmers market. I know that in my little community, the farmers market is not really well attended, which is why I am would be a little concerned.

Regardless of which show you pick, be sure to browse a bit on this forum for posts about craft shows.... there are some really really good tips here, that will make the first show go so much easier.... Good luck!

Deanna

[Woodbutcher68]

I've also had my best year ever, just over $1000.00 with my final show this Saturday. I tried a couple of shows this year that I hadn't done before and was pleased with two of them and disappointed with one. I also tried a couple of new ornaments this year. Believe it or not, two of my best selling Christmas ornaments are a Mennorah and a Star of David....figure that one out! I'm also selling ornaments that I couldn't give away two years ago. My turned items haven't done well this year, but ornaments are selling out.
I had another guy selling the same type of ornaments and crosses at two of my shows and had people comment that his ornaments are only $1.00 each (Mine run from $2.00-$8.00) and some of his crosses are half the price of mine. I get to explain the differences between using plywood and staining, (his method) and using solid wood with a natural finish (my method). (I explained this to a girl in the booth next to me once and she passed it on to her customers who made comments to her. Helped me make a couple more sales.) I'll sell 20-30 per show, while he takes his home. I've also put up a couple of signs stating that all items are solid wood and no stains or dyes are used.

[pops-shop]

Deanna

I have made four for myself and each of them got sold. Finally I made one that has 25 lights in it (including a light that comes down in front of the star. That is the only one that I won't sell - - - well - - - - if someone wants to pay me $350 for it - color it GONE. :cool: