Splitcoaststampers.com - the world's #1 papercrafting community
You're currently viewing Splitcoaststampers as a GUEST. We pride ourselves on being great hosts, but guests have limited access to some of our incredible artwork, our lively forums and other super cool features of the site! You can join our incredible papercrafting community at NO COST. So what are you waiting for?
I haven't tried "Sticky Squares" glue dots, but I thought I would share my experience. I found "dimensionsals" at the same place you mentioned. I jumped for joy thinking how much money I was saving. Then, one day, I pulled out a project that I had used their pop dots...the glue dried out and the embellishment came off the project. From that day on....no dollar store pop dots for me. HOWEVER, I had the same thing happen recently (glue drying out) with Zots - name brands aren�t always the best. What's a crafty woman suppose to do?
I was totally going to say the same thing. On a tutorial I had read, it said to use the 3-D glue dots to adhere the jumbo paper clips to CS to make the bookmarks. I made around 200 to use a bag stuff at a show I was at to advertise my table/SU biz. Was I irritated when half way through I realized they were already coming apart. It was totally the brand name and everything but the CS twisted right off the metal clip. :( All that work for nothing. I went back and used hot glue then and now use E-6000. It is definitely a test of trial & error when it comes to supplies!
AmyD www.DearieDesigns.BlogSpot.com
[ALSO, take into consideration your own weather, too. I am in Florida and a lot fo recommended adhesives will not hold here, especially when being sold outdoors!]
Great video Bugga! Your display looked fantastic! It's nice to "see" fellow SCSers too. I like your free gift bag sales pitch! lol
Thank you. A funny thing about the gift bags (which were simple, but cute I thought.) A well-dressed lady was admiring them and said she liked them. I told her they were free with a purchase.
She kept looking and said she only wanted the bag. I didn't say anything else, but thought to myself, there are some 50 cent and $1 things here, why don't you just buy something to get the bag if you like it.
Finally, I said, "You know what, if you like that bag, it's yours. You can be my goodwill customer for the day. Just pick one out."
Then she looked sheepish and ended up buying about $4 worth of stuff!
People are funny.
__________________ Bugga in OK
"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." Dalai Lama
Ladies and Gents,
I just got home from a fair, but to be truthful it was at a weekly gardeners' market. My two friends and I thought we'd give it a try. This is the first fair out of 4 in my 7 1/2 years of being a SU demo, where I tried to sell rather than promote the SU business.
The other two ladies who shared the booth are artists[also my club members] who had been teaching at local stamp/scrap stores. The last one closed and now they wanted to make some money, and we wanted to see if this would work. $20 for the booth split three ways isn't a hardship.
Between the three of us there were many styles. I copied what I read about here: the Magic Piggy Wands[no sales], the covered candy pops[sold 2 for $.50 each, gave 1 for the kid to give to his siblings], Halloween cards[sold 1 for $2.50] total $10. Don't know what else was sold for the $6.50, because they were sold while I was visiting with some friends who came out to visit. Probably the kitty treats: I found 12 furry mice in a discount box at PetsMart for $2 and sold them for 2 mice in a bag for $2.50.
One friend sold 3 x $10 = $30 for packaged cards. Each boxed selection had either 4 or 6 beautiful cards.
The other friends sold $4. She had brought a selection: a couple of journals, a couple of boxes[one she had painted a horses head, inside the box was hand drawn horse cards.] She's an artist who actually painted the heads herself. A altered cigar box to look like a lady's fancy box for jewelry, etc. A selection of hand painted cards of plants and animals. Some doggy treats.
The biggest winner was a donations barrel for a male horse that my horse loving friend wants to save from the slaughter house. Almost everyone that went by donated money.
I told my friends I wasn't interested it doing it again. It's 92+ degrees here in Miami. The fair was located in an empty lot, so very dusty/dirty.
They might open another gardeners' market in a more upscaled part of town, and I might try that before the holidays.
Lots of work for very little money. Also being there for 6 hours with almost nothing to show.
Thought you'd like to see the other side of the story. And a different kind of fair.
Stasia
But thanks for sharing all this with us. From the reading I've done about selling craft/handmade items in general, the place you choose to sell really makes all the difference.
I've been reading the forums about craft fairs on Etsy, and some of those gals make truly beautiful works of art, as in ART. They say the same thing, you must know your market and your audience to sell your products.
There are actually people who support their families by selling at craft fairs, but it is truly a business and they spend a lot of time and effort researching where they are going to exhibit and the people who are likely to buy their products.
