Today's Silver Price: $32.18/t.oz.
When I started thinking about selling my jewelry and paintings at craft shows I figured I should do some research on the subject. I knew absolutely nothing about it. How do you find shows? How do you get into shows? How much does it cost? Do I need my own table? Do I need a tent? Do I need a permit or a license?
I read a great book called "Crafts and Craft Shows: How to Make Money," by Philip Kadubec. This book showed me the world of crafting and craft shows. It got me excited about pursuing a career as a craft vendor. Kadubec helped his wife turn crafting into a full time business. Together they sold baskets at craft fairs throughout the country for many years. The book gives an excellent look at the life of professional crafters, artists and artisans. Kadubec tells you what works, and what doesn't work at craft shows. It includes everything from work schedules to pricing; booth display to customer service; cost of materials to paying taxes. Also the author tells you what to watch out for, i.e. event organizers that take advantage of vendors. One big thing to watch out for are event promoters that collect booth fees, but then don't spend any money advertising the event. An event must be well advertised within the community in order to get the maximum amount of attendees.
I found a picture from my very first vendor fair. It was held at a local volunteer fire house. It was the First Annual Vendor Fair of I Don't Remember Who/What. I heard once you should never go to the first annual ANYTHING. Apparently the best shows/fairs are the ones that have already been running for several years and people already know about them.
Looking at the picture now it's a little embarrassing- I had nowhere near enough merchandise! The table is almost empty! LOL.
I read a great book called "Crafts and Craft Shows: How to Make Money," by Philip Kadubec. This book showed me the world of crafting and craft shows. It got me excited about pursuing a career as a craft vendor. Kadubec helped his wife turn crafting into a full time business. Together they sold baskets at craft fairs throughout the country for many years. The book gives an excellent look at the life of professional crafters, artists and artisans. Kadubec tells you what works, and what doesn't work at craft shows. It includes everything from work schedules to pricing; booth display to customer service; cost of materials to paying taxes. Also the author tells you what to watch out for, i.e. event organizers that take advantage of vendors. One big thing to watch out for are event promoters that collect booth fees, but then don't spend any money advertising the event. An event must be well advertised within the community in order to get the maximum amount of attendees.
I found a picture from my very first vendor fair. It was held at a local volunteer fire house. It was the First Annual Vendor Fair of I Don't Remember Who/What. I heard once you should never go to the first annual ANYTHING. Apparently the best shows/fairs are the ones that have already been running for several years and people already know about them.
Looking at the picture now it's a little embarrassing- I had nowhere near enough merchandise! The table is almost empty! LOL.
I was very excited about this show. I had high hopes. A couple of hours into this show I realized that this was NOT my target audience. Hardly any of the women there were into jewelry. They weren't wearing any and they weren't interested in mine. I sold a pair of earrings to a teenager, and I sold a few elastic bracelets. A few of my friends stopped by and we had some laughs, but it was a disappointing day. I did not 'make my table.' Oh, did I mention there was a nor'easter that day? Yeah, so the event was not well attended. The terrible weather made packing everything back into my car a miserable experience.
One of the most surprising things about this event was The Pickle Man. Now this was a vendor show, so people were allowed to sell whatever they wanted. There was a Tupperware table, an Avon table, a Pampered Chef table, a woman selling handbags, etc. Hardly anything handmade. And then there was The Pickle Man. This guy shows up with four huge buckets of pickles and sets them up on a table. He scooped them out of the bucket and put them into plastic containers and sold them. Guess what? He sold pickles like they were going out of style! People were lining up to buy pickles! Unreal! The guy made a killing selling pickles! I later found out that he had driven to Brooklyn that morning, purchased the buckets of pickles, then brought them back out to Babylon to sell them! Come on! This was not the kind of show I wanted to be in. I was pissed off because this guy put no work into the product he was selling. Also reinforced the realization that this was not my target audience! Maybe I could sell olives...
One of the most surprising things about this event was The Pickle Man. Now this was a vendor show, so people were allowed to sell whatever they wanted. There was a Tupperware table, an Avon table, a Pampered Chef table, a woman selling handbags, etc. Hardly anything handmade. And then there was The Pickle Man. This guy shows up with four huge buckets of pickles and sets them up on a table. He scooped them out of the bucket and put them into plastic containers and sold them. Guess what? He sold pickles like they were going out of style! People were lining up to buy pickles! Unreal! The guy made a killing selling pickles! I later found out that he had driven to Brooklyn that morning, purchased the buckets of pickles, then brought them back out to Babylon to sell them! Come on! This was not the kind of show I wanted to be in. I was pissed off because this guy put no work into the product he was selling. Also reinforced the realization that this was not my target audience! Maybe I could sell olives...
So a weak display and lack of merchandise led to a flop at my first show. 'Making your table' means that you sold enough items to cover the cost of your table fee, or break even. If you don't make your table, you've lost money. I lost money.
Nowadays my displays have improved. I bought two window screens and spray painted them black, added a piece of wood to stand them up, and use those to display my earrings. I took paint rollers and covered them in felt, and I drape my bracelets over them. I also have small rectangular metal baskets from Staples in which I rolled up three pieces of felt lengthwise and placed them inside, creating slots for my rings to sit in.
Nowadays my displays have improved. I bought two window screens and spray painted them black, added a piece of wood to stand them up, and use those to display my earrings. I took paint rollers and covered them in felt, and I drape my bracelets over them. I also have small rectangular metal baskets from Staples in which I rolled up three pieces of felt lengthwise and placed them inside, creating slots for my rings to sit in.
I have a table rack for my watercolor paintings, and I'm considering bringing my easel to my next show. I'm almost to the point where I could fill up two tables, and eventually I will start using two, but that means twice the table fee. Outdoor summer shows are a whole different ball game, for those you usually pay for a 10'x10' space and bring your own tent and tables.
The most exclusive of shows are juried craft shows in which only handmade items are sold. In order to enter a juried show you must submit photographs or slides of your work to the show's organizer. They will choose which vendors to allow at their show. These are some serious shows. You must have a tax ID number and it must be displayed in your booth. You must have your own tent and tables. Vendors at these shows are professionals and go all out on their booth displays. Some vendors use lighting and require electrical hookups (which is another fee). Many organizers require that all fabric in your booth is fire-retardant. This is a whole other ball of wax than what I am involved in. This type of show is my goal. As Kadubec explains in his book, a vendor must prepare months in advance for these types of shows. Most vendors plan out there events for the entire year, budgeting money for entrance fees 12 months ahead of time. This is when crafting becomes a full-time job, as I hope it will for me.
For now I'll settle for the vendor fairs... but I've got my eye on bigger things...
The most exclusive of shows are juried craft shows in which only handmade items are sold. In order to enter a juried show you must submit photographs or slides of your work to the show's organizer. They will choose which vendors to allow at their show. These are some serious shows. You must have a tax ID number and it must be displayed in your booth. You must have your own tent and tables. Vendors at these shows are professionals and go all out on their booth displays. Some vendors use lighting and require electrical hookups (which is another fee). Many organizers require that all fabric in your booth is fire-retardant. This is a whole other ball of wax than what I am involved in. This type of show is my goal. As Kadubec explains in his book, a vendor must prepare months in advance for these types of shows. Most vendors plan out there events for the entire year, budgeting money for entrance fees 12 months ahead of time. This is when crafting becomes a full-time job, as I hope it will for me.
For now I'll settle for the vendor fairs... but I've got my eye on bigger things...
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