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| I apologize for the blurry pictures. This is a view of my Lil' Bit Sassy section. |
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| Schoolhouse Designs Section |
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| If you have any suggestions about how better to display my items, please let me know! |
Yesterday I did my very first craft show. It was held at the local college (Allegheny) by some students. I must say, they did a great job of organizing the event. The tables were all set up for us when we got there, a student helped us unload our cars and carry our things up (it was on the 2nd floor) to the hall, and they even served us free cookies, tea, and pizza for lunch. The only flaw I did notice was that they needed more signs. They only had one sign pointing to the parking lot but no signs on the building itself to tell you what door to go into or how to get to the hall. It was at the back of the building too so made it even more confusing. Needless to say, the only people we had attending were college "kids" and some of their parents.
Unfortunately, none of us vendors did very well. I only made $27. The show was free, so that was a plus. I got a lot of "ooohs" and "ahhhs" over my things, but not really any sales. I think next year (if they have it and I decide to do it) I will focus on wallets, wristlets (I noticed a lot of the girls were carrying those) and adult sized aprons (they seemed to love my kids aprons). I really thought my Allegheny Gators would go over well but I didn't sell even one of them. If anything, this has not deterred me. I am more determined now to make my little business a success locally.
I think there were a few reasons we didn't do well. As I said, I think the signage was a part of it, plus it being the 1st year they've tried this. I did meet some other vendors and that was great. One even told me about an event coming up at our local Market House from May till September. Each 2nd Saturday of the month they will be having a little fair with certain themes (healthy living, wool spinning, etc). One of the themes in August is Kids Day and I might just do much better at it. I am willing to give it a go.
Another good thing about the day was that I won a couple of doll purses from another vendor. They had a Chinese auction and some of us donated items for it. The purses are really cute and I think I'm going to send them to my great niece. The vendor that made them didn't have a website but she did have an email address (smonkeybusiness@gmail.com) and a brochure with the purses. If you're interested in American Girl doll clothes & accessories, send her an email!
4 comments:
Rhonda, I have never done a show. They always look like soooo much work! It was probably still good for your business. People may have not wanted anything yesterday, but may have your business card for the future. Networking with other vendors is always a good thing AND....you got free pizza! lol
Your setup looks great to me!
It sounds like the students have good hearts and treated you well, and like you said that was a plus. If you have their e-mail, you might tell them that, offer a little constructive criticism in terms of the signage, and then thank them for what they did.
Your table looks great! I would be motivated as a customer to come and visit your table on that alone, but then I'm predjudiced because I love your items anyway, LOL!
Networking with the other vendors is fabulous. At the craft show I went to yesterday, one of the other vendors was a friend/coworker I hadn't seen in ten years, so had great fun catching up with her.
The venue for my craft fair had a bar and pool tables and ATM machine, etc. (Eagles Club) and it turned out to be one of the best venues I've been to yet. The bartender told me about some other shows they do during the year that sounded promising and gave me contact info for those.
Anyhow, I think your attitude coming out of the craft fair is great in terms of your determination to keep on pushing and make it a good go, so keep on doing that, and with you being who you are, I think you're going to be a big success.
Thanks so much, ladies!! Your support really means a lot to me :) I actually had a great time meeting new people and talking even if I didn't sell much. The college kids were really nice (which kind of shocked me for some reason lol)so that was fun too. And at least I did get that heads-up about the Market House--which I would've never known about.
Congrats on your first show! Too bad it wasn't a better turnout, but the experience is priceless! Your booth looked great and you had quite a variety to offer. Kudos for a fine job; you got money, pizza and even cookies - win-win, right?
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