Photo courtesy of WoolyHands - Bunting created by the talented PunkinHead (both of AREtsy)
It's the end of July... do you know when your next craft show is?
It dawned on me last night that I have less than three months until my first BIG show of the season. Ummm... where did the time go? I had huge plans to knit and spin throughout the year to be prepared for this, but somehow, I've let time get away from me. The AREtsy group is starting to be abuzz with news of shows and first time attendees so I thought it might be wise to post a link to one of our earlier blog posts about attending craft shows.
Of course every show is different and how we get ready for them will change depending on the location, length, and type of show. We'll soon have posts with new tips, links to shows and who from AREtsy is attending, and information about HUGE nationally known shows. But for now, reply to this post and let us know of any craft show secrets you might have. We'd love to hear from you.
8 comments:
I am by no means a craft show veteran, I only have 3 small ones under my belt, and I've learned in just those three that all craft shows are not created equal and not all craft shows will be a great place to sell your particular items.
Also I highly recommend getting a Propay account so you can accept credit card payments. Being able to accept cards has turned $5 sales into $50 sales for me and helped me sell enough at my worst show to break even.
Well, I have only participated in one and it was in Georgia! So I am looking for some closer to home! And, Sunny, if you could post more info about Propay. I need to get that before I go back to Georgia in October!
There are different Propay account types but what I like is it's a small yearly fee, other places have larger monthly, and you don't have to be constantly active in your account to keep it open.
If you have an internet connection at your show you can run the card right there online, you can run them over the phone or you can take down all the info and run them all at home.You can go to Propay.com to get signed up and you can read a lot of helpful info about it on the Etsy forums, just do a search.
Anyone have any advise as to what shows they have done that were really good ones? I did one a few years ago where I just barely broke even and that just isn't worth my time and the hastle of finding someone to take care of little ones while I'm out selling away. I'd like to do a few close to the central AR area in the coming months it's just so hard to tell what shows to do.
Hey Melody - hard to say what shows to do :) I do know that I prefer to stick to shows that are ALL handmade items. Hard to sell something at a handmade price when sitting next to things bought at market. I'm not familiar with the Central Arkansas show circuit, but I've found that up in the NW corner, the Bella Vista Arts and Crafts show is great.
The one-and-only "Northwest Arkansas Boutique Show" is coming up on November 19-20 at the NWA Convention Center in Springdale. Thousands of women.... cash-in-hand.... there isn't another show like it in our area.
Merchants can e-mail info@nwaboutiqueshow.com for an application or click on the following link: http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e2ydsop7e23cf185
Just wondering, do we have a badge or button that I could add to my blog?
Even better than "Propay" is "Square" an I-Phone app. They will send you a square for free and you plug it into your I-phone. From the square, customers can swip their debit card from the I-Phone app. It is a minimal fee... check it out.
Post a Comment