What are you taking to craft fairs this year?

[FieryFurnace]

Soooo you craft fair blacksmiths:

What are you taking to craft fairs this year? Post pictures, measurements, major steps on items you don't mind sharing. Share your thoughts on what items are most likely to sell or gain special orders.

I'll list some of what I'm taking to my first event and some thoughts on selling strategy.

So far I have 40 J-hooks made from 8 inches of 3/8 round bar. Half are smooth sided made from new steel. The other half are made from heavily pitted 3/8ths stock. I sell the latter as "textured hooks," charge a dollar more, and usually sell just as many or more of them. If you have some "raddy" pitted steel, "textured" J-hooks are a good use for it.



I'm taking 10 triangle dinner bells to my first event. Dinner bells are a great seller and people love them! Mine are made from 36 inches of 3/8ths round bar with a 12 inch "dinger." I do a large taper and scroll on one end of the bell, and I do a taper, finial scroll, and loop on the dinger to hang it on the bell. I usually use these as demo pieces. It doesn't take so long that everyone gets bored, but it involves some neat stuff too!



I usually pack along a misc. candle holder or two. They usually don't sell, but they take up room, look good, and if you sell one then hey, you just pocketed money that you wouldn't have otherwise.



Leaf necklaces are a good seller and they can double as key ring ornaments.



Leaf letter openers usually do pretty good!



I like to have a few fire pokers out for sale. (I don't have a swage block that has a shovel head and I'm not decided on a broom head rig yet so I don't do fire place sets.)

Camp fire tripods are a GREAT seller. I make mine out of 4 feet lengths of 1/2 inch round bar. Two of them are tapered on the end so they can be driven in the ground to creat a "fire irons" set. (See pics.)




Finger rings are something new I'm adding....don't know how well they will do!


Toilet paper holders, paper towel holders, and bath towel racks are kept in stock as well.

I'd like to have some horseshoe stuff too! I think they would sell good! Like welcome signs, crosses, maybe some men/women bathroom signs.




I am also going to have a fire place screen and pot rack for sale. I would like to have a couple of RR spike knives on display and for sale.
I think it helps to have some "one-of-a-kind" items scattered about. I think it shows people that you aren't just confined to stock items but that you can do bigger pieces. When you have the larger one-of-a-kind pieces out for display, you increase the chances of getting special orders and you may end up selling a larger highly priced item.

So what are your thoughts and ideas!?

Dave

[Iron Clad]

Well, I don't do craft fairs, but perhaps I should after reading your post! Great info. thanks!

[FieryFurnace]

Well, I don't do craft fairs, but perhaps I should after reading your post! Great info. thanks!

Craft fair demos are fun! They are a lot of work too, but fun! If you start demoing, be talkative. Don't stand in your erea like a mute and forge, because it makes the spectator feel awkward, they don't stay long, and if they don't stay long they don't buy. Tell the folks about the equipment you use, it's aprox. age and purpose. Tell them different steel temps while you work, how you use your hammer etc. Just TALK! LOL And talk LOUD! If there are school kids; let them use the blower or bend a red hot piece of steel. Creat an interest that isn't there, in the craft. I hope that's a further help!

[Iron Clad]

Oh, I have done lots of demo's over the years, just never any craft fairs. Or, I have never taken items with me to sell while doing demo's. It seems I never have time to do production work. I should make time! <_<

[pkrankow]

That's one heck of a spread Dave! I like the tripod, and how it can be set up in an alternate manner. I am surprised you don't have a trammel to offer for it in addition to the chain.
Phil

[FieryFurnace]

That's one heck of a spread Dave! I like the tripod, and how it can be set up in an alternate manner. I am surprised you don't have a trammel to offer for it in addition to the chain.
Phil

Uhhh trammel??? I know what that is but in the mean time could you please tell me? LOL I can't think of it right off! LOL

Oh yes, make time and take stuff to sell! :D

[Mainely,Bob]

I used to get a lot of requests for fireplace pokers too but what really sold for me was a poker that had the shaft made from a piece of hollow stock that you could blow though to get the fire started.
Folks would ask why it was hollow.I`d take it over to the fire and demonstrate how to use it and usually end up with a sale.
We have a lot of folks who heat with wood up here so they are popular items,especially the ones with a piece of antler as a handle/mouthpiece.I would usually leave a small nub or spike toward the end and drill it to accept a small S hook or loop to hang the poker up.

[Dodge]

Dave,

I've been watching your posts since you started your trailer forge. You have come far young Jedi! I'm impressed if not even a little envious. I wish I had discovered blacksmithing at a younger age Keep up the great work!!

Scott

[Paul42`]

Thanks so much for posting this! I've been contemplating setting up a table at our local market once it opens. I know I won't make a living at this, but if I can generate a bit of cash to support the hobby, all the better!

Now, just have to figure out selling prices.

[pkrankow]

A trammel is an adjustable hook, there have been some wonderful pictures here on IFI, but I am at a loss finding them this morning. Your chain serves the same function, but people may want options for add on sales.
Phil

[Francis Trez Cole]

If I ever do the fair thing one thing I have found from doing demo's would be to have someone to handle the cash and transitions that way you do not have to stop talking or demoing.

