Craft fair

[BlasterJoe]

I have my first craft fair tomorrow. I have sold a few things here and there but this will be the first public sale venture. I’m pretty excited. I have a good inventory built up. Fingers crossed I will sell it all. 

[Frosty]

Looks good. Do you have graph paper and pencils so folk can sketch out their orders? Graph paper lets a person make comfortable size drawings that can be easily scaled up or down. 

I think a different color table top would be good next time so your work stands out better.

Knock em dead Joe, we're pulling for you.

Frosty The Lucky.

[BlasterJoe]

This was just me putting tags on tonight. The tables will be white. Good idea with the graph paper I will bring some. Thanks for the support.

[Daswulf]

Get ready for a lot of talking  

also take pen and paper anyway for many reasons. And change. Don't forget to snap a picture of your table set up If you have time. 

Good luck! 

 

[Marc1]

Best of luck Blaster.

And if it was me, I wouldn't consider doing anything one off to order. Total waste of time unless it is a large order. 

 Just do your thing and sell sell sell. 

[Gergely]

Good luck! 

Bests:

Gergely

[BlasterJoe]

Got set up this morning. I need to be a better showman. Looking at everyone else’s tables mine pretty weak. 

[Daswulf]

Thanks for the picture of the setup. You'll get there. More stock for the table and some different ways to display it and your golden. If you have items the get screwed to a wall make up a neat looking board that can stand up and have them displayed on it. It helps drive the buyers imagination and they can view it better.  I'm working on making something that I can hang keychains and the like from. These will help display items and kind of break up the boring flat table look. People from further off will just see a guy sitting at a table, but if you have stuff standing up they will notice it and have more incentive to come check it out. 

[BlasterJoe]

Well, the fair went well. Sold most of my stuff. I definitely got a feel for what people are into. I got a great job out of the deal too. A lady that is refurbishing the old cemetery in town commissioned me to make feathers for the old native Americans graves that the records have been lost to. They only know where the Indian side of the cemetery is and they know of 22 graves with no marking. Another guy in town is welding up crosses. And the feathers will be attached. I’m pretty honored to do it and help preserve the history. 

I will start a thread when I get the first one done.

[Daswulf]

Cool deal. 

[Gergely]

Nice going! Don't compare yourself to others - this was your first, you learned a lot and it seems that it really went well.

Maybe a lighter colour sheet could have enhanced your stuff on the table. 

If I were you I made a bunch more feathers as requested - it may come handy at the next fair. (And when you get the feeling of making something it's easier to make more at once than continue it later.)

Bests:

Gergely

[Joel OF]

Sanded clean blocks of oak on top of hessian is how I usually display my work at fairs. I arrange the blocks into staggered heights so my display is visually interesting & make each block into a plinth for multiples of one product. They're also useful for screwing work to, e.g hooks. A long sheet of hessian will hide extra stock under your table. Black price tags with silver pen shows up nicely & looks classy. I usually pin them to the blocks of oak with wooden headed pins as opposed to brass or silver ones. I always cut off / hide as much tag string as possible as it looks naff.

[Frosty]

Good for you Joe! Something to remember is what sold well at this show may not be what sells at the next one. A lot of guys hve talked about this on Iforge. People I know who do fairs talk about it a lot too. One good friend has basic stock that's always in the booth or on the table, after which comes items based on the theme of the show. The home show wants different products than the garden show. There can be a huge cross over though and garden items can sell hot at the home show and kitchen hardware go like crazy at the garden show. There's just no telling. Mark makes sure to have a good supply of his steady sellers but is always experimenting with new stuff just in case. 

A good bit of showmanship is to have some boxes of products under the table so people know you have more of the good stuff on hand. 

Do you have pics of your display Joel? I had to look up hessian, we'd call it burlap over here. Tan, green or red are good colors to display iron work on. It's a comfortable level of contrast without competing or camouflaging it. Poor colors are black, dark gray and dark blue they're too close a match to finished iron so it just blends in. I like the sanded wood blocks, excellent idea. A 3D display is WAY more interesting than 2D.

Frosty The Lucky.

 

[Joel OF]

1 hour ago, Frosty said:

Do you have pics of your display Joel?

I'll post any that I find that I feel comfortable with. The walls have eyes and some of my bread and butter items earn me so much money because of their simplicity and for the fact that no one else has thought of them that I don't want to post the wrong picture and watch my unique idea become old hat on Etsy.

[VaughnT]

On 12/2/2017 at 12:32 PM, BlasterJoe said:

 I need to be a better showman.

 

Showmanship is the #1 failure of people that try to do things in public.  Some folks aren't "wired" for it.  Others just don't realize the negative vibe they're giving off.  Still more don't understand how much better sales would be if they just stepped up their game a bit.

The important thing to remember is that little details matter in a big way.  That one thing might not seem like much, but when you have dozens of "that one thing" all together.... there's a synergistic effect that can be either good or bad.

Back when I was out and about in another industry, I had to go to trade shows and got to see how the real professionals did things.  At every show, there was always one company that had their booth flooded with customers.  Why?  Because they put the time in to make sure they stood out from the crowd, looking professional, different, neat, interesting, etc.

You're on the right path just with the recognition that you need to improve your view.

Pay attention to all those little details, including how you dress.  Don't try to force anything.  Let it happen somewhat organically so that it looks natural and easy for you.  If you try to come off as PT Barnum and that's not your personality, it'll be more chore than anything else and the customers will pick up on it.

To give you an idea, here's a pic I found online that really showcases what you can do to create an overall impression.

