# Going to be doing my first craft show



## Gixxerjoe04 (Jan 31, 2014)

So I know craft shows aren't everyone's cup of tea, but I figured I might as well try it once. Got accepted to do my first one, it's 2 months away and I'm nervous just thinking about it. The stuff I plan on making is an assortment of stuff, pallet wine racks, pens, little bowls/candy dish, cutting boards, and a couple other things, basically stiff I can make fairly easily and nothing too expensive. Figured a variety of stuff will help possibly but I have no idea, just assuming. My question is, how do you know on how much stuff to make? The fair is a 2 day fall festival in a small town near where I'm from and live, it's the 40th year of it and it said they had 10,000 people there last year. Obviously you'll not know what will sell and all that but figure there might be a rough estimate you might think. I was going to make a set amount of stuff, probably some more than others and then have a booklet of stuff I've made and might have sold out of or not have brought any. So any advice or tips would be appreciated. Almost decided against doing the show because my wedding is two weeks after so I'll be a busy man, but figured why not try.


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## ellen35 (Jan 1, 2009)

I have done a number of shows. For a 2 day fair with 10,000 people, you could really clean up! (Maybe pay for part of the wedding???)
I would have about 80-100 assorted items. While your idea of a booklet is interesting… there is an old saying… sell what you can see, don't see what you can sell. Be careful of your pricing. You want to be high enough to appeal to buyers but not too high. You may be able to get people doing holiday shopping… and don't forget the wedding gift people. I usually put a sign up in my booth that says "Need a host/hostess gift? Instead of a bottle of wine, why not bring a cheese board, cutting board or other lasting gift." People do seem to relate to this. You can look at my booth in projects here. You can PM me and we can discuss further. 
Doing a show is a lot of work but it is also fun. You get to meet and talk with lots of people!


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## Gixxerjoe04 (Jan 31, 2014)

My wedding is basically paid for already, but my honeymoon isn't haha, maybe ill get lucky and be able to take a chunk of it out with the show


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## poospleasures (Aug 7, 2011)

Hope you enjoy the show and make some money too. I do not have a lot of experience with shows. I do make 2 or 3 each year for the last 3 or 4 years. It is kinda hard work but need a place to sell the many items made each year. Usually several each of appx. 20 different items. My best mix is things priced from $4 thru $200 and usually sell about the same amount of different priced items not all cheap or high end. Usually get some orders for later from previous buyers who attend sometimes just to come talk and order. Best sales come in the late fall or early winter. I am in Ky. also. You can check my projects and blogs if you like to get ideas of my products. This can get rather long so you can PM if you want and we can discuss more.


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## huff (May 28, 2009)

Ellen gave you some really good advice and hope you take the time to PM her for more info.

I did shows for over 25 years, but most of my work was larger custom made furniture and cabinetry, but the fundamentals are the same.

I have a blog series on marketing and sales. http://lumberjocks.com/huff/blog/series/6466. that may give you some ideas. Part 4 covers shows.

Good luck with your show and congratulations on your wedding.


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## woodworkingprincipal (Jul 1, 2012)

I sell bigger items. Adirondack chairs, rustic coolers, pet beds…...I take a few samples and take orders. That way, display items don't have to be sold….........


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## Gixxerjoe04 (Jan 31, 2014)

Thanks for the info, was wondering if there's small cheap stuff that could be made and sell easily? Like in the $5-10 range, the cheapest thing I make is probably $20-25


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## Yonak (Mar 27, 2014)

> ...but my honeymoon isn t haha, maybe ill get lucky….
> 
> - Gixxerjoe04


I think there's a good chance of it, Joe.


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## harveysoriginals (May 1, 2014)

Sounds silly but very simple back scratchers are a big seller!!! You can make them as elaborate as you want but honestly rudimentary ones do well!!!!!
I call mine "Harvey's Honeys" and sign and put a serial number on every one! 
People with itchy backs, or the wives of those people consider them works of art!!!!
Have FUN!!!!!!


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## Gshepherd (May 16, 2012)

Make what you make the best and have the most fun. I look at craft shows as a good way to get your name out there.


