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Craft fairs and the like..
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Message
Posted
Hello all,
Have any of you taken part in art / craft fairs (big or small)?
I've only ever done art & craft fairs in the village I live in. To me it's a lot of effort for little return, but a nice day out all the same.
Anyway... at our fair last weekend I got chatting to another artist, who suggested I hire a market stall in a garden centre. (Its only £15 day or £25 weekend). This particular garden centre does a christmas market (indoors) on the weekends up to christmas.
Have any of you done something like this before, and was it worthwhile?
I've been weighing up the pros and cons, (probably talking myself out of it, rather than in to it!)... it's a massive table (which I'm not sure I could fill, unless I had various other stuff printed such as mugs, cushions, etc), then there's the upfront cost of those items, plus buying display panels to hang my pictures and prints from as the panels I have wouldn't be suitable.
But...... it could be way better than a village craft fair.
Posted
I have done a local village hall Christmas market organised by a friend for a few years. It was well set up and well attended by the locals (not others) and an enjoyable day. My table only cost a tenner but I had space for a few easels to show paintings also. There is one this year but I’m not able to do it. I do think people expect Christmassy things in a sale like this, and if you were considering it for 3-4 weeks then it might be worth paying for suitable stuff to sell, but be wary of laying out too much on stuff you’ll be lumbered with for ever more if you don’t intend doing again! Have I put you off? I’m sure some people make a decent amount but I think you probably need to look at it long term for that. Having said that I think being in a garden centre could be good as you have a captive audience.
Posted
I've ordered 10 mugs, and 7 calendars from a regular online printing company. I've bought these primarily for a show I take part it the end of this month, so will be a chance to see if they might sell, and not stuck with too many if they don't!
I thought the garden centre table hire price was ok, bearing in mind the village fair was £10 for one day, and I can just do one day if I want, or one weekend. (Or more, even). I was mainly daunted by the task of driving over an hour and setting up etc.
Been thinking again about the panels I do have (6ft grid-wall), and I could probably stand them behind the bench or something. Not ideal, but preferable to forking out for shorter ones. They're heavy though, and a pain to get in and out of the car! I should perhaps think of this as a trial run for next year, as I've left it too late for organising such things properly!
Posted
Calendars are a good idea Helen. You’ve reminded me I produced a batch for a few years and gave any remaining as Christmas presents! Good luck if you do it and yes if you think of it as a trial run you won’t put too much pressure on your self. Pre planning is the key.
One other thought- do you have a cash free payment machine? I think most people are still in non cash mode after the last year.
Posted
Hello, Helen. I’ve done art/craft fairs. It was well run and all the stall holders were well looked after. You paid for your pitch. The table was supplied so all you had to do was ‘dress’ it. I always used a white cloth and didn’t overcrowd the table. I put my paintings on small easels and also used wooden wine crates for height. A point of sale machine is a must, that way you can accept credit/debit cards. It does seem a lot of outlay, but once you’ve got it all, that’s it. I’ve always been lucky enough to sell my work and be in profit after expenses. I enjoyed them and made friends with likeminded people.
Posted
I’ve did a craft fair at Shugborough Hall many years ago, both myself and another artist to halve the cost.
Basically it was a disaster! I’ll leave it at that!
I’ve also had a couple of goes at a pre-Christmas indoor market at Telford. That was better but I mainly had loose mounted but unframed works laid out in boxes for punters to rummage through. That seemed to go down well, people like to rummage through boxes!
I sold around 40 at both events, but they were for a comparative pittance - saying that, they were mainly smallish and frankly I just wanted them out of the way.
Posted
Tessa and Ellen, I've invested in a SumUp card payment thingy, which was only £20. (No subscription fees, just a small transaction fee). The lady who hosted the cafe at our craft fair last weekend had one so I asked her all about it. Then looked at reviews online before I went ahead with it.
So I figure if I make more than £120 on the weekend (not including petrol costs), it will be ok. I did £101 in our sleepy village, so am hopeful!
I've gone ahead and booked the last weekend of November... so now I'm committed! 😱
I'll look imto rummage boxes Alan!
Was chatting to one of my gardening customers today and she offered to come and set it all up with me!
Posted
Well..... day one of my craft fair / market stall experience hasn't gone well!!
I think (hope) the awful weather had something to do with it. Spoke to a few others there who said Sundays are always way better, so am keeping optimistic for tomorrow 😳 (Well, what else can you do, eh?)
I was frozen for hours though, which wasn't fun! So am now rethinking my five-layered outfit for tomorrow.
On the plus side... husband has made dinner (first time in years...)
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