Working the Shows Wednesday - MUST HAVES

Spring has arrived and so has "Show Season." I guess it's time to revive my Working the Shows Wednesdays series.

To kick off the 2010 edition, I'm actually re-running one from last year - that ever-growing list of neccesities that we need at every show. If you haven't already done so, it's time to gather these must-haves in one place so you're ready.

Originally posted here on May26, 2009, here's the MUST HAVE List:

... you need to start gathering your "Must Haves." These are those items that you need to take with you for every show as you will either definitely need them at each show or may possibly need them for emergency fixes, display problems or personal needs. Most are self-explanatory and some you'll think are so obvious that you'll wonder why I bothered listing them. (I probably put them on the list because, at one time or another, I didn't have it with me!)These items should probably be considered part of your display supplies and should be kept with the display pieces when stored. (I keep everything except the first two in a large Rubbermaid box.)

Chairs (You'd be surprised how many folks "forget" them.)
Weights for the display
Table covers
Tarps/plastic sheeting in case of rain
Small hammer
Duct tape
Twine
Clothes pins (These come in handy for securing table covers and more at various times.)

These basic items are part of your general business supplies and should be kept ready to grab for every show. (I use a plastic tackle box for mine.)
Scotch tape
Receipt book
Scissors
Paper
Straight pins
Safety pins
Ball point pens/pencils
Markers (A fine point felt marker for tagging and signs when necessary.)
Paper/Cards (for notes and table top signs)
Extra tags
Paper clips (can be used so many ways)
Twist ties
Some large trash bags
Bags and wrapping supplies for your products
Business cards
Your mailing list book (or something for folks to sign)
Any other brochures, list of upcoming shows or other P.R. handouts for your customers
First aid supplies (bandaids, antiseptic, gauze, tweezers)
Needle and threads (if applicable to emergency repairs to your products)
Glue (if applicable for emergency repairs for your products)
Hand sanitizer and/or wipes

I also carry the following:
Paper towels
A small broom and dustpan (I have arrived at shows to find broken glass, trash and more in my space.)
Bug spray (invaluable at times!)
A small roll of toilet tissue (especially when using port-a-pottys)
Sunscreen

For each show, I also pack:
Change (You'd be surprised how many people forget to bring change.)
Any applicable licenses and permits
A cooler with beverages and some snacks (There are times you will not be able to get away from your booth at all.)
A change of clothes (I have done shows where I have gotten soaked through with a sudden storm, have had something spilled on me before the show even starts or have just generally gotten dirty in the process of setting up.)

I have tried to list everything I have in my Must Haves but each individual finds specific items they need. This is a jumping off point.

Remember, it is better to drag it with you and not need it than to desperately need something that you don't have.

New friends through crafts

We spent the afternoon at a small, local Parks & Rec festival. This is a small, tight-knit community located along one of the local creeks and very close to the Chesapeake Bay. They have put on this three-day event for a number of years now in the waterfront community park where the kids play all their various sports. The money raised supports the work of the rec council.

The music was, as usual, terrific. One of the local bands we follow normally plays this event on Friday night but due to a schedule conflict they played this afternoon. Normally a 5-piece group, they were a trio today but still put on a great show of popular 60's, 70's and other well-known tunes. The crowd was swaying and singing along with the band. They were followed by a popular local band that's known for great country entertainment. Unfortuantely, due to other comittments, we needed to leave before they were set up. The evening band, anchored by the local mail carrier, is an always popular show so folks were already anticipating their performance, too.

The weather today was beautiful, bright blue skies with fluffy white clouds, a big improvement over the wash out on Friday and the drizzle all day yesterday. We made a new friend with one of the crafters today who told us they had a great crowd yesterday considering the weather. Although this was her first time selling here, she is local and is familiar with the normal crowds here. I thought today's crowd was a little thin but then the Ravens had their opening game for the season today. I can safely say I saw a flood of purple Ravens shirts but absolutely no Chiefs fans wandering around !

