Questions about doing craft shows

[Sean Geerlof]

A buddy of mine has brought up the idea of working with me selling custom pens, bottle stoppers, and gifts. We were thinking of hitting a bunch of Craft Shows in our area but were worried about getting in over our head right from the get go. With the varying cost of a spot at these shows, we did not know how much a decent show with a good pen turner could sell per day. Can you guys tell me what to expect? I know there are alot of variables there, but if you guys could give me an idea what to expect it will help me decide how much is to much to pay for a spot at one of these shows. What would be a good day, what an average day looks like, ect...

I am not looking to count anyones money. I would just like to find out to expect. If you want to email me because you do not want to put numbers on the boards, i respect that as well.

Thanks again,
Sean Geerlof

Bup4ever@aol.com

[Stan Cook]

I have paid as much as $750 for a booth. Sometimes I leave on the plus side, sometimes in the hole.

[Joe Pfeifer]

Sean,
I started selling at craft shows around Chicago this past year, and I can tell you that every experienced crafter complained that the shows attendance was down at least 30%. Granted, this is not not scientific, but I feel their experience is pretty reliable. As far as how much you need to make, that depends on you. Some crafters say for it to be a successful show, you need to make 10 times the booth fee. I had my stuff next to my wife's (she makes hairbows for kids) and I sold some bottlestoppers and birdhouse ornaments. Those sell even in July. However, the only people that looked at the pens were other turners. I saw some pen only booths, and they were selling next to nothing. My recommendation is to do a cheap indoor show and see what kind of feedback you get. Then you can decide to spend the money on a big outdoor fest show and buy a tent. If you have a lot of pens complete, consider doing a juried art show. I think people expect to spend more at a show like that, versus a craft show where people are looking for bargains. Goodluck!

[Frank Kobilsek]

Sean,

Joe's 10 times booth rent I have heard as a rule of thumb. My performance has run 4 to 6 times rent. Make sure your mileage, hotel, and other costs can be covered. I quit doing 'craft' and only do 3 art shows each year. I have found 2 that are working and will keep returning but the 3rd show is up in the air. People return year after year so do some scouting before you invest in a show. You are developing a client base in that specific location.

Pens have not been successful for me but Bottle stoppers have turned into the bread and butter of my show efforts. Half of my sales dollars will be stoppers. Then on a good day I'll sell one piece over $200 one or two over $100 and everything under $50 that I bring.

If you want to try shows create a schedule that you can support with inventory. Prepare throughly for all possible enviromental and economic conditions. Wind and rain can be brutal. Make the decision ahead of time if you will haggle or will stick to your price. Either way is fine just be ready to adjust to the clientel if you need to to ring the cash register.

Bottom line regardless of the quality of your work you need to 1) love talking about your work/process and 2) just plain love talking to people.

I'll close with a story about a lady in my booth one afternoon just visiting about this and that for probably an hour, barely asking about the pieces or turning. She'd pick up a piece during the conversation and set it down without any reaction. Then out of the blue she nonchalantly picks up the most expensive piece in the booth and says wrap this up and peals a wad of hundred dollar bills from her wallet. I was being nice, killing time, heck she was a nice lady, and no one else even walked by at the time. I never thought she was a buyer. She returned the next year and this time with out all the small talk pick something out for her sister.

Good luck, shows ain't easy but a few weekends a year I really enjoy the carnival of it all.
Frank

[Joseph Barnes]

From my experience:
An indoor craft show in a gym holds about 60 booths and I pay around $50 for a Saturday 9am-4pm. I do 6-10 of these a year. The crowds vary but are "small" at around 1500-3500. I sell bowls and vases and move about $500 worth. Setup in the morning, nothing over night, 80 mile radius, easy to do.

I do 3-5 "art" shows a year where there are 20 or fewer exhibits and the fee varies between $50-100. These are hit or miss. If one person is buying it attracts others and I have cleaned up at times. Others close to break even.

I also gear up for about 5 "big" shows a year where the entry fee is $200-300 and the expected crowd is 35,000-80,000. On these shows I tend to make way more through my website later (Christmas) than actually at the show. People are there for the entertainment or festival and not actively looking but are interested. Quality woodturning and a standout display catches people off guard and they remember that later. Professional glossy, fully color both sides business cards are about a nickel a piece and selling one piece buys a whole bunch.

I hope some of this might help.
Joe

[Joseph Barnes]

Take it for what it's worth but I would not go into it half cocked. Trying to set up a small display with a few items can leave you dissapointed and playing catch up for every show with adding on. My suggestion would be to commit and jump in. Good clean professional looking display, pricing, and signs, proper lighting, sales pitch, and plenty of merchandise from the get go will make it a much more enjoyable experiece. A good display and tent can be put together for as little as say $400 ($200 EZup tent). Best of luck and let us know how it turns out.
Joe

[Sean Geerlof]

Do any of you guys have any photos of what you guys look like all setup at a show?

