Finding an Arts and Crafts Show

Finding a show

When discussing arts and crafts marketing, the first method that comes to mind is arts and crafts shows, or simply craft shows. In fact shows are only a single part of many artist's arsenal of tools as there are a host of other marketing methods available. Would you believe we can make the same profit from items sold wholesale as those sold at shows? It's true and we will illustrate this when we explore wholesale but for now let's look at arts and crafts shows.

Many crafters choose to start selling with shows, primarily due to the perceived notion that shows are the best, easiest and maybe the only way to make money selling. On the surface it seems to be as easy as finding a show, sign up, set up and start selling. In reality its not quite that simple, but compared with other sales methods selling at shows can be relatively simple and a good way to start.

By the same token though, selling at shows can be hard work and more complicated than one might think. Selling at a good show can take many hours finding shows, making application, production, packing, travel, un-packing, set up, selling all weekend, packing up, travel home, unpack ... whew.

If this sounds like a a lot of work, it is, but many people think it's worth it. If you are apprehensive maybe selling a small local show would be a good way to start turning your time, talent and expense into money without taking a changes or making a big investment in time, travel and money taking.

Finding a Good Show
Let's assume you have nice, original hand crafted wares, ready to sell. The next logical step is to find a show, but what where do you start?

Since shows range from small and inexpensive to large and sometimes very expensive the first question might be, what size show are you ready for? In the 30 plus years we have been selling at shows we have attended everything from 2 hour lunch time affairs for $5.00 a table to 5 day events that cost $500.00 plus expenses.

Once while at one of those $500.00+ shows we were chatting with a neighboring crafter about shows, arts and crafts in general and the show we were at in particular. They were very disappointed that the crowd was large and seemed to be buying but they were not doing as well as they hoped. As a matter of fact they were not even going to make enough money to pay the booth fee let alone motel and meals.

Come to find out, they had just started crafting this item and in fact this was their very first show. This is an all too common but avoidable situation.

Had they started with a few smaller shows they might have discovered the limited demand for their product in general. Knowing this they would have the option of considering alternative markets, or shows that were specifically geared toward their product. Or after some feedback from customers, they might have found a way to change the item in a way that made it more appealing to customers.

Just last week, as of this writing, we were situated next to a crafter who had a good idea but they needed to tweak it a little to be more saleable and profitable. Had they started at some smaller shows they would have been able to judge the appeal of the product without spending hundreds of dollars and a long trip. Their time wasn't wasted, because they learned some lessons but they could have learned the same lessons by selling as smaller shows first, and then moving up to the larger shows after refining the design.

It may be easy to get into a good small show but they can be surprisingly hard to find. The smaller promoters rely on word of mouth and other methods such as local bulletin boards. Since the shows are small they do not use the network of nation wide listings. Sometimes the only evidence or a show is a roadside sign on the weekend of the show.

Check Craig's List, "what's happening listings" and other local bulletin boards to find smaller venues. Keep your ears open and ask local crafters if they know of a local show. Usually crafters who have been selling at shows for a year or two will know about a few, or they may know someone who knows of good shows. If you should happen on a previously unknown show, stop and check it out. Look at it from the prospective of a customer noting the size of the crowd and the quality of other arts and crafts.

The job of finding a show is much easier since the advent of the internet. There are many sites dedicated to show listings. Some charge a fee to browse the listings, some require a membership, others require some type of participation but thankfully some are free.

A web search for a craft shows in a particular geographic area can often turn up good results but a good effort requires time and perseverance. Use a notebook or folder to keep track of shows and bookmark them on your computer. When searching use several search engines. For example do the same search on Yahoo as Google or Bing. There are may search companies and they will probably have different listings. Take your time and search local organizations to see if they have annual shows.

If you find some prospective shows talk with some fellow crafters and get their opinions. For example, you might ask if they did a particular show and how was the crowd. You also might ask how well they did but remember that this type of conversation can get a little personal and some people do not want to tell how well they did or didn't do, and that is fine.

Remember too that some people consistently exaggerated their sales, fill in your own reason why. We often share the sales information in the form of a comparison to other years or other shows. For example we might say that we do as well as another good show for reference, or we did as poorly as some other show, or better and worse than years before. The key is to take sales reports as a group, and average if you will and take individual claims with a grain of salt.

Some years ago we heard of a show that was suppose to be very good so we packed up and traveled more than 150 miles, paid $175.00 for a booth ( Which at that time was quite a lot of money. ), and rented a motel room for 2 days. We even had a second vehicle follow us down with extra stock. As you probably guessed, the show was a bomb, and not in a good way. Most of the vendors complained bitterly about he poor attendance. The show was so bad that we barely paid for gas.

As it turned out the show promoter had a second show in the same venue around Thanksgiving and in order to get into the fall show you were required to do the spring show.

After the first day we were so desperate that we went out that night to the local Kinko's and printed up sales coupons which we stuffed into the programs, with the approval of the promoter of course. That helped a little. We were fortunate that a friend was also set up at the show and luckily she had room in her trailer to bring back all the extra stock. To say we learned our lesson would be an understatement!

Ever since then we like to personally attend a show as spectators before signing up, if we can. We plan to spend a few hours at least to look around to see how big, or small the crowd is and how customers are buying. See if they are carrying bags or goods. Even the age of the crowd can have a direct effect on sales.

We are so nosey that we are apt to politely ask people if they have ever shopped at this show and what do they think about it. A slow moving food line is a good place to casually talk with people. Make mental notes or better yet write your impressions down. Keep your notes in a file folder for that show. If you do the show in the future you should be adding more notes.

Treat each show like an important business client.
Case in point;
We were at a rather large show a short time ago and were chatting with another crafter about the weather and size of the crowd. I was not surprised when the other crafter said that he could not remember how the show was from year to year, much less the weather. With all that goes on between getting ready for a show, packing, unpacking, and setting up it is no wonder he could even remember his name. Who could? But if he had taken notes he wouldn't need to remember. We always keep a "day sheet" for shows. On the sheet we record the date, weather and temperature, relative crowd size, sales numbers and any other notes. We file these day sheets for future reference.

One last note *Once you start doing shows your name will probably end up on mailing lists and show promoters will contact you with offers to sign up.

Tip. If you are worried about email spam, create a free throwaway email address on Hotmail or G-mail or Yahoo and use it when signing up. Some sites will sell your email address and before you know it you will be inundated with spam emails having nothing to do with craft shows. But remember they will also be sending you offers for legitimate shows, so check the email account on a regular basis.

Next >> choosing a show