There were only two true crafters there and both were more "Loving Hands" type as opposed to true professional booth displays. Both are retirees trying to make a few extra bucks. Their prices were very reasonable and they were making sales. (Please understand, I have nothing against "Loving Hands" work. I buy a fair amount of their wares myself. I merely mean, I didn't gain any great display ideas or such from them.)

The first booth has been at this event for several years now. A retired couple creates handpainted, wooden cutouts of popular licensed characters ranging from 6" to about 2' in size and also does beautiful, detailed handpainted plaques featuring local lighthouses and other coastal landmarks and sights. They also make basic-style, handpainted birdhouses. Their work is expertly done and beautifully painted. In my opinion, the latter two lines are what they should be pushing. They do these very well and they are definitely priced to sell. If they eliminate the licensed characters and spruced up the display a bit, I believe they would have no trouble getting into a larger juried show. I'm just not sure if they could handle that kind of sales volume.

The second, our newest friend, was the sweetest elderly lady (based on our conversation, she must be close to 80!) She was doing this show completely on her own without any assistance! In our quest for a spot of shade, we ended up sitting our chairs fairly near the back of her booth.

The booths were set up along the inside edge of a pavilion and at one point, we noticed her chair was somewhat precariously perched on the edge of the concrete slab and she would most likely fall backward in the foreseeable future. The Big Guy jumped up and helped her resituate the chair which opened our line of communication.

We discussed craft shows and learned this was her first "real" show. Her merchandise was varied including some small stuffed toys, beaded animals, fabric angels, handtowels with crocheted hanging tops, plastic needlepoint items, some small novelty items, and more. All of the items were made by her. She's been a busy lady! She was making a number of sales (I feel her prices are quite low) and was very happy with the volume. The Big Guy learned her husband is retired from the same company he's about to retire from so they discussed the state of the company (at one time the largest employer in the county). As she was alone, I offered to make a food run for her and, before we left her, she made a potty run herself, grateful for our assistance.

Apparently, while I was on that food run, he managed to guide the discussion around to my website and gave her a business card. I'm not sure she has a computer of her own at the moment but she plans to call me to discuss setting up to sell online both her merchandise and what sound like some great vintage collectibles. I think we've adopted her!!

She was truly disappointed when it was time for us to go and hugged us goodbye, wishing us a good vacation next week and promising to call me soon. I am looking forward to it!

Aren't craft folk just the greatest people? We've made so many close and wonderful friends throughout the years at craft shows.

I hope y'all take time to smile at a stranger, offer a helping hand now and then and don't be afraid to possibly make new friends. You never know where it could lead.

(I met my husband through craft shows - many years ago!)

Working the Shows Wednesday - What, besides sales, makes for a "GOOD" show?

I was chatting with a crafter friend the other day and she began to sing praises about her latest show. I commented, “Big bucks, huh?” She laughed and said, “Not really. Sales were even a little disappointing.”

Okay, she just spent two days in the scorching hot and humid weather we call summer around here and had made less than she anticipated. Yet, she was so happy with the show she had already penciled it in on her calendar for next year.

“Why?”

She went on to explain the show was truly a pleasure to do and her neighbors had been great to share space with. She does feel the event has promise and will gear her merchandise to the crowd better next time around. (Many crafters there sold extremely well!) There were certain products she’d sold out of and believed she could have sold many more along those lines if she’d had additional stock of those particular items. She did have many local folks sign her mailing list which she uses to let customers know where she’ll be showing and also mails a brochure in the Fall featuring her newest holiday items. (This has worked well for her in the past.) Many people stopped to discuss her products, asking questions about customized orders and took cards. Her cards have her website listed as well as a phone number.

On one side, she had an ”older couple” who were selling oil paintings on wood cut to 9” x 12”. The wife painted the pictures which were scenes of rivers, the bay, marinas and other coastal oriented subjects. This is a popular genre in this area and her pictures were very reasonably priced. She painted throughout the show. My friend’s daughter was absolutely fascinated at the ease this woman painted with and enjoyed watching the process. The lady even explained a lot of her technique to the girl.

