This past weekend I took part in a great little craft fair which was part of the Shaker Hill Apple Festival in Alfred, Maine. It was fairly well attended. This was my booth set up, which was my best yet I think. I was disappointed a bit in the turn out, but more so in the customers willingness to buy. I had many many people say how beautiful my work was and how great the colors were, but very few sales. I think I had 6 sales in two days! Now, I made my money back and then some, but it's still not enough. I should be doing better. So, my question is why? Why did I not sell more?
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| New, Candy Apple dish ware, well received |
Did people not really like what I was selling?
No, I think they did. I had so many genuine comments, that it would be really hard to believe they were not telling the truth. Okay, that's not it.
Did I offer too many different types of items?
Maybe. I have never been an artist who settles on doing the same thing over and over. I am trying to create for myself different lines of work that I can split up for different shows and different seasons. I'm not quite there yet.
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| New, Spring Lizard Collection |
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| New, Lizard Earth Collection, well received |
After this show, I did pack up all my bird baths and plant pots to be retired until next Spring. Some are still for sale on Etsy through the Holiday season, but bringing them to shows would be silly.
Things I make: Bird baths and feeders, mirrors, plaques, bowls of all sizes, vases, jars, mugs, incense burners, platters, pendants, magnets, pins, and rings. I think that is it.
I did hear that more than 7 types of items can be distracting to a buyer. So, it's possible this drove some people off.
Does not running credit cards hurt my sales?
Yes, definitely. I lost a $30 sale because of this. I was very disappointed and a little upset, since I spent 10 minutes talking with this woman, who did not ask upfront.
Although, I still do not understand those who go to a craft fair without cash or their checkbook. I never have gone to a craft fair without cash in my pocket. But I suppose it is the new way to do business.
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| New b |
I have signed up for
square and I'm hoping to be able to take cards this coming weekend. I will be at the Mildred L. Day School in Arundel, Maine. The show runs 9 to 3pm. This means I'm finally going to bite the bullet and get an iphone and hope and pray that being able to take cards truly ups my sales, so I can pay for the damn thing!
The Economy Sucks
Yes. Yes, I know... It does. No one needs to tell me, after loosing two teaching jobs due to budget cuts.
Oh, and my favorite one! People don't think I make it all!
Yeah, for real. I had one woman ask me if I made ANY of it? Really? I guess some people just do not understand the concept of JURIED CRAFT FAIR! (For those of you that don't know, it is not your fault. I blame the government for underfunding the arts and the local schools that cut art programs so our children grow up with no concept of what goes into creating an artwork or piece of pottery. And with all the pick and paint pottery places....Well, people probably think I buy it and paint it... Oh wait, some people actually do that and call it handmade! Okay, that's enough)
HANDMADE = in my case, means that I take all my dry clay pieces, reconstitute them in a bucket of water, dry it on a slab of plaster, cut it and shape it into weighed pieces, throw/form it on my pottery wheel, let it dry to leather hard, turn it over and trim the bottom, let it dry out completely, check it one more time, sanding if need be, fire it (for about 8 hours), (let it cool down about 24 hours), glaze it, let it dry for another 24 hours, then fire it a second time... Price it, pack it and travel to bring it to a show or set it up to take pictures and put it one etsy.
This is NOT and easy thing I do or any other crafter does. It costs money. It takes a lot of time. We put our heart and soul into this. I do not take any opinion, comment or look lightly when I am at a show. Please respect what we do.
Anyway.... one other thing I am going to try to do is to create a slide show on my digital frame and bring it with me to shows. That way people can see my process and that I do, in fact, create everything they see.
