The State of Craft Fairs

So, my friend Tronsgirl and I had a craft fair on March 14. It was our biggest one to date (our SECOND one together... ha ha!). It was supposed to be quite well attended, it had a good reputation. PLUS we got a corner spot, so we each got our own table!!

We had a lot of fun planning our set-up. We put our business cards in plastic Easter eggs with some candy.

That's me, at my table

WOW, was it a big disappointment! After subtracting my entry fee, I made a grand total of....

get ready for it.....

drumroll........

$21 stinking dollars!!!!

I chose NOT to subtract out the display items I purchased for the event, craft supplies, etc etc. That would have just been TOO depressing.

I know some craft fairs are just LIKE that (and truth be told, a lot of people are making jewelry these days!! The past two craft fairs have boasted too many jewelry booths! We even heard mumblings from the crowd about it this time!)--but I think it has more to do with the economy than anything. The good old trickle-down. And I GET it. With my low sales, I certainly didn't run around to other booths. I couldn't afford to, either.

And I think it supports me putting away the resin for a while. I can't put money into this when not much money is coming out. It is a bad time to try to start a "business" out of this. So I think I will really just try to go with the ebb, and wait for the flow. Focus on other things for a while. I have actually pulled out my first love, beadweaving, again. Those projects are more time consuming and felt like I didn't have the time to take for them--but with the low sales, I don't have to rush any product out! So in a way, that is a blessing in disguise, perhaps.

Tronsgirl and I have one more craft fair at the end of May. This one is TWO days (makes me tired to think about!!) and our first outdoor one. At a CHOCOLATE fest. I hope the air smells like chocolate (and the porta-potties, too. Urg.). If history proves, I have plenty in stock for a two-day fair. Most of my stuff is priced and ready to go from the time I put in before the last craft fair, so I shouldn't have to do too much to prepare.

Although it is juried--perhaps I am being hasty when we haven't even been accepted, yet...

Then I think it is a bit prudent to take a break from the fairs and let the economy catch up a bit.

Anybody else on the craft fair circuit with some insights?

Craft Fair Hangover

Well, it is the morning after--the morning after the craft fair, that is!! My friend and I had a nice set-up, I think. Our work really complimented each other's. If you want a closer look at her items, check out http://www.tronsgirl.etsy.com/. That's her in the picture.

Unfortunately--she had a slip on the ice during the week, so I felt so sorry for her. She would sit, she would stand, but was having severe back pain. Not nice to have to sit all day at a craft fair with that kind of pain!

...Especially such a SLOW craft fair. There were MANY tables selling jewelry, and it was a slow fair in all. Perhaps the economy, perhaps people finished with their Christmas shopping already? (wish that was me!!) It was slow all over, so we decided not to take it personally! :-) My mom and sister came by to support us, which we both fully appreciated--they were our best sales, we sheepishly admit. But we will admit it so they realize how much their visit meant! I saw my aunt and my cousin's wonderful girlfriend, and that was really great, too.

We saw some good points--there were two instances where we helped parents trick their kids--they bought items on the sly while their kids were looking away, so that was really fun! A little boy that reminded me of my son kept coming by and petting the lizard pin I had out. I told him to just take it, but he turned up his sweet little boy face and said, "Oh no, I'll pay for it!" So the lizard went to a happy home where he will be treasured. Plus, my friend gave me a pin that looks SO perfect on my winter coat at the end of the fair when it didn't sell!!! YAY!!

Best of all, I got an uninterrupted (we joke that being MORE interrupted at a craft fair would have been beneficial!! ha ha!) day with a dear friend whom I don't get to spend a whole lot of time with on a regular basis.

Though we feel discouraged (quite! at least me!), we'll try again. I heard another crafter mentioning a fair in March that we will check out. But for now, with the fair over, I get to spend some time focusing on Christmas and my family. My etsy shop is full, my ArtFire shop has enough items, I'm going to scale back on "pimping" my shop on Twitter--it is time to enjoy this season of family, friendship and love! The sales, well, they'll wait.