Today I thought I'd share with you a little recap of my first craft market experience. It was a great learning experience, and not to mention lots of fun to hang out with LittleGrayFox, and to share a booth with the lovely Panda of ASHCreations.
On Saturday, the three of us crafty gals set up bright and early in a sunny parking lot in Belltown, for the Punk Rock Flea Market.
I brought about dozen tablecloths with me, unable to make a decision at home, and ended up using this funk-tastic one from German Ikea. I thought the snappy colors would draw people to our corner of the lot.
One thing I did not take into consideration, was that the rare sunny day might actually work against me. I had the hubbers fashion a cardboard triangle, to prop up my new white magnetic board display. He had just completed it, so I really hadn't consider any further modifications. And lo and behold, the gorgeous sunshine we'd all been hoping for shone down on us.....and produced a wicked glare off my magnetic board! So to all the good people of Seattle I may have accidentally blinded, I do apologize! I am currently searching for a fabric to cover the shiny surface.
This fair also afforded me the opportunity to display a new creation - my pom flowers. I have yet to add these to my Etsy shop, and Saturday was a chance to see how people might respond to them. It turns out people really liked them! I had some wonderful responses, especially after the warmth goaded me into using two as hair sticks to pin my hair up. An unexpected use, but they did work to support my crazy curls for the entire day.
At the last minute, I also decided to bring that wooden box with me, to use as a display for my brooches. As you can see, I decided to add white card backings to the pins, so that shoppers could quickly differentiate between magnets and brooches. The box definitely helped break up my display, but I think in the future, I will utilize it slightly differently. It looks a little messy here.
My last obstacle was deciding what to do with the rest of the table. For a four foot wide space, I was already very 'prop heavy,' so I decided to simply lay out the rest of my brooches. I am happy with the different experiences and level changes the table as a whole achieved, but I think the arrangement on the table came off a bit messy, rather than the "effortless, casual" look I was going for. Going back to the drawing board on that one. But I do still like my "text bubble" signage. I'm keeping those around, for sure. (It WAS supposed to be lined up with that little birdie pin. d'oh!) This brings me to the last, and perhaps most valuable lesson I learned on Saturday. This should come as no surprise to you, but....."punk rock" fans (as a generality) are not my target market, it turns out. : P It pays to consider carefully the venue in which you choose to market your wares. I had never done/been too/heard of this particular event before, so it was a pure experiment from start to finish. Did I sell a boat-load of things? Nope. Did I learn a heck of a lot more than I would by just attending a market or fair? Oh, YES. And for that (and the fun craft-girl bonding time), I am grateful.
Oh, and also: we were treated to a 40 minute serenade by a jazzy horn choir (featuring punk rock john hamm on the sax), right in front of our tables. A day full of unexpected surprises. : P
{ have you ever done a craft fair? }
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i wish i could of made it! - i ADORE the pom flowers!!!! - i'm so glad the weather held up for u guy's!!!
i dunno if i could of handled the "jazz" haha
*kiss kiss*
Erika
~Tiptoe Butterfly~
Yep, it is always tricky to find the right venue and then when you do sometimes they are juried in or have wait lists. But your presentation looks great and it sounds like you had fun with your buddies :) T.
I loved your setup, especially the funky tablecloth! PRFM definitely isn't my scene either. But Greg sure had some great sales! I guess the punks love them some funky refurbs!
At least you didn't have crazy, fake-accent dude next to you! He sure wasn't happy with us until he learned our tent and table provided him a shady leaning spot. :p
I had a craft fair this weekend too. I spent the whole day battling the horrible, horrible wind. I was not prepared for it at all and didn't think it would be a problem since the last time I did the event it was not windy. So yeah, I learned the hard way that my products and display do not uphold against the wind. It is always a learning experience!
On a completely different note, I love your tablecloth and brown box!
i had a great time people watching and learned a lot as well. the next one will go great. Loved your set up.
Your set up looks beautiful and you have the best pieces ever!!! I love them all:)))
I wish I could be there...I adore markets..and jazz:)
Kisses sweetie and enjoy your day:)
I loved reading your craft fair experience, and I think your display looks great, the table cloth works really well with all the colours in your products. I always struggle with making my display look better each time, I don't think the learning process ever ends with this! Look forward to seeing the pom poms in your shop :)
your setup looks amazing! i totally would have bought something from you. and i love my pom pom! you should purchase yourself a little cactus from ikea(the seattle location, not the nuremberg one) and place it in there. mine smuggles with my aloe plant and i love the way it brightens it up!
hey i recognize that box and tulip vase! very clever of course and so very proud love everything and love the idea of your bouncy curls with pom poms!
Ah so cool Kelli!!! Congrats for your first craft fair!
xxx
http://gypsy-diaries.blogspot.com/
Well, it sounds like a great time!! Despite some difficulties, your table looked very nice and customer friendly.
By the way, thank you for your DC suggestions! I'll be hitting you up for Seattle suggestions when I visit there sometime in the next year =)
how exciting! I've never done a craft fair or anything but I think it would be so fun and cool to do. If I ever hear of one maybe I'll actually go for it, although I think I'm just a nervous person when it comes to trying new things. But hearing your tips and thoughts about it are helpful. thanks kelli!
Your table looked really cute. Sorry about the low sales, but I too have been in a similar situation. When I lived in NC I did craft fairs...some hits, some misses. But always a lesson learned. Here's to the next (successful) craft fair!