Craft Fairs

I know it is getting time for the outdoor craft fairs. I thought I would start a discussion about outdoor craft fairs and such.

I love getting to talk to the customers and see what they think of the pieces. It is great feedback don't you think?

Here is a pic of my booth from a few years ago. I try to change it up a little.

Tags: craft, fairs

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Permalink Reply by SusanThornton on March 21, 2008 at 3:31pm: This is the pic I thought I was loading. I fixed the booth so that it wasn't so harsh an metal-tech-looking. Those heads are just crazy looking but they are fun.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by AM Designs on March 23, 2008 at 11:06pm: Either of these layouts would attract me. What are you using for a table skirt?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Gypsy Moon Designs on March 25, 2008 at 9:18am: Both pics look great. I am so excited for the craftshows to start up! I do one every saturday that will start early May and run thru mid Oct. I am going to redo my booth this year. I found a waist high wood table at goodwill this winter. I am going to paint the top gold and the legs something colorful, lapis blue I think. I have a lot of plans and may have to wait to implement them after the money starts to flow.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by SusanThornton on April 21, 2008 at 7:02pm: I've been thinking of using tables I saw some at IKEA ant they had screw on legs you could get at several different lengths. I thought it would be easy to travel with.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by SusanThornton on April 21, 2008 at 7:01pm: I use hardware cloth and cellophane.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Gecko Jewelry on April 30, 2008 at 5:05pm: I love your first display it is beautiful. I have not done a craft show yet. I am on 2 waiting list and hope to get something going this summer as well. Thanks for the pictures!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Char Ouellette on July 15, 2008 at 3:25pm: Your displays look great!

I have not done one yet but it just seems overwhelming to me.
Do you know where, if anywhere I could find a list of essentials to do a jewelry layout. (Tent, tables, etc) Also ideas of where to purchase?
Thanks so much,
Char; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Wanda Kalbach on July 15, 2008 at 4:10pm: Char:

For a list of things for a craft fair booth, check out this site... http://www.home-jewelry-business-success-tips.com/ There's a lot of info on the site and Rena's e-Book is very good for someone starting out.

I have 2" x 4" folding tables I purchased at Sam's Club. The legs adjust from rather short, to standard table height, to about waist high. I use the highest setting to keep the jewelry closer to eye level.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Char Ouellette on July 15, 2008 at 5:06pm: Thanks Wanda!
I guess I should start accumulating wha tI need and possibly get started doing shows next summer.
Thanks for the link and help!
Char; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Overloaded Noggin on July 16, 2008 at 11:53am: I think your photos look very cool. We just did our first show. It was not a craft show but a town festival. We got some business but did not do as well as we hoped.

A few things to mention to others as we were learning on the go and want to share from our experience.

1) We did the right thing and tested our tent prior to going. Others did not and had issues with their tents. Make sure you know how to set it up ahead of time.

2) One thing we did not do was to set up our whole table structure ahead and found we ran out of space quicker than we realized.

3) We made nice signs with pricing to go over each area but not one large sign for outside out tent. Some stuff was never seen as people did not know what was inside

4) We rearranged our tent part way though the festival as we had set it up with a U shape of tables inside with the whole front open. We thought it would be a nice open flow for people to enter. We found part way through that moving a table with some displays to the front brought more people over.

5) displays we purchased kept blowing over. We tested our displays indoors and they looked great, but did not think about wind. Make sure your displays are heavy enough to stay put.

Now I have a few questions on this though. We had two people come by who want to talk to us about doing wholesale to put our items in their shops. How do most people do this in the industry? What is the minimum order for wholesale? What sort of percentages off? Etc.

Thanks for any advice!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Holliday Smith on August 12, 2008 at 2:01am

I have been doing art in the park type shows for years. I currently use 6' folding tables I purchased at Sam's club. I also have 2 of their ezup tents. One thing I did was buy risers for the tables. They are made for beds but I use them for the table legs. Puts the tables up to a height that customers don't have to bend over the tables. Another thing I did was buy plant stands from Menards ($5 each) and have plexi glass inserts made for them. They make great tri level stands and add eye level interest. I have attached a picture so that you can see what I'm talking about.

Holliday Smith
Dragonseye Glassworks

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