I think the best "market" for papercraft items in general is probably upscale church bazaars. By that I mean ones that are established and successful and have been held for several years.
I did pretty well at the outdoor festival last week, but I did notice that a crowd with "families and kids and dogs on leashes" probably isn't my target market for cute little items.
Many times a gal would stop and ooh and ahh over things and get a "look" from her hubby/boyfriend, put the item back down and walk away. I think lots of men put a damper on women's impulse buys. Not all, but lots.
My thinking about the church bazaars is that they are a "destination" for mostly women, and they come prepared to buy stuff. Usually they do not have husbands with them to stop their impulse.
We will see if I'm right. I'm doing 2 pretty well established church bazaars in November. One of them is pretty big and always sells out at least 80 booths. They advertise heavily, too.
__________________ Bugga in OK
"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." Dalai Lama
Sorry things didn't go well for you. When it's hot I can't immagine anyone wants to stop and shop. In personal experiance from attending and reading I have always felt that doing a craft show any time before Nov was too soon. I often go for fun and ideas,but don't buy. Even here in Mn where I have snow on the ground,...yes SNOW,snowed last night and it has stayed all day on the grass here, and we are in the middle of the state not the Canadian border. Spring and fall things are sellers but to not as many as Christmas. If I am going to be there for the day and put in all the extra work I need to be sure I will leave with at least $50. DON"T be put off.
The Holiday Boutique is small at work but,usually I do well, it's the first payday in Nov, the other sale this year is new to me but is the next weekend. The big church sales and community sales are not till then or later,just my 2 cents .
I'm with ya,love the video,...the moment you realised you were being filmed was a real Kodak moment,...the surprise at your ability from your photographer was equally as humorous. No doubt here!!! Love to see you in person,...fun to put a face with a space!!! Also enjoied your twist on the bags!!! You are too funny!!!!
I'm so glad I stumbled onto this thread.... I just signed up for a last minute craft show the weekend before Halloween! And I've got four swaps due at the end of the month, so I've got a ton of crafting to do. I like some of the easy, low-price stuff that I'm seeing so I might have to hijack a few ideas....
I did my first craft fair of the season yesterday. I'm from a small town in a (poor) rural area, so our craft fairs aren't too big. I took y'alls advice and loaded up on $1 and $2 items. My sales were comparable to last years, while those with more expensive items had a poor day. The things that sold out were:
Cards also sold like crazy. I had 2 bins of $1 cards, mostly older and simpler ones I consider clearance. I also sold a lot of $2 cards as well. I sold ALL the cards as buy 3 get 1 free. I think that helped a lot.
I also sold a few journal kits (covered comp books with a beaded pen and journal prompt book, plus a bonus binder clip closure) for $10, Christmas tags 2/$1, covered post-it note pads with beaded pen $3.50, individual beaded pens $2, 2 framed pieces of hand dyed paper $15 and $8, and refrigerator list pads $2.
For here and this economy, I think it went really well. I'm doing 2 smaller fairs in November.
Thank you TONS for this thread. You have great input and ideas! It's cool that we can support each other like this.
__________________ Debra ---artist * teacher * designer Say yes. Be generous. Speak up. Love more. Trust yourself. Slow down. ---Patti Digh
I did my first craft fair of the season yesterday. I'm from a small town in a (poor) rural area, so our craft fairs aren't too big. I took y'alls advice and loaded up on $1 and $2 items. My sales were comparable to last years, while those with more expensive items had a poor day. The things that sold out were:
Cards also sold like crazy. I had 2 bins of $1 cards, mostly older and simpler ones I consider clearance. I also sold a lot of $2 cards as well. I sold ALL the cards as buy 3 get 1 free. I think that helped a lot.
I also sold a few journal kits (covered comp books with a beaded pen and journal prompt book, plus a bonus binder clip closure) for $10, Christmas tags 2/$1, covered post-it note pads with beaded pen $3.50, individual beaded pens $2, 2 framed pieces of hand dyed paper $15 and $8, and refrigerator list pads $2.
For here and this economy, I think it went really well. I'm doing 2 smaller fairs in November.
Thank you TONS for this thread. You have great input and ideas! It's cool that we can support each other like this.
