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Choosing the Right Fall Festivals for your Crafts | October 2009 |
A chill is in the air, the leaves are beginning to turn and the thoughts of everyone seem to be gearing up for Halloween, followed by Thanksgiving – it’s fall! That means it’s time for some amazing times at local fall festivals. What makes the best fall festivals for crafters? Where should you go and what should you do to ensure that you are able to maximize your chances of selling your craft products, no matter what they are?
The best fall festivals for crafters will actually differ with each crafter. For instance, you might find that you do better at your local town festival, while another crafter might do better at a regional event. Why is this? Actually, you’ll find several different reasons why not every festival is right for your needs.
First, you have to consider the area. Is your craft something that people in that particular area will want to purchase? This is especially important with smaller events. You should also consider the number of other vendors selling similar products. If you attend a small-scale festival, it can hurt your profits if you are just one of several vendors selling almost the same thing.
In this sense, larger festivals are better. At regional or even state-level events, you will find that even a large number of other vendors selling similar products will not hurt your profitability very much. Of course, for many crafters, it’s simply not possible to attend these larger events, as life has a habit of getting in the way. Therefore, if you find that you have to go to local festivals and fairs, make sure that you do a bit of research first.
Ask the event organizer how many other vendors will be attending that will be selling a craft product similar to yours. The best fall festivals for you will have a low number of similar products to yours, as well as a large number of festivalgoers. That leads to another consideration. Even smaller festivals can have quite a large turnout, particularly in areas with a strong sense of community. Ask the organizers how many people usually attend the festival. This will give you an idea of how much stock to take with you and whether you should prepare extras. With just a bit of forethought and research, you can find the best fall festivals for your crafts.
Comments
I was just thinking in these lines. This will be my first craft show. I don’y know if I did the right thing. There will be about 30 vendors. Some jewelry artists like me but some with other things that has to do with healing art. This is a crystal fair. The traffic fir two days will be about 1000- 1500. This is an affluent neighborhood.
I feel nervous but with out doing it you can never learn. I wish I could share it with someone. Dita.
By alankarshilpa on October 2, 2009
I’d check with some of the past vendors and see how the show went in Walnut Creek last year. Go to the location seek where your spot would be.. Check with nearby businesses what was show/traffic like?There is a partial list of vendors on show’s site call them, are they showing this year? Traffic/Sales volume? Your work is really beautiful with price points right in the middle of some of the other jewelery vendors promoted on the show’s site. It doesn’t look like there will be too many jewelery vendors. 2 things of concern—the focus of this show is more gems and alternative healing…are they your target audience? Do you have pieces that will fit this categry? Figure out how many pieces you’ll need to sell to recoup your investment. You’re getting in at the last minute where will your booth be? Why is there a last minute spot? I’d negotiate a lower booth fee if possilble because, you’ll definitely be getting only what’s left over. Booth location and display is an important part of sales. Do you have a great display ready and able to compete? If you’re not sure that you will reocup your investment ...even just in getting an ‘education in ‘show’ business, you might want to use this as an opportunity to to really learn more. This group has more than one show a year. Go to the show look at the displays, watch the traffic, watch what people actually buy…not just look at. Talk to the vendors find out what other shows they attend and why. Also if this is going to be your first show, make sure you bring someone to help. 2 days on your feet is a long time. Most shows have lulls and then bursts of traffic. When busy, you’ll want to maximize your time with customers and sales, when there is a lull, you’ll need someone covering your booth so you can check out the rest of the show talk to other vendors and learn more. Because you live in the area if you can afford the fee it could be a valuable learning experience even if you don’t sell enough to cover the costs…but I’d still go through the steps of contacting previous year’s vendors to get a better idea of how close you’d come to breaking even. Be sure to bring business cards and when writing up sales reciepts ask everyone if they’d like to rec’ notice of sales and special discounts…write down their names and email.
By Fairs and Festivals Staff on October 3, 2009
I want to create a booth for some of my fully vetted Tarot Card Readers. Has anyone else done this and how did you price the readings etc. Any info would be helpful.
Thanks in advance
By Linda Savage on February 5, 2010