[FieryFurnace]

I've heard and have had requests for the hollow poker but I never could understand how you taper hollow piping!???

Oh boy Dodge, You're watching me......little nerve racking! LOL Thank man! I try to work hard and honestly!

Paul: I've done a local market in the past! It's a good way to get used to the public and if it's a large enough one you can, like you said, pay your expenses!

Ok I understand about the trammel now.....don't what it looks like but I get the idea! My tripods come with an independant hook that goes on the 'pod. The chain can then be hooked on any of the links to adjust the hight. Great thing is, my firepokers make a great tool for adjusting hot chain! LOL Probably wouldn't hurt to have both though!

My mother sells soap alongside my demo trailer! She handles all the money so fortunately I have that base covered. But yes, you are going to need a "money" hand at any fairly busy event!

Dave

[Mainely,Bob]

I do not taper the pipe,just miter cut the end at a little more than 45 and leave it as is then weld the hook to it.If you have problems with the weld then it`s close enough to the end you can run a drill bit in to clear it.
The hollow stock I use is a very heavy wall industrial tubing.1/2" OD with a 3/16" bore.I was told it was used on a machine that was used to produce DOM tubing.May take some searching in the scrap yards to find something similar.
I suppose heavy wall hydraulic tube would work too.The shaft just needs to be strong enough to not bend when rolling logs around in the fireplace.

[Junksmith]

Hey Dave!
Like you, I am taking lots of different hooks. Almost all varieties sold well last year and they're inexpensive and relatively easy to make. When you think about it, the bread and butter (or meat & potatoes if you prefer)for a lot of us is some variation of a hook!
Other things that did well that I plan to make more of are hoof picks made from horseshoes, wall hooks made from horseshoes (lots of horse people in my area) and railroad spike knives. I did not expect to sell as many as I did. I made six and they all sold within the course of about 3 months at an average of $50 each. Since I've only been showing publicly for a year or so this may be an anomaly, but people snapped them up. I also made and sold two tomahawks made from spikes. It's been said repeatedly in this forum - and I tell my customers honestly - that spike knives are more of a collectors item than a decent knife. They just seem interested in the novelty of it. I do use high carbon spikes (marked HC on the head) and when I'm done I follow the heat treating procedures in the blueprint "Metallurgy for Blacksmiths". I'm convinced that while they will never be "great" knives, the process makes them as good as they can be. Just food for thought. Even if they don't sell as well this year, they are fun to make and cool to have lying around!

[pkrankow]

http://books.google.com/books?id=luZ2O9K62nwC&pg=PA14&dq=fireplace+trammel&cd=1#v=onepage&q=fireplace%20trammel&f=false

Pictures!

Phil

[Dodge]

Oh boy Dodge, You're watching me......little nerve racking! LOL Thank man! I try to work hard and honestly!


Dave

Don't get too nervous! I'm still learning myself!! LOL I really like that trailer though! :)

[FieryFurnace]

Don't get too nervous! I'm still learning myself!! LOL I really like that trailer though!

Hey...it's coming up for sale in a couple of months!

Thanks for the trammel link too! My chain follows the same basic idea; that is adustability, but it doesn't look near so good! LOL
I need to make a jig to turn my figure eight chain on! Two heats a pop then! It'd really cut down on time!

I had forgotten about the horse shoe hoof pics. I piddled around with them last year but didn't really try to sell any. I need to try that again this year. Could you post pics of them?

I'm with you on the spike knives! I'm also going to try a couple of ball peen hawks this year. I bought several ball peen hammers at an auction so it'd be really nice if I could turn around a sell a $50 hawk made from a $1 hammer head!

Dave

[Bad Creek Blacksmith]

Hey Dave been watching your post to, Those hollow tube blower things you can find a blue print on anvilfire I believe, didn't check it out first. Some of the things I want to make are Bear claw, cross necklaces I like your idea on the leaf necklaces. With the candle holders do you think they would sell better if you had candles in them? Pop a candle in them and you have a finished product, you be amazed how many people can't imagine things that aren't finished. One night I sat down and went through all of my blacksmithing material to see what I needed to make for craft shows and wrote it all down, of course its out in the shop and can't remember it all. Good luck in selling need to pay for this hobby some how.

[welder19]

I had thought about starting a similar thread to this as I have been starting to make stuff to sell this year.
No pics yet but a few things on my list are, campfire tripods, camp fire pokers, hotdog/marshmallow cooking forks, of coarse the usual variety of hooks, hose hangers, shepards hooks, decorative hearts and crosses and a few other little ittems as I think of them or see things.
I like the hollow fire pokers, never heard of them before.

welder19

[bigfootnampa]

Hollow tube tapering is actually quite easy. I recently read some threads on forging tubing, mostly concerned with making decorative forms like cattails. I used some 1" interior diameter tube recently to make a crank handle for a pop-up tent camper. It works similarly to rod except that instead of lengthening, the tubes will initially only shrink in thickness while their walls thicken. Once the walls are nearly solid (just a small opening left in the center of the collapsed tube) the remaining metal reacts much the same as forging solid rod. It will also bend just like solid rod would. Interestingly the center hollow becomes quite resistant to complete closure as the walls of the tube thicken greatly. This effect allows the preservation of the tube effect even though the piece is necked, bent and shaped dramatically. I assume that this might be untrue of tubing which has very thin walls in ratio to it's diameter. But for most ordinary tubing with say 1/8" walls and 1/2" to 1 1/4" diameters it will hold true. Just start your necking processes with gentle blows and all around the tube. It also seems best to make fairly smooth tapers on the ends of the necked areas.

