My first show!

[alankulwicki7]

Hey all,
A few years ago my wife and I talked about starting up a company and selling my wares at some craft shows. This past summer, we followed through and started up 'Triple S Woodcrafts' with the Triple S representing my two kids (shop helpers) and I. Since we had the company, we picked a couple of craft shows to do and yesterday was my first one. The last few months have meant a lot of shop time for me and what you see here are the results of that shop time.

Even though I didn't sell as much as I had hoped, the show was a good experience. I had some items priced from $3 (fridge magnets) up to $80 (a couple of pens) and many things in between.

The hard part for me was that I thought the show was geared towards home made items but in fact had lots of stuff like Norwex, Scentsy, etc. One guy even balked at the price of my birdhouse ornaments but then again he must think they grow on trees!

I did have a lot of compliments and received some great advice from some of the other vendors (including the ladies selling on either side of me). Those ladies also told me to find a 'juried' show and I should do better. That's good because I have another show on Dec 7th that is juried.

Hopefully I can do better next weekend!

 

[scotian12]

Doug....Congratulations on your show. I think you have made a great start. The quality and diversity of your selections is great and there is a choice for everyone. Not all markets are successful due to circumstances beyond your control...ie weather, going to the wrong show, placement in the market. I would not suggest any changes to your assortment ....just fine tuning. The gold tablecloth would be better in a solid colour so as not to distract the eye. The tags are not my favourite. Use single price signing where possible...ie your pen box, wire racks. The biggest adjustment you should look at is the placement of the tables. There is not much space for customers to come in and look. You would be better on a corner placement with only two tables. Good luck next weekend. Darrell

 

[Rangertrek]

Doug, congrats on doing your first show. If you can find juried or handmade shows, you do a little better. My first show had everything you could imagine. I was competing with repurchase stuff from china. I now do just select shows after a 2 year learning curve. I would also do your tables in one color cloth, I use black because it seems to show off the product better. Also consider having some lighting available to enhance the display.

 

[alankulwicki7]

Thanks for the comments. As for the table/table cloths, it was a mad scramble on Friday before the show because my wife ordered the wrong size table cloths. That and the booth size was smaller than expected. Fortunately the vendor next to me bailed me out and I swapped my large rental table for her smaller tables. She also loaned me the black table cloth. I paid her back with a birdhouse ornament!
I will be better prepared at my next show...

 

[Dan Masshardt]

Looks like you sold 3 bottle stoppers anyway!

Nice variety of stuff.

Did you sell any if the pendant necklaces? I have some of them for a craft show.

 

[OZturner]

Doug, I like the variety and quality of the items you displayed,
Looked good.
Pardon my ignorance, and put it down to a different culture, but what is a "Juried show"?
Congratulations.
Brian.

 

[Adillo303]

A juried show is one in which you must submit at least pictures of your work, usually some of those pictures must show you doing the work. Sometimes there is a jury fee for having your work looked over. There may be a requirement that the Artisan be present in the booth. You may also be required to submit photos of your booth setup.

 

[OZturner]

A juried show is one in which you must submit at least pictures of your work, usually some of those pictures must show you doing the work. Sometimes there is a jury fee for having your work looked over. There may be a requirement that the Artisan be present in the booth. You may also be required to submit photos of your booth setup.

Thank you Andy,
You learn something new every day.
Now I can go back to bed, satisfied, happy and better educated.
Brian.

 

[Adillo303]

I forgot to add. The table fees are usually higher, your prices should be higher, there should be more customers willing to buy.

As you start doing shows, keep a log of how you did, this will let you know which shows are better over time. Also, which promoters host the better shows. Talk to other vendors, they are usually willing to tell you which shows are good and which shows are bad.