Well, the Craft Fair I've been prepping for is over now. Sadly, I'd say it was a bust. I sold one thing! ONE. Oh well.
While I am disappointed I am not discouraged or depressed.
Why?
Because it was a pretty universally slow weekend for all of the vendors. Towards the end of the show I learned two factors that I believe contributed highly, if not entirely, to this. First, that it was the same weekend as the Annapolis Nautical Flea Market--just mere miles away. Second, that our fair wasn't as widely advertised as it should have been. These two things I believe explain why vendors and their family/friends out-numbered regular customers a hundred to one.
While I didn't sell much of anything it is comforting to know that it wasn't because people weren't interested in my stuff. On the contrary, I received lots of compliments and admiration from other vendors; they, like me, just weren't there to buy things.
Three items that received a ton of attention were my lacy scarf, Mr. Monkey, and Mr. Elephant. I eventually took the elephant down from his perch on the top shelf and put him front and center on the purple baby blanket.
Many people also stopped to look through my pot holders. So many people commented that they had a loom as a kid, or that their kids have a loom now, but their pot holders didn't have the pretty patterns that mine did. (Like my Houndstooth pattern!)It's a shame that this craft fair didn't go particularly well, it certainly had potential. The area was nice, there were lots of high quality vendors, plenty of places to set up--both indoors and out, and there was also food and a moon bounce. Oh well, live and learn, right? I am still planning/hoping to be a vendor at other shows, and I can only hope that I (and others) will have much more success.
PS: Check out what I made while I was there--since I had plenty of time on my hands.
