Day 1 it rained almost the entire time. Luckily we had tarps for the sides but only needed the one in the back. The rain was coming straight down and wasn't that hard so we were safe. The rain didn't keep people away, there were plenty of shoppers just not a lot of buyers. The rain stopped around 3:00 and we saw 3 separate wedding parties come through for pictures. Tomorrow I'll post some pictures of the park and you'll know why they chose this spot.
Day 2 was much better. The skies threatened us with rain a few times but all in all a beautiful day. You can see in the picture they brought in bales of hay to throw down to help keep the mud down from the day before.
I didn't really sell as much as I had hoped but I did at least cover my share of the cost of the booth with a little left over to hit the craft store with. Like I really need to buy more craft supplies :)
The park this was located in is absolutely beautiful. The people we met were very friendly and the woman who puts this whole thing together really knows what she's doing. This was only the third year for this show and she had almost 100 crafters.
My cards and tags were the biggest sellers. The other things I had seemed to draw some interest but my prices may have been too high. Pricing is something I really need to work on. I'm not really discouraged about the low sales. I didn't see too many people walking around with things. It seemed to me that most people were just there to look rather than buy.
The funny thing is that my very first sale was for an item that I had considered leaving behind. The picture frame with the dog on it sold in the first half hour of the first day. I rushed when I was making it and it was rather rough looking so I wasn't going to take it. I threw it in the box at the last minute and now I'm glad I did. It was the only frame that sold.
So would I do this again? Sure, it was a great learning experience and it was fun. I can't say I absolutely loved it but it was fun.
34 comments:
so glad you are home safe and had one good day of weather. i went to a sale once with a lot of things and sold only one item for 10.00, brought it all home. but i took mine to work and sold it a piece at at time over the next month. mine was an office though not like the bakery. i think anywhere these days people are just looking, no money to spend and a lot of crafters go and get ideas to make their own and now you have lots of things for gifts when you need one
I was waiting to hear how your weekend turned out. Sounds like you did just fine to me. If you covered your expenses and had money left over you did well. You also learned a great deal too. A win-win.
Have a terrific day. My best to Duke. :)
If you covered your share of the expenses with money left Over, You did Good Girl!
Well Done!
hughugs
It sounds like those were great reaults especially if you learned a lot. WE are very proud of you for doing as much as you did. Make some more of those frames. We think it was a great success.
You did such a great job and sounds like you had fun time too. Your displace is beautiful!
To cover your expenses and make a little too on a not so weather friendly weekend, that is a success! Hopefully you get to do more shows closer to the holidays to sell even more! Your booth looks awesome by the way!
Pricing is so difficult. I was in a show last year where people were selling $5 earrings. There's no way I can compete with that but some people don't care about quality.
I was hoping you would have pictures! I am so glad you decided to do this, Ann, and it sounds like it really was a success!! Pricing is hard. When I did my first show I was told that my prices were too low by most and high by a few. You just cannot please everyone. Now, I just try to have fun and make money back to make more:)
It sounds pretty darned great for a first experience - well done, Ann!
sounds like it came off well!
Good for you! The guy next door ... that probably got old!
I think people are holding onto their money a little tighter with the economy being what it is. At least they came out and you did make some money. You will probably learn about pricing as you go along.
I don't like those talkative booth owners. Blech. I get outta there FAST when they do that.
Woof! Woof! Oh ANN you got a lots of stuffs. We go to shows n we only use 1 table. Our 1st year we did a big show (over 100 vendors) n was a bit discouraging. But don't be ... try to attend small shows (what we currently do about 25-30 vendors). Most importantly you had FUN ... Lots of Golden Woofs, Sugar
Well if you want to do it again - it was a success. Plus it was fun too I bet. I guess the times are holding back sales a little bit. Glad you did as good as you did!
I think your items were beautiful!
Love, sandie
You put so much work into it I'm glad it went well! It doesn't surprise me your cards sold well - they're beautiful!
It sounds like it was an experience for you and your booth looked great. You have some stuff leftover, have you thought about opening an etsy shop. It's kind of nice, no pressure if you are just doing this on the side. It may be a way of selling what's leftover. I think stuff will sell, then you can just add more stuff that sells well. Your work is beautiful!