The husband cuts, sands and preps the wood. He also dabbles a bit with the wood, making Jacob’s Ladder toys and something that can best be described as a “clogger marionette.” The latter is a marionette type doll measuring about 14” high and there is a dowel mounted to the center of the back. Holding the stick, one can make the doll move on a table top or such as if clogging. The couple sold very well and had many returning customers who remembered them from prior appearances at the show. The husband also enjoyed talking with my friend’s children and even enlisted her son’s assistance in demonstrating the clogger doll and Jacob’s Ladders.

My friend’s children are 10 and 12 years old and have grown up on the craft show circuit. Their Dad tends to work weekends so they have spent many days sitting on the ground behind her display quietly entertaining themselves so they were thrilled to have such interesting neighbors. Turns out the old gent is a retired elementary school principal and enjoyed the children almost as much. He also served as a runner for both his wife and my friend, offering to make refreshment runs on a regular basis! I understand he also had booth sitting skills!! They’ve already asked the show organizer to place them next to each other again next year.

The ladies on her other side were a trio of jewelry designers, each working in their own medium. At any given time, one was demonstrating within the booth. Between them, they had years of show experience. They shared a lot of show information about upcoming events and discussed other marketing options, sharing a lot of good leads and information worth checking on. They also shared yummy home baked muffins. One was a gifted storyteller and entertained both my friend and her older neighbors with funny tales of shows gone by.

The committee came by regularly to check on exhibitors’ needs and were available if anyone needed booth sitters. There were coffee, juice and donuts both mornings for the exhibitors and these were brought around to their booths by wagon. Late on the second day, the organizer came around to chat with each crafter for a few minutes, getting feedback on problems or suggestions for next year. At this visit, she also presented each exhibitor a photo of their booth setup in a frame made of card stock that displayed the name and date of the show and thanked them for participating. (I’m not sure I ever received a thank you gift for being in a show.)

This was the 10th year for this show and there is a waiting list to get into this one. I may add my name to that list. It definitely sounded like a great show experience.

Part II of Craft Show Marketing Series - Finding the Shows

I know I don't usually run the segments of my Marketing Series on consecutive days but this Part is merely a continuation of the posting from yesterday. The next segment will not run until next week.

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Okay, now that you’ve figured out what type of show you are looking for, how do you go about finding one?

First of all, set a date in your mind as to when you would want to do such a show. Having a goal date will keep you focused and help to move you forward in your plans. Be sure to allow time to obtain any tax permits you will need, time to gather all the supplies and equipment you will need and, most important, time to make enough product. (Each of these aspects will be discussed later.)

If this is your first craft show ever, I suggest you aim at a smaller show, located semi-near home and in a moderate price range. It is best if your first show is a one-day affair, or at least no longer than 2 days. There will be a lot of responsibilities and new problems coming at you and you don’t want to be totally overwhelmed with your first effort.

If you already have a specific event in mind that you have seen and thought would be the right venue for you, try to obtain information concerning that show. The most obvious approach is to go online and search the name of the event if you know it. Most well-established events have their own website. If you know someone who has exhibited there as a crafter or vendor of some sort, ask them who you can contact. Do you know who sponsors the event (the City, business association, school, etc.) ? If so, call that office and ask if they can provide a contact name.

*It is important to realize that many larger and established events take applications up to a year ahead of the event’s date and you may not be able to simply waltz in and sign up. Many shows have a limited number of crafts spaces and have a waiting list for available spaces. If you run into this, simply ask to be put on the list for next year and keep looking for the right venue for you to do this time around.