[Greg Just]

I would recommend doing some scouting of shows in your area to see the foot traffic, competition, and take note if people are buying anything. Different shows bring in different buyers and I would be careful about diving right in. Look at the prices people are charging and go back a couple of times to see if things are selling. The economy will have an impact at this time, but who knows - if you have the right product at the right price, it will sell. Christmas ornaments are ususally a hit anytime of the year.

Good luck!

[Steve Trauthwein]

Jump in! Start out with a table and some kind of cloth and do a show with a 40 to 50 dollar entry and then talk to and learn from other vendors, they can be incredibly helpful. If you are doing pens I would steer away from shows that have 2 or 3 people selling pens.

One thing I read early on in my efforts to garner information about doing shows, was what you are really selling with craft items, is yourself. Be prepared to deal a little of yourself out, and to let people know why they need your item.

I have also heard any show where you cover your expenses is a good show. Look at it as a learning process. If I do five times my expenses I consider it a redo, If I do ten times my expenses I consider it a good show.

If the place rents tables for $5 I find it is easier to use theirs then to lug mine. A tip I learned from a vendor a few years ago was to put lifts under the table legs. I bought a set of five inch bed raisers from bed, bath, and beyond. This makes your product closer to the customer without them having to bend over, and it gets it out of the way of small children.

I also put signs on my table saying PLEASE TOUCH. You will be surprised how many people come up to a table with their hands behind their backs. I feel they have to handle an item to get a really good idea wether or not they want to own it. If you are selling pens have some kind of pad that they can use to try it out. I also think it is a good idea to have a cloth that goes to the floor in front of the table as you can hide your boxes or bags underneath. Have a business card with your phone number and buy some plastic bags at the local stationery store.

Regards, Steve

P.S. The display in the picture is quite crowded. On the advice of a professional turner I now put out less product and keep some treasures hidden. It really piques interest when you dive under the table to display another object.

[ROY DICK]

I would recommend doing some scouting of shows in your area to see the foot traffic, competition, and take note if people are buying anything. Different shows bring in different buyers and I would be careful about diving right in. Look at the prices people are charging and go back a couple of times to see if things are selling. The economy will have an impact at this time, but who knows - if you have the right product at the right price, it will sell. Christmas ornaments are ususally a hit anytime of the year.

Good luck!

I hope you will give this a try 1st.

Roy

[Scott Lux]

Not to hijack a thread here, but I looked at Joe Barnes' web site just now. I can see why you do a lot of business there. Well done site and some beautiful pieces. My wife especially likes the peach bowl S004. (http://www.betweenartandcraft.com/ga...mall_s004.html) So I'll be trying to do a similar one in apple.

Excellent work.

[Joseph Barnes]

Booth sizes vary (10x10,8,6...) so I use 4' tables on the perimeter of the booth to draw people in from the isle instead of just passing by. This maximizes available surface area and lets you spread out more product. I am also in front of the tables so I can interact with the cutomer better. I run a full skirt around all the tables and put all my totes underneath. The tops are cloth covered plywood so you can't see the clips and it cleans up and makes the surface look continous with no wrinkles. A nice rug completes the look. Skirts, tables, tops, chair, lighting, hand truck and 6 totes with merchandise all fit in the back and passenger seat of my 2 door jeep cherokee. The whole display came in around $375.
Joe

[Toney Robertson]

Booth sizes vary (10x10,8,6...) so I use 4' tables on the perimeter of the booth to draw people in from the isle instead of just passing by. This maximizes available surface area and lets you spread out more product. I am also in front of the tables so I can interact with the cutomer better. I run a full skirt around all the tables and put all my totes underneath. The tops are cloth covered plywood so you can't see the clips and it cleans up and makes the surface look continous with no wrinkles. A nice rug completes the look. Skirts, tables, tops, chair, lighting, hand truck and 6 totes with merchandise all fit in the back and passenger seat of my 2 door jeep cherokee. The whole display came in around $375.
Joe

Joseph,

Your display looks really nice.

I have always thought about using black instead of white for the skirts and background. Any thoughts?

Toney

[Joseph Barnes]

My display was done on the cheap because I couldn't afford regular price skirting. I found these on an overstock at a great deal and bought all the lengths they had. I bookmarked several sites until I found the right one that had the right deal. At http://www.georgiaexpo.com I ended up getting a couple 10' and 19' to run end to end.
I didn't like it at the first few shows because you use table clips to hold it on and you could see them on top of the table. So I covered 3/8" plywood with black cloth and laid that over the top. Took care of the clips, made the tables seamless, got rid of any wrinkles, and won't flap in the wind. The black POPS on the table top with shiny wood pieces and good lighting. The white background works well but I think I'm going to go to a smoke grey this year.
Joe

Joseph,

Your display looks really nice.

I have always thought about using black instead of white for the skirts and background. Any thoughts?

Toney

[Sean Troy]

What ever you do, make sure you have some sort of insurance to cover yourself and art. I did a show several years ago in Sedona Az. " Sedona Arts Festival" and had the sprinklers come on at night after setup while no one was there. It ruined everyones artwork with in 10 booths of each side of me. All they would do to make it right is say " wow, thats a shame" . They wouldn't even refund the booth price even though I couldn't participate in the show with all my work ruined.