Everything breaks down for transport.  The color scheme is uniform.  It all looks professional and thought-out rather than cobbled together from yard sales and flea markets.  And the employees are dressed to impress without looking hokey.  Note: don't wear your greasy, stained shop apron - get something nice and neat that's only for public use!

Of course, something like this takes time to develop and you have to have the ironwork to fill all those shelves.  The key, though, is that you have an idea in mind and a goal to move towards.

In the short term, you can build up your "look" by making a display board with different types of work on them.  This keeps you from having to make a lot of stuff you don't know will ever sell, and gives the customers something to look at.  I've seem quite a few people sell their display boards when an interior decorator wanted them because they were "artsy".  Having examples will give the customer an idea of what's possible while keeping your investment low.  They also help direct customers and block off the unsightly portions of your booth (like that cooler full of drinks or a bucket used to bring stuff from the truck).

 

[Latticino]

Couple of additional hints to add to the good advice above from my years of selling at retail craft sales:

1. Engage your potential customers.  You need to be ready to discuss in enthusiastic detail a large variety of aspects of your craft without appearing exasperated or bored with repetitive questions.  A storyboard showing the steps in making your more popular or elaborate work is a good tool.  If you can get a decent video shot of you working in the shop on a couple of pieces that take on the order of 10 minutes to make (or edit the video down to a maximum of 10 minutes), that might be a good tool also.
2. I recommend some kind of walls, or barriers to separate your work from adjacent vendors.  As noted above, the more professional the better.
3. Stands or pedestals to get your work more easily viewable from a few feet away from your booth will help.  If they more easily show the function of the work, that is even better. 
4. Another good trick I've seen is to have large scale photos printed of some of your work and used as backdrops to the booth.  This can also be a good illustration of some of the larger commission work that you might offer (grates, gates, furniture...). 
5. A 3 ring binder with good photos of previous commissions showing both the work in toto and some detail shots will also help.
6. Don't display too many pieces of the exact same type at the same time.  If you have too large a selection, your customers will have too much trouble choosing.
7. Make eye contact with potential customers.  Try not to sit down in your booth.  If, like me, you have to sit, get a taller folding chair that keeps you at eye level.
8. Demonstrations during the fair are idea, but only if you bring another sales person to deal with the customers.
9. I like to have at least one big eye-catching piece in my booth.  They rarely sell (however when they do it can make the show), but if there is a clear relationship between that piece and your smaller work, the large piece can sell the smaller ones (or lead to commissions).  Personally I never liked commission work, wholesale to galleries was bad enough, but each to their own.

[genesaika]

I have a question, hopefully it's not too far off topic. 

How exactly does one go about getting a spot at a crafts fair? I'm sure it's different for each location and fair, but a general checklist would be nice.

[Latticino]

A lot depends on whether the fair is juried or not (and some are restricted to members of select groups as well, say a particular craft club).  In my experience the only thing needed is to contact the organizers and either get juried (by photos of your work and booth setup, or rarely actual work submitted for jurying) and approved (then send the booth fee), or just send the booth fee.  Note: booth fees can really add up, but the better shows all have them.  I'd stay away from shows that want a percentage of sales if you can.

Most of the better shows are juried.  By better I mean shows where you aren't selling next to the equivalent of paint by number paintings.  Again my experience is that the higher quality of your co-exhibitors, the more respect and sales you get from customers.

There used to be listings of the better national shows in different periodicals and by promoters or craft consortiums.  I'm afraid I don't recall the names at this point, been out of the scene for close to 20 years, but you should be able to find something online these days.  My suggestion would be to test the waters and start small with a local church or museum holiday craft fair (farmer's markets are hit or miss IMHO).  If you are interested in crafts, you should already know the good ones in your area.

One thing I forgot in the above is that you should find a way to take credit cards if at all possible.  It was a major hassle back when I started, with bag phones and the like, but these days with smart phones it should be easy.  I also used to take personal checks with ID, and in 15 years was never burned by a direct customer (though a gallery stiffed me pretty well once...).

[BlasterJoe]

Thanks for the great advice everybody. a lot of really good stuff to think about. My wife was actually bugging me to print off some pictures and local magazine clippings I was featured in. Should have done it but got side tracked trying to build inventory. 

geneaika, The fair I went to was just a small local Craft fair. no jury just paid the table fee it was 20 bucks. It was sponsored by the community church. To get started Small town craft fairs and gatherings are pretty easy to get into. This was my first so I don't have much more advice. 

Adding to what Latticino  said about payment you can get an app from your bank for depositing personal checks on the spot with a picture. The "pay me" apps seem to be taking off too where you can just have money transferred directly to your account. 

 

 

[ThomasPowers]

Lots and Lots of inexpensive business cards!  (I use vista print).  In fact my price tags are my business cards with a hole neatly punched in them---I like folks who buy my work to have a business card!

[MC Hammer]

Everyone pretty much hit all the good advice.  I've been setting up at shows to sell my flintknapping stuff for about 10 years now and I can tell you that having that unique item that others don't have is key.  I'll say it again, get everything up so people can see it.  Do this by creating levels with blocks of wood and boxes under a nice table cover at first and work your way up to the big displays like Three Rivers showed pictures of.  I try to hit shows that do not charge a lot to have a booth.  In the summers, go to outdoor shows where you can have your own easy-up tent.  Thomas Powers is 100 % right, bring a ton of business cards.  Keep them simple, but nice with something eye catching on it.  I also try to hit both ends of the price spectrum.  Make stuff you can sell for $5 or less and stuff that goes for hundreds of dollars.  Try to also have something inexpensive that kids will want.