Reflections from a Craft Fair
Well… it happened. I participated in my first ever craft fair, this one held by The North Church in Mounds View. It was a well attended large church Christmas holiday bazaar. I centered all my initial turning work on making items for inventory for this show, as we designed this show to be our “test case” to see if we like selling our wares “live” or not. Months of preparation went into the planning for this show - I researched articles on set up and display, craft show etiquette, and what’s popular. I build a nice “knock-down”/easy to assemble shelving unit to give more display space and outfitted it with lighting which really set my display apart. I researched and both “Square” terminals to help in collecting money (credit cards, etc.). I had business cards printed up. I engraved a nice large sign with my logo. I even went so far to order a logo-based ink stamp which we then adorned gift bags, tags, etc., to round out the customer experience.
I loved it. The beauty and pleasure of “hawking your personal wares” is daunting and demanding. I have a degree in marketing, but that was for corporate sales, not on my things. There is a ton of pressure to reduce your sales prices to drive volume but the “werks” created have intrinsic and economic value to them. You want to be able to converse with everyone who comes to your table set up and just can’t.
The highlight of the 2 day event came for me each time a person rounded the corner and looked at my booth, I saw their eyes light up, and watched them mouth “Wow” (or something like it) which was a true blessing to me as a seller. It’s amazing to think that none of HAPDesignwerks bowls and other woodturned items even existing prior to July of this year (4 months ago). That’s a personal accomplishment.
I had set a sales goal for the event and achieved that goal which was refreshing to accomplish. In the end, I sold about 30% of my inventory - not bad for my first art show attempt. I received a ton of support from my LinkedIn community once I announced my participation in the fair. Today, I created an Etsy site for my remaining inventory. Not bad for a 65-year old retiree who is not a techie!
Hopefully each item will find its way to a home where it can be treasured, displayed, or used as an item of beauty which shows the richness of God’s glorious design in his creation.