Monday 12 November 2012

Crafty~a~fair

Hi all,

Yesterday I had my second try at a craft fair......

I was contacted by the library in a local village, and thought it was worth another try, after not a very successful attempt last time! The last one I was invited to was actually a craft fair and car boot all in one. I left my boyfriend on our anniversary and headed out, with a flask lovingly prepared by him, and a car full of goodies! There was lots of interest but people were mostly there for the car boot.

For everyone else that's tried a craft fair and not had much success I would recommend giving it another go - especially leading up to Christmas!

Attempt number 2 was a different story! As I'm still new to this I am learning all the time ..... So my stall set-up is still somewhat that of a novice.

This sleepy little village comes to life in the local library, as I discovered.

There was a steady stream of people for about 4 hours! Although I had a slow start I interacted with a lot of people, had many complimentary comments about my products, and drank several cups of coffee!

I took ribbon with me and carried on adding hangers to finish off some products. This had people think "oh what's coming next ....". My first sale was of a funny sign I had made, and as I continued to change my display, adding and moving products around, more sales came!

Lots of business cards were taken, with people promising to contact me with orders of letters painted in different colours to the ones I had displayed. I was approached by 3 people with offers of stalls at fairs they're organising. Two other stall holders want signs making of their future craft fair stalls!

Overall I found yesterday to be a great experience. I met a lovely lady, Karen, from 'In-a-Jam' selling jams, marmalade and chutneys, all handmade on her AGA. This lady works hard and has a fabulous range of products. Her success and determination has led to her supplying some local farm shops, delis and a garden centre! We watched each others stalls as we took coffee and loo breaks (usually in that order).

Another lovely lady, Amanda, had a great stall selling lots if handmade treats. She has two small children, and crafts in her spare time.

Craft fairs are all about the people you meet, as well as the sales you make. You're getting yourself and your product "out there". Don't give up. Networking is underrated, so persevere - it will be worth it in the long run!

I've added a few pictures of this weekends stall - and have already booked my next one!

Deb x
 
Lots of letters!
 
 
Handmade plaques
 
 
The marriage plaques are always a hit!
 
 
Half of my stall!
 
 
MMMMMM  ..... sometimes we all need to heed this!
 
 
I LOVE custom orders!
 
 
New Christmas Hangers!
 
 
More Christmas Hangers!

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