Congratulations on your sales! Sounds like you did pretty good. I too am loading up on $1 and $2 and $3 items this year. Hopefully I will do better than I did last year. I think I sold about $65 last year. I am doing a lot of gift card holders this year. That was a big seller for me last year and the ones I am doing this year are so much more adorable than last years. I will try and put up some pictures tomorrow. I am so sick right now with the strep throat that I really need to rest, but I still continue to make things....I would say I am a "scrap"aholic for sure...not even sickness stops me!! LOL
I did my first craft fair of the season yesterday. I'm from a small town in a (poor) rural area, so our craft fairs aren't too big. I took y'alls advice and loaded up on $1 and $2 items. My sales were comparable to last years, while those with more expensive items had a poor day. The things that sold out were:
Cards also sold like crazy. I had 2 bins of $1 cards, mostly older and simpler ones I consider clearance. I also sold a lot of $2 cards as well. I sold ALL the cards as buy 3 get 1 free. I think that helped a lot.
I also sold a few journal kits (covered comp books with a beaded pen and journal prompt book, plus a bonus binder clip closure) for $10, Christmas tags 2/$1, covered post-it note pads with beaded pen $3.50, individual beaded pens $2, 2 framed pieces of hand dyed paper $15 and $8, and refrigerator list pads $2.
For here and this economy, I think it went really well. I'm doing 2 smaller fairs in November.
Thank you TONS for this thread. You have great input and ideas! It's cool that we can support each other like this.
Debra, thanks for sharing this info with us. So glad you had a successful show. I think the $1 and $2 items are definitely the way to go, with a few of the other things mixed in. People are watching their pennies, that's for sure.
Do you have pictures of what you made?
__________________ Bugga in OK
"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." Dalai Lama
I know that when we use to exchange gifts at Christmas, many years ago, our limit was $10.00 apiece (except for a sil who thought she had to show everyone else up with her more expensive gifts). So your $1,2,or 3 dollar items would have been a hit with me!! I still try to make small inexpensive gifts (under $5) for my four sil's on my husband's side of the family, more as a "I'm thinking of you at this time of the year" type gift.
Thank you everyone for your enthusiasm. I am registered for one craft fair but am entertaining two others. My items will be $1, $2, $3, with a few others mixed in. I haven't gotten anything made yet. (I usually do well under pressure so Im a big procrastinator.) I am in the process of stamping 150 invitations for a winetasting for my kid's school fundraiser. Also, If your craft fairs allow raffle items, raffling one basket (mine will have retired SU) will usually cover your booth fee. Thanks, Maria
I have (as I do every year) pushed back all my living room furniture and set up my tables to work on my display. I am trying to see what I have left from last year, what I have completed this year and what I still have to make. I am loving the higher table height with the use of the bed risers. So much easier on my back!
Bugga, I loved your video! Wonderful display! I have some gift bags I bought last year and only had time to make up a few, hope to get some done before my November shows this year.
Stacia, I know you feel. So much work and no excitement of selling many items. That happened to me a few years ago. I participated in a small church sale with no track record, as it was their first time doing a holiday craft show. Even though it had a nice corner location, in a nice area, at a busy intersection, with signs out, on a beautiful Dec. day, attendance was very poor. Barely made my booth fee. Now I stick with the church and high school shows that have track records that have high attendance over many years. Don't give up just look for differant shows.
Leslie, Hope you feel better soon. Looking forward to seeing your pictures.
Debra, Congrats on your show! I am busy working on alot of $1 and $2 dollar items too. They really made a differance for me last year.
Maria, A raffle sounds interesting. Will have to think about that.
My first show isn't til Nov.14 but, I will be out of town visiting one of my daughters in Charleston, SC the last week of Oct. Her husband just got stationed at Charlston AFB a few weeks ago. My other daughter and I are looking forward to seeing them and my two grandbabies!! So I have alot to do and the time is flying fast!! I better get off the computer and get busy!!
From my limited experience, the best craft shows are those where there is some motivation to buy. Holidays are key -- people have birthdays and thank you's year round, but there is less motivation to buy small gifts in large quantities, and small gifts bought in singles will not support your family or make it worth your while.
If you are going for fairs that are not motivated by holidays for increasing sales, then the items should be more alluring and of a higher value, in order to get the sale and make it worth your while. The unique and useful nature of the item might come into play.
For example -- photo albums decorated in school colors of the region might sell well prior to graduation. Altered theme books, in the fall, in school themes...
Prior to the summer, picnic sets that are cleaver might work -- seriously -- things that you DON'T see around everywhere, but are smart and sweet.
Wedding favors in the spring, with the idea of getting presales to do a lot of them for June weddings -- that sort of thing.
