Craft Fair Conundrum

To apply or not to apply, that is the question.I seem to be always looking for a new craft show in the hope that I will find my customers there. We've had several successes this year and I'll reapply to those but I'm looking to replace the poorer shows.

Knowing that high school shows and church bazaars are definitely not good shows for us, we decided to take a look at a show at the other end of the scale--the professional promoter shows.

There are a few big promoters who run shows along the East Coast. Sugarloaf Craft Shows, Castleberry Fairs, and Craft Producers are the biggest I know of. Spaces at Sugarloaf start at just over $500 with electricity extra. It's a lot of money but would it be worth it?

This past weekend we drove down to Hartford for the Sugarloaf show at the Expo Center. It is definitely huge. We went on Sunday and by 1:30 the parking lot was full and they were sending cars to an open area at the end of the street. People were piling into the show despite the $9 entrance fee. My first impression was that this was the place to be.

But on closer inspection, most vendors were not doing well. Some were barely covering the booth fee. Higher end jewelry wasn't selling and pottery was selling only if it was unique. One potter has perfected a purple glaze that you can't miss. Though this show didn't have the usual mass of country craft vendors (I don't think I saw even one), the food vendors clustered in one aisle seemed to be getting most of the business.

Had we done the show this year we would have had no competition in the steampunk jewelry catagory. We might have been able to take in $800-1200. But after subtracting the booth fee we wouldn't be left with much. I can make that much at a much less expensive show and end up with more profit.

So Sugarloaf is out for now but there's a Castelberry show in the same location in December. It's $450 for the booth fee and their most expensive show. Is that because it's their best show or because the Expo Center costs so much to rent? I'll try to get to that show too and find out.

For anyone interested there is a more detailed review on my Arts & Crafts Shows Review page for Oct/Nov.

What's Next?

In my new incarnation as a jewelry designer my focus is often on the next show or the next piece or next year. I have 3 shows left (4 actually as Kris is doing one alone near Richmond, VA) so I've started looking at my list of shows to see which ones I'll be applying to again and which will be eliminated. Some applications are actually due in early January. If you've read my show reviews you can probably guess some of the hits & misses.

My next challenge will be to start working on some silver clay designs. I have a notebook of pictures and sketches some of which I hope to turn into real jewelry.

We've had a good year so far so my next big expense could be a trip to Tucson to the world's biggest gem show. I say "could" as I'm not sure it makes sense to go there anymore. The gemstone jewelry doesn't sell as well as either the steampunk or the silver clay so I really shouldn't be buying beads anymore. But I really love creating gemstone designs so I find myself in the same pickle as many other artisans. Do you make what sells or what you love to create?

The next step in a business like mine is to consider selling wholesale. I've had some shops express an interest in the steampunk & I actually will be talking to a couple between Thanksgiving & Christmas. This a big step as it means raising my prices. It could also mean I would need to increase my inventory.

So, with all that looming ahead, I've decided instead to clean closets, pull out my winter clothes, and sort several boxes of pictures. It's just too much to think about right now.