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## Puzzleman (May 4, 2010)

You don't need items in the $5 range. The $20 - $25 range is good for a minimum price if you have items going much higher. When you are doing $5 items you have to sell a lot of them to make any money and even then you are probably losing money on the time you put into the product.

Besides that, you don't want the bottom feeders ( people who only buy it because it is a low price). Set people up with your $20 items that that is your lowest price due to your craftsmanship and quality. This sets them up to look up to the nest price level and that can result in more money per sale. People remember high quality providers more than they do low price providers.

I have been doing shows full time for over 10 years and am successful at it. Have now cut back on shows as my sales has increased to where I don't have to pound the road as much as I used to.

Good Luck with the show. If want more info from me, PM me.


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## Finn (May 26, 2010)

I agree with Puzzleman: I have been making and selling my stuff full time for seven years myself and my best sellers are $20-$25 items. I also offer $5 items but all they do for me is pay for the space rental. I offer some $40 items and some $125 items also. The $20 items out sell most everything else ten to one. I do not make a "living" doing this (I am retired) but I have made this a self funding hobby.


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## sawdust703 (Jul 6, 2014)

Some more good advice, IGNORE the NEGATIVITY!!!! We live in a small agriculture community in NW Kansas, & have done several shows in our area for four years, and we hear A LOT of 'we can buy it at walmart cheaper!" Our items are priced from $10 - $300, and are all made by my wife & I. Some shows we do well at, others we don't. Be sure to make an assortment of items that appeal to everybody. Take some pictures of your past projects for folks to look at as well. I get a lot of orders just from pictures. You can only take so much with you, and manage it. Just my two cents.


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## Gixxerjoe04 (Jan 31, 2014)

Yea the "I can buy it cheaper else where" should stick to yards sales. I went and bought a bunch of lumber today, spent a decent amount of money, but it's all figured something, will make some good looking stuff.


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## Gixxerjoe04 (Jan 31, 2014)

My first show is this weekend, set up is tomorrow. Pretty nervous and excited, hope I sell some stuff and if I dont a whole lot, hope I don't get too discouraged to try another one. Not sure if I have too much of one thing or not enough, that's probably the most frustrating part.


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## BinghamtonEd (Nov 30, 2011)

I saw this post, and thought, this looks familiar…because I had read it two months ago!

I'm glad you're following up with us. Show us what you ended up making! And let us know how it goes.


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

I'm planning on doing about 5 craft fairs just in my local area next year. I'm mainly doing the craft fairs for local advertising if that makes any sense. I'll be able to have a good assortment of items such as boxes, carvings, clocks, small wall shelves, jewelry armoires, and other similar small items. However, I'll also be doing laser engraving very shortly and will be able to sell a good many customized items since the shows will be local. I doubt that I will sell that much but it will let the people in the surrounding area know that I'm in the area and can make some nice things as well as do custom work.

I'm going to price my pieces so that I am able to make money with it so craft fairs may not be the way that I can sell my work. I'm thinking that I'll need to sell most of my production on the internet. I'm hoping that the laser engraving will be my bread and butter so that I can put out some really nice things with my woodworking. However, I'm entering into this totally blind and I really don't know what the future will bring. I do know that some how I need to build a small business so that I can have a going business for my wife and I to run when she finally retires in 3 or 4 years. So hopefully we can figure out our nitch by then.

My advice to you would be to make as wide a variety of things that you can make and price them to where you can make some money. Do the best that you can and put your heart into it. One thing for sure is that you will learn a lot from the experience. I hope that you will be successful and will always be happy in your work.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


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## Gixxerjoe04 (Jan 31, 2014)

Will post some pics tomorrow when I get it all set up. Took off work today and tomorrow to finish stuff up, procrastinated a little, this show will def be a learning experience.


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## longgone (May 5, 2009)

Good luck at your show…My wife and I have been doing shows for several years and love every minute of it.


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## Gixxerjoe04 (Jan 31, 2014)

It probably didn't help with getting everything made that my wedding is in 2 weeks, luckily my fiancé has helped quite a bit and will be with me all weekend, she's more of a talker than me which will help.


