Thatd explain it lol
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Hi Natasha, I could have told that same story word for word Im glad you found the spirit to carry on. Reading about others in the same boat helps good luck with your new prints I will be doing something similar. I havenāt sold anything yet but I also live in hope. I am currently trying to decide wheter to do craft shows again this year, they have been hit and miss but it gets under your skin doesnt it. Best of luck John Hammond
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Hiya, sorry to hear this 
and thanks for taking the time to comment. Good luck with your prints too. Iām sure we will get there in the end. Yes, I used to do local craft fairs years ago but got put off because people didnāt want to pay what the work was worth and I ended up not making a sale or being out of profit, so I kind of got put off doing them locally. Hope all goes well for you and thank you 
Love your work @JohnHammond . The other positive for me about doing events is that they get you out and give you a good social day! I have a lot of friends who work the same markets as I do and I enjoy the catch-up as much as the selling 
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Thank you, and yes the comeraderie is one of the reasons I keep going back to the shows, it can be a lonely business doing what we do
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Absolutely, it is good to get out and meet other artisans/crafters and the buying public, the feedback, even when they donāt know they are giving it, is invaluable.
On a personal level, I sell far more at in person events than all my online presences combined.
Mind, my amateur phone photography, my long ocd descriptions and complete ignorance of seo and sm may play a part in that tooā¦ 
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The social side of craft markets is a big plus. I also get 99% of my sales there & very little online.
Depending on what you sell, things are generally quiet at the moment I have found. But we do just have to find our own way of staying positive & keep on going.
Posts like these also help as you can see that it is not ājust meā. One of the worst things you can do, though, is to compare yourself with other sellers.
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Very true, thank you
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Maybe Iāll have to look into craft events. Maybe a bit further a field from where I live, thank you
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I think your beautiful work would do well at the bigger craft events like Haddon Hall or Staunton Harold, there are quite a few my brother attends and they always do well even in the middle of this awful cost of living crisis, he sells high end Damascus steel knives and forged metal work so is quite niche like yourself and has always said, while they can be very expensive pitches they attract the sort of customers with plenty of disposable income, plus, while he doesnāt always make a lot of sales on the day he does tend to get plenty of orders on the back of it.
Theyāve also made lots of really good friends through the fairs and he says the social side of it is wonderful.
I think a lot of us have been and still are to a degree in the āis it worth itā camp, I know I am and my stuff is cheap as chips, Iāve seen prints here more expensive than my originals, but for me I donāt have to make an income from so I just carry on doing what I love because I love doing it.
I hope you donāt give up, your scarves are stunning! 
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Thank you 
. I must admit Iād often thought to myself if I got a slot at Camden market I might do ok! Trouble is Im stick out on a small island so locally craft fairs are no good. I guess Iāll have to check further afield. Thank you so much for your comment. That is very true, we make because we live it and I absolutely do love creating. I shanāt give up, this community has some lovely inspiring people to keep me going. Thanks again and have a lovely weekend.
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Itās comforting to know Iām not the only one struggling with social media! I never know what to write in my posts or how to make them āentertainingā . I have given up for a while on sm and since I have just been made redundant from my part time job, Iām going to do more craft fairs this year. I usually do quite well with those. Etsy has pretty much died on me and Iāve only had a couple of sales on Folksy so far. But I might find the fairs quiet as well this year. We are all going through tough times at the moment but Im sure things will turn around. In the meantime Iām looking at all the jewellery Iāve made and wonder what Iām going to do with it all if I canāt sell it! I donāt want to stop making though! 
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Hiya, I know exactly what you mean. I also got really fed up of trying to film everything I was doing just to make a reel that hardly anyone would see! It took the joy out of my relaxing crafting. Sorry to hear about your job 
. Yes craft fairs may well be the way to goā¦ā¦
I do that to! Iāve started giving some of my handmade things away to friends and family. I was literally picking bits out of my folksy shop and seeing who it would suit! . We will get there Im sure. Thanks for commenting 
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