The Craft Fair Dilemma!

craft fair table with items on

My stall at the craft fair!

Well I had a stall yesterday at a local craft fair.  It’s been a while because of ill health and I was really looking forward to it!  So what happened?  The usual of course!  Intermittant trickle of visitors admiring and in some cases buying – but usually only for the cheapest item I was selling. Not a lot of change from when I started a couple of years ago!

Yesterday I was selling my goddess/fairy/angel/chakra gifts and jewellery hoping to clear these out as I am now making handmade fabric creations using my sewing and knitting skills and it’s these I hope to start selling in the future.  Will I ever make a profit from selling hand made goods?  not by going to craft fairs I think….. I’d love to know if anyone has any tips or insights to make it more profitable.  One thing I do love about these fairs though is meeting the other stall holders (usually!) and seeing all the amazing creations that are on offer. I think it’s this which keeps me going.

I’ve been doing a lot of reading of other blogs, facebook etc and craft publications as I love my sewing and knitting and crochet and it would be wonderful to turn it into a profitable business instead of hobby – if only to fund the purchase of more fabric or beautiful paper or wool!  I have all of these in large quantities which I look at and stroke frequently…I just need the energy and health to make more things with them all!

You can see the sort of things I am now selling in my previous post here

So today I thought I’d add a link to the Handmade Harbour – after all – meeting other crafters and perusing their creations is my favourite thing!

15 thoughts on “The Craft Fair Dilemma!

  1. I empathise with your situation, i lost in the world of internet stores, as i dont have eonough time to do the marketing side, i dont drive but i still made the effort to get to craft fair, which i found a total let down 🙁 so it is hard to keep motivated to keep going, but its purely the love of making that makes me continue as i cant imagine not doing it!

  2. I love the look of your stall,it looks very tempting .I’m not a seller so I can’t really give you any advice but if it’s any consolation I went to a craft fair at the weekend and the trend there seemed to be people buying small inexpensive things.I didn’t see anyone buy any of the more expensive items.for me it’s a matter of cash flow-lack of-that prevents me buying more at the moment.

  3. Your stall looks lovely and it’s a shame there weren’t more visitors. Selling at fairs is a long and difficult learning curve, but you probably won’t ever earn a living that way! They are great for meeting other crafters and for market research though. Selling online is also a long and difficult learning curve but probably more lucrative. Also, you never have to suffer muddy fields, wet socks or smelly portaloos at 4pm on a hot day! The biggest key to sales, I think, is to make things which are different to anyone else’s. Not always easy to get to that stage though! Good luck xx

    • Thanks Wendy – and yes I agree with everything you have said- I have lots of ideas so will just have to keep at it until I find my niche! You have really worked hard at your business since we met in Whitchurch 2 or 3 years ago and I always enjoy reading your blog.

  4. I gave up on fairs last year. To be honest I only tried 4. But after 4 days i’d sold nothing! So i figured craft fairs weren’t for me. I now focus my efforts on line and Facebook seems to work really well for me. I think you just have to try different stuff until you find something which works for you.

  5. Thanks Helen – may be I do have to decide to put my energies into one outlet and just work at that. So far whenever I have posted on FB I haven’t had any sales at all. But your handbags are very good!

  6. I have yet to make that leap but do intend to one day….(if that day ever comes. I think it may be like having children you are never totally ready) Meantime I am learning lots from others. I wish you all the best in the future.

  7. I have done 2 fairs lately, and although the first went fairly well, the second was a bit demoralising. I think it is best to prepare yourself by having very low expectations, and think of each one also as an exercise in market research.

    • Lol! yes have low expectation and it can only be good – I like it! I think I will concentrate on the perks next time such as nice day chatting and presence of yummy cupcakes as someone always has a cake stall!

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