Ask at your local craft supply stores and check the bulletin boards in your local grocery stores, libraries and coffee shops. Keep an eye on your daily paper and check local weekly and monthly publications for both your community and others nearby. All of these publications tend to run calendars of community events. * As many of these events are not listed until a week or two before they occur, I have also gone online (or to the library where necessary) and checked last year’s issues for the time period I am considering. Most events occur annually at or near the same time of year. Contacting last year’s contact name will usually get you to who is running that event this year.

You may also call your local Chamber of Commerce and your parks and Recreation Council and ask if they know of any upcoming arts and crafts events in the area. As my merchandise is child- oriented, I have, at times, even called a selection of local schools and asked if they were holding any such events within the next few months. (I long ago discovered my target market is frequently found at private grade schools.)

Most States have a tourist office that publishes some sort of state-wide calendar of events. This is a great place to start. In just about every State, you can access this information online. I live in Maryland and find this info very easy to find by simply searching the words “Maryland Events.” In addition to the State’s listing, you will also come up with a number of other listings relating to activities in your State. Some sites will be produced by counties, municipalities, non-profits and more. You can also search “arts and crafts fairs in [Maryland]“ , or “art festivals in […]“ Try any variation of these terms you can think of.

As I like to do street fairs and community festivals I also use those terms but, I would not recommend them for a first time craft vendor. I pick and choose these carefully. At those events, you will be competing with many others for sales, not just craftspeople. There will be lots of by/sell, imports and junk in general. Customers are not attending a street fair necessarily looking for crafts.

Some sites will be trying to sell you a subscription. For now, stick to the free listings. If you decide to go into doing craft shows on a frequent basis later, you can consider such services.
Jot down the names and dates of those events you feel you may be interested in. Unless you are new to the area, you should be familiar with some of these events and can make an educated guess as to which would be appropriate for you. Hopefully, you will have even visited a few of these events in the past and have a feel for those. I know our State calendar lists phone numbers and/or websites for contacting each event‘s committee. Should that information not be available, try searching the name of the event online.

Generally, crafters are a friendly lot and, as long as your product is not in direct competition with theirs, will usually be more than happy to provide advice and information about upcoming events. Walk through as many craft fairs as you can and talk with the vendors. Tell them you will soon be doing your first show and ask them what shows you might consider. If you have signed up for one already, ask if they are familiar with that show and do they have any specific suggestions (or warnings) about doing that show. (Warnings can be as innocuous as knowing the crowds swarm very early in the day, sometimes before the official opening. This does happen - often. It is fantastic to know this as you can’t sell if you’re not set up yet! We do one show that “opens” at 9 a.m. on a Sunday, but there are large crowds milling about by 7 a.m.!! We have actually begun setting up in the dark there.)

If you are an active participant in an online forum, you might also try asking there if folks in your area know of shows you might try. A number of sites actually have threads devoted to this information for specific geographical locations. Once you have signed up for a show, you might also ask for advice about that particular event on those forums.

There are also numerous publications and paid craft sites that list shows and helpful information about each. I will, at some point list those sites I am aware of but that will not be part of this particular Marketing Series. I’m sure you will come across some of those in your general web search. Until you are sure, you want to continue doing shows (Yes, a number of folks only do them ONCE!), I see no reason to make such financial investments.

*There’s still more information about finding shows I want to share but I’ll put that at the end of this series as those events are more appropriate for the experienced show vendor.

In Part III of this Marketing Series, I will address the questions you should ask and the information you need you get when you make contact with the show director.

Again, we’ve reached the point where we should all take a breather. You need to turn to and work up that list of possible shows and find the appropriate contact numbers or sites. I have some shows to visit this weekend (assuming the weather cooperates.)

Have a good and creative weekend.

Part I of Craft Show Marketing Series - Types of Shows

This is the first segment of my Marketing Series on Craft Shows. This particular post, designed for the true craft show novice, will explain the differences in types of craft shows and help you decide which kind of show is right for you. The next segment will help you find those shows.

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So, you think you’d like to sell at a craft show! I’m assuming you’ve already developed and created a product that you feel is of decent quality and design that other folks will like it and want it.

