Spring Craft Extravaganza - Part II
I must congratulate the organizers for the ESDH Spring Craft Extravaganza I attended on May 2. There was a steady stream of interested customers, many vendors, and absolutely fantastic customer service for the vendors.
Upon arriving at the high school, my friend and I were greeted by three high school guys offering to help move our wares into the gym. I tend to travel very light and usually only have a suitcase and a bag, but I very much appreciated any help. Another student was at the door waiting to help us find our tables. There was a little confusion with the tables, I don't need electricity, someone else did, so we switched places. During the morning, more students made rounds, offering free tea and coffee. I also found the vendors near me quite friendly. The community of Musquodoboit are very supportive of their high school. By the number of people attending, I would think that the majority of the town's people were out, and the weather was not even that pleasant.
Sales
I have had people at my usual Dartmouth market, rudely complain of my prices. For some reason, people think that if your craft is similar to something their grandmother did, that you should be charging the $0.25/hour that was common 60 years ago. It does not happen often that people are openly rude, but it has happened 4 or so times in the past 12 months. Nothing at all similar to that happened in Musquodoboit. It was the opposite actually! I hope to find a drive out there in the summer so I can attend their farmers' market on Sundays.
Sales were fantastic! My limited experience at one other market, did not prepare me for this! I thought it was a safe bet to assume I would sell mostly mermaids. This was not the case. I probably sold one of everything. I also received an order for a dozen donuts (there will be a post and picture about it soon), and made great contacts.
I will definitely be attending this craft fair again next year!
Misc
Before this show, I changed my signs. Since my niche is with children I wanted something bright and fun. I have settled on using black foam sheet for the background, and foam lettering for the itmes. I didn't want to permanently add prices (two reasons: I had only bought foam letters and forgot to buy the numbers, if I attend a very expensive show where the set up costs are high, I want the option to increase the prices slightly to offset the cost). I tested out using some chalk with success. Here is an unfinished example of one of my signs.
Upon arriving at the high school, my friend and I were greeted by three high school guys offering to help move our wares into the gym. I tend to travel very light and usually only have a suitcase and a bag, but I very much appreciated any help. Another student was at the door waiting to help us find our tables. There was a little confusion with the tables, I don't need electricity, someone else did, so we switched places. During the morning, more students made rounds, offering free tea and coffee. I also found the vendors near me quite friendly. The community of Musquodoboit are very supportive of their high school. By the number of people attending, I would think that the majority of the town's people were out, and the weather was not even that pleasant.
Sales
I have had people at my usual Dartmouth market, rudely complain of my prices. For some reason, people think that if your craft is similar to something their grandmother did, that you should be charging the $0.25/hour that was common 60 years ago. It does not happen often that people are openly rude, but it has happened 4 or so times in the past 12 months. Nothing at all similar to that happened in Musquodoboit. It was the opposite actually! I hope to find a drive out there in the summer so I can attend their farmers' market on Sundays.
Sales were fantastic! My limited experience at one other market, did not prepare me for this! I thought it was a safe bet to assume I would sell mostly mermaids. This was not the case. I probably sold one of everything. I also received an order for a dozen donuts (there will be a post and picture about it soon), and made great contacts.
I will definitely be attending this craft fair again next year!
Misc
Before this show, I changed my signs. Since my niche is with children I wanted something bright and fun. I have settled on using black foam sheet for the background, and foam lettering for the itmes. I didn't want to permanently add prices (two reasons: I had only bought foam letters and forgot to buy the numbers, if I attend a very expensive show where the set up costs are high, I want the option to increase the prices slightly to offset the cost). I tested out using some chalk with success. Here is an unfinished example of one of my signs.
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