Thinking Of Doing Craft Fairs Next Year

Good luck.

Hope it goes really well for you.

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Donā€™t be terrified - remember visitors come because they like handmade items and like to engage with the makers! And if they donā€™t,well then they are at the wrong event, not you!

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Oh brilliant, well done! :smiley: You might want to take a.n.other with you for a bit of moral support on your first one? Maybe someone youā€™re really close to who wonā€™t mind you telling them they can bugger off if you find youā€™re comfortable and conā€™t need them! :rofl:

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Sorry for the delayed response, I was away for a couple of days! Thanks for the encouragement. This oneā€™s just a two hour evening event, but Iā€™ve just booked a bigger one in a nice venue for the 8th of Dec. Iā€™ll hopefully be able to rope my friend into coming with me for that one! And thatā€™ll do for the Christmas fairs I think, enough to get me started.

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Iā€™ve been reading through the chat as craft fairs is something Iā€™ve been looking into but just no idea where to start and whether it is worth the commitment? as someone told me it can be expensive.
I have no idea which craft fairs are the best? or how to find local ones?
Iā€™m a bit of an introvert and not sure if it would work for me personally but I would really love it if I could be selling my products.
Any advice ?

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I used to sell at fairs but now only online and now find all the lugging of heavy boxes too much.

Also check your pli insurance covers you for face to face fairs.

One thing I would say any fair that does not ask for proof avoid the chances are they do not have my themselves.

Used to do Charterhouse and Losely used to be good but that was in the 80ā€™s.

One near us at Ramster in Chiddingfold is excellent the cards are all mercs or beemers that visit and the occasional McLaren or Aston. Expensive to rent and expensive to go in, this year the entrance fee is about Ā£15. The yummy mummyā€™s that go as held on Wed and Thur always dripping in money and as in groups encourage each other to buy.

I would always advise to visit if you can first.

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I currently do about 12-15 Craft Fairs per year, but itā€™s not all about sales on the day. Itā€™s important how you think about it.

For me over multiple sites, the commission and card fees for an online sale work out at approx. 10% of selling price.

If the Craft Fair table costs Ā£50 then I need to sell about Ā£500 of items to cover that cost at the same % as online sales. There are a myriad of other costs, such as tablecloths, display shelves or risers, price tags and signage, PLI, card processing machine, putting fuel in the car (which is insured for business use of course) . . . and I doubt anyone pays themselves minimum wage for the hours spent manning the stall.
I have NEVER in 13 years ā€œcovered my costsā€ from sales on the day!

On the other hand, Craft Fairs are brilliant for my mental health. I hate Social Media, it all seems so fake; but actually spending all day chatting in person to real people who are interested in my work is the best thing ever.

Also, I hand out hundreds of business cards, and the online sales come later. The customer has met me already, and handled my products, and discussed colours and styles. If I donā€™t do the Fairs then my online views and sales drop drastically.

If I count each Fair as an advertising cost, then itā€™s pretty cheap. If I count it as a day out for myself, with the bonus of displaying and maybe selling some stuff, then the hard work and costs involved just vanish to insignificance :grin:

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I do craft fairs regularly. They are great for getting new followers and getting your work known. But be choosey! Craft and Flea are good ones. Not sure if in your area.
Donā€™t change your prices. You have already calculated cost of everything. Stick to your prices. People who want to buy will buy because they love your work.
I wish you success at future fairs.

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Thank you for your reply.

I am still researching and I visited Monmouth Market today, it is small but looking good so far.

Hi :wave: everyone, I was wondering if anyone has ever done the dippy craft fairs was looking at doing a possible stall, if there are any tables left.
It would be my first ever stall and not sure whether it would be a good place to start.