The first step in moving toward your first craft show is to determine what kind of show you belong at. The majority of my readers will fall into the “arts and crafts” category as opposed to “fine arts.” While this can sometimes be a fine-line type distinction, it is a big difference when it comes to shows.

“Fine Arts” shows tend to feature more one-of-a-kind, higher-end creations like oil paintings, large focal pieces of furniture, sculptures, large mosaic or stained glass pieces, gallery quality-photography, etc. Fine art shows tend to be expensive juried and quite exclusionary.

Most dictionaries define “fine art” as “art produced primarily for aesthetics and not for utility.” Unless your jewelry is made from precious metals using only fine gems, it is most likely not “fine art.” I have only once seen a crocheted item in a fine art display and that was a unique sculpture-like piece meant to merely be displayed. Fine art generally is considered to require fine skill. In other words, if an average crafter or artist could produce the item following instructions from someone else, it most likely does not qualify as fine art. Since most of us would not be described as geniuses, virtuosos or Michelangelo prodigies, I will move on to regular arts and crafts shows.

“Arts and crafts” shows have further distinctions and clarifications. Some are designated as “traditional,” “primitive,” “period,” “folk”, “contemporary,” etc. I have even seen some designated as “Western,” “Coastal” and “loving hands.” All of these labels are very subjective and open to discussion.

One of the most ambiguous terms out there is “professional crafters and/or artists“. A show advertising such participants is generally trying to convince potential customers that this show will feature a higher quality of merchandise. Most definitions say “professional” means engaging in an activity as a career. No one says you must be completely self-supporting in your career. My position is, if you are out there trying to sell your products for money, you are operating as a professional. “Professionalism,” in my opinion, is a form of business-like behavior. (And that, my Dear Reader, is a topic for another day!)

The next most basic fact involved in picking a show to do is whether the show is “juried” or “non-juried.” (For the record: In my 30+ years of experience, I have not found the fact that a show is juried or non-juried to cause any significant difference in my sales.)

A “juried” show means that a person or committee will review the quality of your merchandise to determine if it meets a certain standard for participation in their show. Jurying is generally accomplished through the submission of photos of your merchandise. In most cases, these jurists require about five shots of items “representative” of your product line.

Sometimes, a jury will also request photos of your booth or set-up. If this is your first time, you will need to do a dry run set-up and take pictures. If you are applying for an outdoor show, set this up outside. Likewise for an indoor show. (Such a dry run can also alert you to set-up problems you may not have considered.)

***Do not let the jurying process prevent you from participating as a first-timer. This merely assures a better selection of work and generally will attract buyers that return year after year as they know they can count on the merchandise available at such a show. By the same token, do not allow the fact that you get juried out of a show keep you from trying again. Often, shows limit the number of crafters in each category and may only accept the five best in each category.

I have come across a few elite shows that require in-person jurying in which you bring your creations to them for physical review and, often, questioning of you as the creator. A few juries I have participated in have required the representative photos but also a list of specific items that will be sold. Anything not listed would not be allowed. I would not suggest one of these precise shows as a first-time experience.

**Some juried shows also require a “jury fee” that is charged over and above the show fee and is usually non-refundable. Again, I do not recommend such shows as a first-time thing.

Do not overlook other selling venues like street fairs and festivals, school and church sales, flea markets, farmers’ markets and roadside stands. Many a successful crafter has gotten their start at the school or church event. These events tend to be less expensive but smaller. Customers tend to expect more reasonable pricing at these locales and, in the event of the flea market, will try to bargain with you for a better deal. You will also find the set-up is not as elaborate at most of these events and a beginner can get away with a table with a nice cloth and some folding chairs. (Although, a nice display can and will encourage more sales! We’ll discuss displays, later.)

Okay, this seems to be enough for a beginner to digest for now. Think about what kind of show seems right for you and what you are prepared to invest in doing your first show - both in expenses and time. My next segment in this series will tell you how to go about finding the right show for you.