For my crank I first closed one end of the tubing with mud (as a safety device to prevent piping heat and or steam through the tube) and then heated the other end and forged it to a rounded end which became the smooth knob end of the handle. This end did not close entirely but retained a pinhole at the center of the knob. Perseverance might have closed it up but I was satisfied to leave it. I then knocked the mud from the other end (feeling that my safety concerns were satisfied by the tiny size of the pinhole left in the handle end). I proceeded to neck down most of the rest of the tube... enough to make two 90 degree bends. I then bent the tube to make a crank shape and cut a slot in the working end of the crank with my grinder's cut-off wheel. I had to slightly drift open the size of the working end of the crank and to grind it back on the outside as it had to fit both inside and outside diameters accurately. The whole thing worked very well and was quite interesting as an exercise in tube forging!

Please take note of the safety problems mentioned and as I have read of others who have had bad experiences with mud falling or being steam blasted from the tube end... you will note that my first process was to reduce the unmudded end to effectively close the tube down. I also never quenched the piece. If you want to preserve more opening space you might want to close the tube end and later reopen it (by drilling or punching/drifting). Alternatively you could work with extreme care and keep the tube open throughout the process.

I am sorry to report that the crank is no longer in my possession and I neglected to take pics. I do have a similar project in the offing though and will do my best to get a few shots of that. You could still blow through the finished crank, though for fire starting you would likely desire slightly better flow which could be easily achieved by slightly less thorough necking and reopening one end more.

Personally I am quite inspired by this experiment and it's interesting results/possibilities! Just beefed up my tubing stock in anticipation of more in this direction! The crank turned out well as the handle being hollow allowed for a nice grip diameter without being overly heavy and the tubing was much less work to heat and neck down than similar diameters of solid rod would have been. Of course the working end was a breeze as it fitted the job with only slight modifications! This style crank then is one solid piece of metal so that the handle does NOT spin but the hand slides as the crank is turned... nice smooth handle makes it comfortable to work though.

Perhaps I should have started a new thread for this but I think you can all see how this might be useful info for forging hollow pokers! Let's all tip our hammers to future days when we can test out some real nice pokers!!

[Mainely,Bob]

Thanks for the detailed instructions Clay.When I run out of the heavy hollow stock I have(and that may be soon)I`ll be trying this.
Who knows,maybe I`ll be trying it sooner just to attempt something new! :)

[bigfootnampa]

Thanks for the detailed instructions Clay.When I run out of the heavy hollow stock I have(and that may be soon)I`ll be trying this.
Who knows,maybe I`ll be trying it sooner just to attempt something new!

You're quite welcome Bob... and knowing the questing mind you have and your very wide range of experience I would be most interested in seeing/reading about the results of your adventures! My tubing began as 1/8" wall by about 1" external diameter. The compacted portions of the tube ended up about 1/2" exterior diameter with probably less than 1/8" open center pipe. Toward the end of the compaction/necking operations it began to lengthen somewhat rather than continuing to collapse the tube.

Just throwing this out there for those that thrive on challenges... I am thinking that these methods might have some interesting applications in venturi creation! Also what about some musical innovations? Any wind instrumentalists here?

[FieryFurnace]

Well I play harmonica and I have a chanter. (bagpipes) LOL Steel bagpipes! Wow! Do those count?

Anyway, sounds interesting! I have a little of that 1/8 wall by 1 inch tubing I think! I may have to piddle with that in my spare time! Thanks for the details!

I've got some other stuff made but I have yet to get/upload any pictures!

Dave

[metalmangeler]

Some other items that you might want to consider that we sell are hinges and hasps these don't go away in large numbers but they are interesting to the customers and keep them there a little longer. Door knockers also fit in this same category. Completing your fireplace sets is a nice touch, but you still want to sell those pokers separate. I normally also bring suffolk latches and door pulls. putting animal heads on some of your hooks helps sell them, pick an animal from your area, if you are in Tex. long horn cows, in horse country horse heads on a horse shoe made into a hook, etc. A few trivets might work, the problem is time not ideas. I like your necklaces if you made some small leafs and added hooks you could see that same girl ear rings as well.

[Bob Hensley]

These are great ideas, I have been thinking what I should start with at our local markets, and now I have a better idea. But the next question is "How do you price your work?" This always seems to be the hardest thing for me - how do YOU figure what your time is worth and what the market will bear without pricing yourself out of the market?