Craft year-round to sell at a few fairs is better than doing a lot of fairs (sitting around in the crowds, heat and all the set-up and take-down) is more worth your time, if you ask me.
Then, if you have extra stuff, you can put it in local venues on commission or something. Only do fairs you ENJOY and keep it fun. If you seriously look at your time and materials invested, doing lots of fairs without motivated buyers is really usually draining and disheartening, for most.
If, on the other hand, you enjoy the social nature of the fairs, you like to try your hand at many different sorts of small crafts, and you don't mind the gamble of hit and miss crowds, then I think you can keep doing more of the same.
Doing only one show that is well established with returning customers who expect me, makes it very easy to pick things that I know will have a decent chance of selling. I try to get my table in the same area (it has been in the same place each year, even) and that has made it very, very easy for me. If folks miss that show, they know they can call me, and that I will do everything in my power to get them what they want -- including custom orders.
Random shows might pull in a few customers -- but it has been repeat customers that have kept me going!
" Now I stick with the church and high school shows that have track records that have high attendance over many years. "
Diane, I just realized we are in the same area.....I am in New Lebanon which is west of Dayton...My brother-in-law grew up in Belbrook..... If you don't mind me asking which shows do you do. I got the paper last week with all the shows listed in it and was wondering about doing one more than my usual. Thanks!! Leslie
Hi Leslie, This year I am doing Ascension Church, Woodman Drive in Kettering on Sat. Nov. 14. Fairmont High School, 3301 Shroyer Rd. Kettering (across from The Fraze), on Sat. Nov 21. and Emmanuel Lutheran Church on Sat. Dec. 5. also in Kettering at the corner of Rahn Rd and Wilmington Pike. It will be my 3rd year for Ascension, my 4th year at Fairmont and my second year at Emmanuel. Fairmont is the largest, I am in the cafetaria. I like the cafeteria over the gym as the lighting is brighter. I have had the same spot each year. Ascension is the next largest and I am on the main floor of the activity room, they also have booths in the basement where lunch is served. I prefer the main floor activity room as that is where everyone enters and it is easier to setup and teardown and less pulling your items thru the halls. Emmanuel is the smallest but established and they had their childrens Christmas program on the stage in the same room as the craft show mid day and lunch was served too. Alot of people showed up for the program and shopped before and after. I used to do the Kettering Rec center/Lathrem Sr center the 1st weekend of Nov each year for the last 3 years. Very big 2 day show (pics of last year are in my gallery) but they have moved their show to Polen Farm in Kettering the 1st weekend in Dec and charging $80 for residents and $100 for nonresidents for a two day show. I am staying with Emmanuel for that weekend as I enjoyed that show last year and booth fee was only $25 for one day. I like the one day shows the best and the 3 shows I am doing are one day shows. That way I can rest on Sunday before I go back to work at my regular 40 hr a week job. I was looking for a show for the 1st weekend in Nov to replace the rec center show. Are you doing any that weekend?? What other shows have you done or are going to do this year?? PS The ladies at these shows who only display cards have not been happy with sales. You need a variety of other items to go along with the cards.
I am doing a small one here in New Lebanon on Dec 5th and then there is one I want to do in West Alexandria(in Preble Co.) that is sometime in December also. I wanted to do maybe one in November sometime and last week's Sunday Dayton Daily News had like 6 or 7 pages of craft fairs in the area. I am not sure which other one I will do yet, but I better figure it out soon because November is right around the corner. There were several listed in the paper for the first weekend in November. If you would like I can send you a private message with the ones for that date. It is nice to know there are fellow SCS'ers in the area. I wish you the best of luck with your shows and hope I do well also. Let me know if you would like that info and I will send it to ya.
