NEW TO CRAFT FAIRS?
The first thing to do is visit craft fairs. Go to a big one as well as smaller ones to see if it is for you. Look at what other people are selling and ask yourself if your goods will fit in there.
HOW DO I FIND A CRAFT FAIR
Listen to your local radio station events guide, visit your local Council events web page or read your local newspaper. All craft fairs are advertised or they wouldn't attract customers. Look at local community bulletin boards or Town Hall notice boards. Many churches, schools and village halls have bazaars or craft & gift fairs which would be a great place to start. Local communities often have spring, Easter, summer or autumn fairs and galas, these are an ideal and cheap place to start.
BEFORE YOU GO
Have a good basic stock built up, always prepare well in advance. You need to make sure that you have plenty of each of your items to sell. Have a variety of styles & colours available. Some styles or colours can sell better than others. Even if you only make one type of product e.g. candles, you will need plenty of them to sell. The more you have on hand the more people have to choose from and the more you sell.
YOUR DISPLAY
You will need to prepare something to display your goods. Your display is essential to draw attention to your stall. The more professionally you display your goods, the more likely you will be to sell them. You always want to give the impression that you know exactly what you are doing... even if you don't actually have a clue.
Here are some display tips:-
Always cover your table It appears more professional. A plain piece of material works well. Use more than one colour to create a more vibrant look You can use almost anything as long as it is plain. A print will distract from your products.
Use items such as boxes or stands under the cloth to build up your stand to give it a 3D effect.
Keep it tidy and don't let it get cluttered. Group items together by styles to keep your display looking organised. You will need to replace goods when you have a large space on the table from ones you have sold. If you leave the gaps, people think that you don't have much to sell and may walk past.
People attract People. Customers are more likely to approach your stall when someone else appears to be browsing, get family or friends to visit you and "browse" this will pull others in!
At slow period engage customers in conversation this will promote you and your goods and even if they do not buy, they will remember you at the next fair and point friends and family in your direction in future
Try to only straighten your stall when there are no customers around. When it is crowded you will need to be available in case someone has a question. They will not ask if you look like you are too busy.
Have your name and contact details ready to give out ideally on a business card just in case someone asks you for your details. While standing at craft fairs other organisers may invite you to attend their fairs. DON’T PART WITH ANY MONEY! get their details and check out their credentials then make a decision, even if they say there are only a couple of spaces available.
SMILE
SETTING YOUR STALL OUT
Find out where to park for loading and unloading, most events will let you unload by the main or side entrance. Think of other users and do not block exits and leave room for other vehicles to move from the rear. If you are standing at an event with a large car park consider parking away from the main building as most customers like to park near to the entrance of the event to carry out goods or just because they are lazy! Most craft fairs will allow you to set up your stall well in advance of the fair opening. While you are unpacking, make sure that each item has a price on it. Items that are not priced are not likely to sell. People do not like to ask how much things are, they like to see a price displayed, then they will decide if they are interested. When pricing your items make easy for yourself by using prices that are even, for example 1.00 or 10.00 or even 1.50 or 10.50 but don't use prices like 1.89 or 15.63. These kind of prices just make it harder for you to add up your customers bill and using a calculator takes time and distracts you. You will be less likely to make a mathematical error if you use simple pricing. Try and work out a display plan beforehand so you already have an idea of what to put where. Even if you only make a rough plan it will help enormously and cut down on set up times.
BE READY
Make sure that you have plenty of change, as well as pound coins have notes in five’s and tens. You need to be able to give change to your customers from the off and they usually want to pay with a £20 note. Always keep a pen and small notebook with you. If you use price stickers on each item then have spares of those as well. If you are doing this for the first time and are unsure of your prices, you may need to lower or increase them. Judge how things are going, remember that most goods get sold within the first 5 hours, so you need to make a decision to raise or lower prices after the initial influx of people depending on how well you are doing. Try to keep track of what you sell by making a list as you go. It is handy to have a good record of what colours/styles sell best and will make life much easier when it comes to making more or ordering materials.
Be sure to keep your money in a safe place where it is not readily accessible to the general public. It's nice to think that you can trust people, but the truth of the matter is you can't. Unfortunately there are lots of people who will watch to see if you are paying attention to where your money is. A money belt for all the notes & coins would be a good investment.
AFTER THE EVENT
Pack everything away neatly so it is ready for the next show. It is easy to just throw it all into your boxes in a hurry to leave and get home, but it is worth taking extra time now to save you time before the next one. There is always a chance that you can break things if you don't pack up carefully. You are generally required to clean up your own area and there is a possibility of being invited to come back again if you leave a good impression.
EVALUATE THE EVENT
Try and evaluate how your day went. What items sold and what didn't? Do you think that maybe your prices were too high or too low? Did you make enough sales to cover your costs? What was the crowd like? Were they a good mixture of ages and backgrounds? Was it a good market for your crafts? Do you think you would do better at a bigger/smaller venue? Some events will be better than others and you really cannot tell what will be selling from one to the next. If it doesn't go well don't be discouraged, try to look at the reasons why. If there were hardly any people then this would be a good reason, but if there was a good crowd and nobody bought anything, then maybe your prices were too high or your craft wasn't suitable for that particular venue. It is always worth giving a venue a second chance just in case that day was particularly bad!