With this economy, you did good! Funny, you never know what will catch someone's eye and make them part with their money! Glad you took that one frame!
Wow Ann so happy for you-- Wish I could have come by and supported you.Your shops looks so cool!
Cheers
Sonia
http://cardsandschoolprojects.blogspot.com
How did the necklaces do? I suspect pricing would be difficult - Most of the time I think crafters don't charge enough and then I have seen some where I think "you have to be kidding me" - But you did well especially given the bad weather on Saturday. Yay Ann!!
What a wonderful display.... hope you did have a good time. Exposure is always good. I am sure you'll do better next round :)
I would have enjoyed visiting your booth if i were anywhere near where you are.
Glad to hear you want to do it again. This is the experience you need to get the hang of things like pricing, etc.. If you ask me, you already have the most difficult part worked out...your inventory...it's so lovely!
Glad to hear you sold and you made enough to cover the stall with some more as a bonus.
And you learned something too - that we dog mad people will buy even in a recession :)
Well done ! xx
One thing I learned about pricing is, when you think your prices are too high, they're not! Don't undervalue yourself or your work! People who really want your items will buy.
I'm glad you had fun and I admire you for doing a show like that!
Your post sums up perfectly the way I feel after most craft fairs, Ann - they are fun to do, but sometimes the number of sales is a little disappointing. However, the upside of that is you now have plenty of stock to take to the next one!! You should give yourself a huge pat on the back for all the wonderful things you have made, and for covering your costs with a little money over. You've made a fantastic start!
Hugs
Philippa
Sounds like your first show was a great experience. Too bad it was a bad weather weekend. Don't get discouraged. I went to shows where I didn't sell anything. And then others where 90% of my items were sold. Keep it going. And yes they are better around the Holidays.
I'm so glad you enjoyed yourself! That's the most important thing, right? :o) It's so hard to tell what will sell and what won't; and if you'll get buyers or browsers. I found the same thing you did too; something I though was "meh" sold first *laugh*.
THE PLAN ON WHAT TO DO NEXT TIME:
(1) Make a very colorful (preferably neon) sign to hang on Duke's neck that says that he is in desperate need of more treats in order to live.
(2) Take Duke to the next show.
(3) Place Duke in the middle of your front table.
(4) Head home after the show with more money than you can even start to count.
NOTE: If you want to really get creative, you could build (or purchase) a fair-sized wagon to haul all of your loot home in, which would be drawn by Duke. Well, at least until you get to your vehicle.
It is hard to price it right, with our economy I would say low end works better.Sounds like you had fun.Your neighbor needed a more glamorous reply, it would have pushed me away.Glad you had a good time.More craft supplies- they have overpowered my office and now are building a large space in my basement.
It's hard pricing craft items. You know how much time and effort you put into them and you don't want to make 25 cents an hour, but sometimes if you aren't a crafter, you can't always appreciate the work that was put into it and hence the cost. That is why hand made quilts are so expensive!
But as long as you made a little extra money to buy some more staff at the craft store ~ that's what is important right? ;)
xo Catherine
I am very glad you enjoyed it. :) And it was a lot of fun seeing your crafts as they were being made! Maybe you can look into doing an Etsy shop if you really enjoy doing this kind of thing.
I think your first craft fair has to be a learning experience. If you visit others, it will help you figure out pricing and the other things. If you had fun, I would say definitely do it again. Congrats!
Your booth looked great! I had done several craft shows. I gave up doing out door craft show because of the unpredicted weather. I think you had a successful craft show after all.
I'm sure the weather had to do with why you didn't sell more. I go to a lot of craft shows. I have seen the past couple of years that with the job market the way it is people don't have extra money and there isn't as many buyers or crafts. How did your friend do? I love the lamps her hubby made.
Your display looked great - I love all the color. I'm glad you're not discouraged by your sales. To me it's usually just a nice way to spend time with my friends and to meet some new people. Last year sales were pretty dismal but I had a lot of stuff left over to give as gifts. : )
That whole looking but not buying thing gets to me after a while. At least, when I'm on the selling side of the table. I'm never sure, any more, how crafters can compete with the cheap holiday junk from the dollar store.
Glad you are satisfied though
I've had the same experience. The image I think least likely to sell is the first then I'm left shaking my head wondering how to design when I can't figure out the market ??
Post a Comment