I jumped right into my first craft fair. I did not even have my Etsy shop up before it happened. I didn’t even have my product lines all designed (and I was only aiming for 3-4 solid lines). I am a foolish mortal. But there are lots of articles out there to help you be prepared for your first craft fair, and I thought I would add some helpful observations for the frugal mompreneur, as well.
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Cross-posted on my shop site, HousePunkery
In this series: Planning for Your First Craft Fair ~ Preparing for Your First Craft Fair ~ At the Event of Your First Craft Fair
Planning for Your First Craft Fair
To find a craft fair check your state’s main pages. I found a great listing on NH.com
For your first craft fair look for one that is indoors, and possibly even provides table and chairs. You don’t want to put a ton of money into a tent and set up, and then find that you absolutely detest sitting there and smiling and chatting for 6 hours. Start small and try to find the things you need used, like folding tables off of Craigslist (beware the old tables that weigh a ton).
Lucky for me, there was a small craft fair in my hometown, and I thought it would be a good way to get my feet wet. I had four weeks to prepare, and absolutely nothing started. I had considered opening a shop for years, I had made the decision to do it, I had considered several product ideas, I had even opened an Etsy shop and slapped some almost-free printables up there. But the only item I had made was one demo of one item, which of course did not come out to my satisfaction. I was a little daunted.
I had thought of a good name a while ago and bought the domain, and threw up a WordPress site so it would be easy for me to post once I was ready. Luckily, I have been helping my sister a little with her shop, so I had some knowledge of the Etsy side of things. I knew what I wanted my item photos to look like, I knew what I wanted my listings to look like. I knew that I should take photos of the process so I would have something to post on my site and social media. I knew I needed a cohesive look for my branding. I knew that I needed business cards STAT, and preferably a banner. I had the advantage of having been considering this for years, so I had a lot of ideas and a picture in my head of my look/brand.
I did not have the advantage of having a lot of disposable income to put into it. Like, the $52 for one table, one chair, and one stool (never mind the stupid tent), seems like an insurmountable goal. I started buying supplies off of eBay, most items 1 or 2 dollars, and proceeded to wait weeks for them to arrive from the nether regions of some far-off exotic country. I bought “free” business cards and a small banner from VistaPrint ($12 total), with a discount code. I babysat and used that money for my craft fair table fee (this one is indoors and provides tables and chairs). I may have tricked my sister into buying me ink at one point (have you looked at how much ink costs you per ounce, that stuff is like liquid gold). I already had a lot of supplies, like cardstock and TONS of glitter. BUCKETS of glitter.
They say do what you love, and I know if I get stuck doing 100 of something for someone I better like doing it, so most of my items have lovely glitter. Sparkly things make me happy. Making things for people makes me happy too, so that works out.
As I made the items I took photos so I could get my items listed on Etsy and my site. I did an article on making your own lightbox for photography. The best thing is to take your item outside for natural light, but April is not photography-friendly in these here parts. I have found that just having two desk lamps with tracing paper taped over them helps a lot with lighting for indoor photography. Also, take two so if you shake the camera taking the picture you still have the other one that isn’t blurry. Even still, I already want to do the photos over. But chasing my toddler and preschooler off to get it done is hard, man.
I am detail-oriented, so I knew I needed to read up on being a vendor at a craft fair, or I would get myself stuck on little details and mess up the big picture. Through the wonders of the hyperwebs, there is a vast amount of e-knowledge that you can tap into on just about any subject. See the end of this article for a few helpful links, and don’t forget to check Pinterest.
Sisterly awesomeness deserves some Facebook Likes and Etsy shop Favorites, don’t you think?!
In this series: Planning for Your First Craft Fair ~ Preparing for Your First Craft Fair ~ At the Event of Your First Craft Fair
We hope you enjoyed our Planning My First Craft Fair post
Photo credits:
All photos by me, The More With Less Mom
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