SELLING AT CRAFT SHOWS - Part 2

Doing craft shows can be stressful. Lighten up and read A Crafter's Secret to Staying Young.

When you are out scouting craft shows to determine what is best for you, look carefully at the setup of the booths. This will help in the design of your booth. Some people set up around the outside of their booth area and leave the center open. Some set up with only an aisle down the center of the area.

How are the booths decorated? Do you like the fancy booths with a lot of froufrou, the quaint, country look with gingham ribbons, or the "Plain Jane" type whose only decoration is that of the products being displayed for sale? A booth that looks organized and is neatly done is only good marketing sense. People use the "first impression" observation even when viewing a booth at a craft show. Make a good first impression.

Observe how people have products displayed. Are they stacked, separated, put on shelves or placed on the floor? What appeals to you the most? Booths can be configured and set up in many ways.

Another source of information about finding shows is at Craft Fair.

Shows are given:

• in school gyms
• in convention centers
• in church parking lots

The location depends on the sponsor of the show. When you know the location of a show, check out the surrounding neighborhood to see if these are the types of people who will buy your products.

The show should be accessible to large numbers of people with sufficient parking space. We did one show that looked great! There was great variety in products, the quality was high and everything seemed right. The problem? There were a limited number of parking spaces and people were cautioned against parking in the street. The result? Few people attended the show and sales were very low.

When you know you are doing a show in a certain location, go and scout the area. Try to determine who your buyers will be. Look at the neighborhood, at the people walking around. If there are stores close by, go into them and look at the customers shopping. This will help you know how your particular products will be received and if the price is right. The research might tell you that you need to stock up on lower priced items that are inexpensive. On the other hand, if as you scouted the neighborhood, you saw large homes with BMWs in the driveways, you might stock up on your higher priced items.

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