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## Puzzleman (May 4, 2010)

Don't be afraid to talk about what you do. People will like your products but they will because of you. discuss with them why you made the piece, why you got started doing what you do, how did you learn, tips and tricks that you learned, and most of all why you LOVE to do wood working.

When I first started I had no idea how to sell but I knew I had to or I couldn't pay my bills. So I learned how to greet everyone when they walk by my booth, greet [people when they walk in, learned to back off when they don't want attention, how to give more information and ideas when they want more information but the one thing everyone told me was that they loved my enthusiasm for making puzzles and children's products.

Don't let your fiance do all the selling, the customers will want to talk to the person that made it. That is you. Be very proud of what you do and be humble when given compliments.

After the show, review how you did and write down the lessons learned from this show.
I learn something new at every show I do, even ones I have been doing for over 12 years.

Happy Selling!!


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## wseand (Jan 27, 2010)

Good luck on the show, I've been wanting to do something like this for some time now. Seriously jealous of you. 
Definitely post some pics and how the show went.


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## Gixxerjoe04 (Jan 31, 2014)

Well go and try one, I never get nervous or anything even with my wedding so close but this show makes me feel like I'm going on my first date or something haha. My only fear is my stuff not being good enough or something, everyone I know likes my work, but they could be biased haha.


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## Gixxerjoe04 (Jan 31, 2014)

Just posted my set up and what I've made, any suggestions welcome, it opens tomorrow at 10am and will probably get there around 9 to make sure everything is right. 
http://lumberjocks.com/projects/105957


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## Gixxerjoe04 (Jan 31, 2014)

First day update. So finally got home and we're pretty tired, was a pretty hot day which kind of sucked but turn out seemed to be good. Cant really compare numbers of what's a good show and all that but i think I did pretty well. This being my first show i had a lot more expenses with getting tent, sign, table clothes, etc etc, so my profit won't be as good as it should be, but now I won't have to buy those for other shows. But even with all the expense, I'm already profitable, not really sure how much since I bought odds and ends and didn't keep track very well, but i took home a little over $1,000 today, not sure how that compares to your alls but I'm happy. Half sales came from cash half from cards, and had tons of business cards taken for potential future sales. I was surprised with some stuff that sold well and others that have sold well online but not today, then sold some of everything else. Didn't sell any wine bottle stoppers but had tons of people looking at them, had them at $25 which i figure was fine, they're black titanium and have buckeye burl, redwood burl and other real pretty stuff. Had tons of compliments which is really nice too hear, kinda hard on myself thinking my stuff isn't as good as others I've seen at shows, so it's a nice confidence boost even if i didn't sell them something. My neighboring booth has been nice and helpful and bought some of my stuff and traded for some more. One thing she said and i noticed, the "bane" of craft shows are kids being there. Her stuff are glass wind chimes and they'd slap and run into them, come to my tent and pick up and move stuff around and just mess with EVERYTHING. I did get a little stern with some kids running through her tent and around mine with big blow up bats, could have easily broken something, no parents in site. My bread boards would make good paddles, they needed a good whooping but now a days you'd be abusive and get arrested. Anyways, my most costly thing to make, which were magnetic bottle openers, sold out basically except a couple barnwood ones. Wish i would have made more but wasn't sure if they'd sell well and big magnets are expensive, sooooo still happy i sold most of what i had made. I had one guy dressed in chef clothing come by, said he's opening or updating this restaurant literally 30 yards away from my tent in the town. I didn't hear exactly what he was interested because it was loud at the moment but i assumed it would have been the bread boards since it was for the restaurant. He said he'd email me in a couple weeks but was looking to get 50 of whatever it was he was interested in. So I don't know if I'll actually hear from him or not, but if i do, 50 of whatever I'm selling, I'd be happier than a pig in crap if i sold that much at once.


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## timbertailor (Jul 2, 2014)

Glad you are happy. Sounds like you did alright and learned alot for next time.

The contacts should generate some nice side work, as well.

No reason it shouldn't. You do nice work.