Leslie
Quote:
Originally Posted by dhb1281
Hi Leslie, This year I am doing Ascension Church, Woodman Drive in Kettering on Sat. Nov. 14. Fairmont High School, 3301 Shroyer Rd. Kettering (across from The Fraze), on Sat. Nov 21. and Emmanuel Lutheran Church on Sat. Dec. 5. also in Kettering at the corner of Rahn Rd and Wilmington Pike. It will be my 3rd year for Ascension, my 4th year at Fairmont and my second year at Emmanuel. Fairmont is the largest, I am in the cafetaria. I like the cafeteria over the gym as the lighting is brighter. I have had the same spot each year. Ascension is the next largest and I am on the main floor of the activity room, they also have booths in the basement where lunch is served. I prefer the main floor activity room as that is where everyone enters and it is easier to setup and teardown and less pulling your items thru the halls. Emmanuel is the smallest but established and they had their childrens Christmas program on the stage in the same room as the craft show mid day and lunch was served too. Alot of people showed up for the program and shopped before and after. I used to do the Kettering Rec center/Lathrem Sr center the 1st weekend of Nov each year for the last 3 years. Very big 2 day show (pics of last year are in my gallery) but they have moved their show to Polen Farm in Kettering the 1st weekend in Dec and charging $80 for residents and $100 for nonresidents for a two day show. I am staying with Emmanuel for that weekend as I enjoyed that show last year and booth fee was only $25 for one day. I like the one day shows the best and the 3 shows I am doing are one day shows. That way I can rest on Sunday before I go back to work at my regular 40 hr a week job. I was looking for a show for the 1st weekend in Nov to replace the rec center show. Are you doing any that weekend?? What other shows have you done or are going to do this year?? PS The ladies at these shows who only display cards have not been happy with sales. You need a variety of other items to go along with the cards.
Hi, Ladies! I was wondering what most of you pay for your booth space fee. I only do a few craft shows per year and my highest booth space is $80 which includes two days. However, one of the more well known Christmas craft fairs which is well established and held at the state fairgrounds each year has a booth rental fee around $655 for a
10' x 10' booth for three days! Hundreds of people come to shop and alot of the vendors have a retail store. What are your thoughts?
I don't like to spend more than $20 on booth space, but that's because my items are lower price point items and I have to make a lot of stuff even to recoup $20. The most expensive table I've rented was $40 and it just wasn't worth it. I've read a lot of things that say you should bring along inventory totaling your booth fees times 6, so $120 is totally doable for me. To even make $655 worth of stuff I'd be crafting for a long, long time. If your items sell at a higher price point (around $20 each or so) or you have A HUGE amount of inventory and the show has a great reputation then I'd consider it. But figure out how much you'd have to sell to make that up first. That's a LOT of money, even if you break it down by day.
I also try to stick in the $20 range. I did find out about a show for next year that $100 that I'm thinking about. It's held at our state fairgrounds. You do have to apply by May for November's show but that's because they actually have to go through the applications and approve you. You have to provide pictures of your work and your workspace as well as a raw materials receipt to prove that you craft your items. The show is well established and has over 10,000 visitors in the one day so I'm sure going to try to get in!
Hi, Ladies! I was wondering what most of you pay for your booth space fee. I only do a few craft shows per year and my highest booth space is $80 which includes two days. However, one of the more well known Christmas craft fairs which is well established and held at the state fairgrounds each year has a booth rental fee around $655 for a
10' x 10' booth for three days! Hundreds of people come to shop and alot of the vendors have a retail store. What are your thoughts?
My thoughts are: wow, that's a lot of money! It's about $218 per day.
One advantage would be huge crowds who are looking to buy. We all know that a lot of people come to a craft fair to look, not to buy. I would think that you will be up against big time crafters like potters and glass blowers and that guy I've seen at the Renaissance Faire who sells those amazing chairs. Of course, you could easily sell some reindeer poop for $1 after someone looks at a $500 chair.
Still, $655 is a lot of poop!
I don't like to spend more than $20 on booth space, but that's because my items are lower price point items and I have to make a lot of stuff even to recoup $20. The most expensive table I've rented was $40 and it just wasn't worth it. I've read a lot of things that say you should bring along inventory totaling your booth fees times 6, so $120 is totally doable for me. To even make $655 worth of stuff I'd be crafting for a long, long time. If your items sell at a higher price point (around $20 each or so) or you have A HUGE amount of inventory and the show has a great reputation then I'd consider it. But figure out how much you'd have to sell to make that up first. That's a LOT of money, even if you break it down by day.
Very interesting! I hadn't heard that before.
For the $655 fee, that would be almost $4000 worth of product. Actually, I think there are quite a few of us out there that have that much in raw materials in our posession right this very minute!
Very interesting! I hadn't heard that before.
For the $655 fee, that would be almost $4000 worth of product. Actually, I think there are quite a few of us out there that have that much in raw materials in our posession right this very minute!
Raw material? Oh heck yeah. I've got that and then some. Like you had mentioned, if you're making pottery, or painting fine art, or jewelery then bringing along $4000 worth of product (retail value of course) wouldn't be a stretch. Can you imagine $4000 worth of cards though? You'd need a Uhaul to cart it around with you!