Cheers


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## Gixxerjoe04 (Jan 31, 2014)

Here goes day number two, moved a table to open my booth up more and lowered a couple prices on things I didn't sell or only sold like one of yesterday. They're things I haven't really sold before so wasn't sure if the prices were good. Walked around and saw a couple other wood working booths. They had some similar stuff, some lower prices but they had plain woods. Most of mine is figured stuff and I have exotic mixed in, so I think my prices are fine for that stuff, in my opinion curly maple and bloodwood or purpleheart looks better than red oak.


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## JAAune (Jan 22, 2012)

Glad to hear it's going well for you. Magnets are expensive you say? Perhaps K&J magnets is a resource you might be interested in checking out. Fair prices and great selection. You can also get a higher grade magnet with more power then drop to a smaller size to save both space and money.

K&J Magnets


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## Puzzleman (May 4, 2010)

Happy to hear your show went well. Concerning the bottle openers and wine stoppers. Sounds like you had a beer crowd instead of a wine crowd. Different types of people. If you had gone to an area where wine is more predominant, you would have sold the stoppers and not the openers.

If you can get the magnets cheaper, don't lower your price. Sounds like sold well at that price so keep it there or raise it. If you source materials cheaper, that is to your benefit as in more profit per item.

Remember back to what the people were saying about your prices. If you heard many people stating that your prices on certain items are "really good" or "very fair", those are code words for it sounds cheap. Raise those prices and see what happens. Had an item like that for me, raised the price by 50% and still heard the comments. Now I sell the item for 2 1/2 times what I originally started at and every once in a while I hear the comments. My costs haven't changed but the profit per item sure has.


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## Gixxerjoe04 (Jan 31, 2014)

I did 80% of what I did Saturday, yesterday, so pretty good for a slower day and I didn't have my number one seller. Had a couple people saying my prices were good for what I had, didn't really hear anything bad from anyone except some *********************************** guy mutter about making money off free pallets, of course he's never made a wine rack from one and spent all the time sanding the things. I accidentally overcharged a guy $5, got prices mixed up and he didn't notice. I realized it and went and found him and gave him the $5 back. Funny because he found my Facebook page yesterday and posted a pic using what he bought saying how great they were, so who knows being honest over $5 might get more business from him or people he knows later on. I did have a couple people who thought all my stuff was made from barnwood because my name is Black Barn Woodworks. Came up with my name by just looking through pictures I took on my phone and had a good one of a black barn on my grandparents farm, and thought the name just sounded good. Of course you all saw the pics and it's obvious all kinds of wood but I guess a lot of people don't really know anything about wood and woodworking to know any better.

The magnets I buy are the same kind that k&j have but are even cheaper than them as well. My only thing was I didn't want to spend tons of money on magnets, epoxy them in not knowing if I would be able to sell them. I spent close to $170 on magnets for the stuff I made for this show. Knowing they sold well now I won't worry about it. Now that I have a tax ID number, I guess technically making me a business, I can get the special bottle openers I was using cheaper now which is nice because they were hard to find.


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## Case101 (Jun 29, 2013)

Interesting thread!


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## Puzzleman (May 4, 2010)

Gixxerjoe04, 80% of Saturday on Sunday is good! 
Most times I do good to get 60% of my best day on that Sunday.

Hang on because all those cards you passed out, quite a few will comeback over the next year with orders. I have had people hold onto my information for 3 years before they called with an order.


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## PhillipRCW (Dec 9, 2014)

Interested to see if any of the potential customers contacted you after the show. I am doing a few local shows to get my name out there also. I hate doing the small crafts, but I will be doing some just to have the varied price range. 
Did the chef end up placing his big order?


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## Gixxerjoe04 (Jan 31, 2014)

Never heard from the chef unfortunately but had a few customers order some more around Christmas time, of course a lot of the stuff i sold were items for Christmas. Plan on looking into doing more shows this year, hopefully I'll have a good year. Last year was my first time selling anything to anyone, did well for the most part I think. I didn't technically make any money though last year, of course almost every tool i own I bought within the last year which ate up all my earnings.


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