Evening Crafters
Due to studying for my theory test, which I passed yesterday YAY!! and getting ready for a market at the weekend, ordering crafty supplies for displaying my goodies and much more admin type stuff I haven't had much time to sit & craft. I plan on having a full afternoon of it tomorrow after my driving lesson which makes me happy.
Anyway tonight I thought I would give you all some tips on preparing for a craft fair or market, getting together the things that you need and making sure you are best placed to enjoy your day.
So the first thing I always do before I book a market is actually visit the venue if its a weekly/monthly event. if its a yearly thing I look up last years event on the web to see what it looked like and the reviews. I like to see the set up, the area and the potential customers that you could be supplying.
It is also good to know what you will be supplied with on the day, table, what size & condition, chairs how many, sockets for lights or laptops if needed and other facilities that are on offer. This is usually detailed as questions for the organiser in my first email.
The first market we attended was an outdoor one and they did supply the tables. However, the tables were a bit hit and miss, some were cracked/broken, unsteady or had to be secured with tie wraps etc, this is not good if you have things of great value or things that can be damaged if your table collapses.
We decided that we would be doing this market every week and so it was worthwhile purchasing our own table. The first table we got was a pasting table from B&Q, it was wooden and although did the job, it just wasn't wide quite enough and was really heavy. We then purchased one from Costco and it is perfect for all crafts and is usually what most professional markets will supply you with anyway, plus for the quality it didn't cost the earth.
We have a 6ft one and a 4ft one this create an "L" shaped stall and give loads of surface for our products -
The next thing you want to think about is your display, I advise thinking about a bit of height, it gives better dimension to your table rather than having everything laid out in one flat surface. I use two wooden boxes, these also double up as boxes for taking the little bits and pieces to the market, two birds with one stone -
I have two of these and a plank of wood that's about 4ft long, I place the boxes at the back of the stall with the plank on top giving a 4ft long shelf and a 2ft space at the side where I place a vintage style crate full of bath bombs
Next you need table covers to cover the table you are using, like I said earlier you cannot rely on these being in great condition or know the colour. I have a beige one for on top of the table, I then pop down the shelf this stops the wooden boxes from slipping on the table surface, my cotton cover which is blue then goes over the top of the table and the shelf, giving a complete one colour surface. You can use any material you like for this, at Christmas I used a lovely think paper cover which was perfect for the season.
One tip is to always make sure your table cover is on straight so that from the front it looks neat & professional. If you wish to store stock or others things under your table, make sure that the cloth is long enough to cover it, again giving a professional look.
If you are selling jewellery you may need busts etc, for bath bombs I use rustic wooden crates, for cards a nice display and/or lovely boxes well labelled with the occasion and maybe some card easels to display some of your creations, you will know what you need for your specific product, the shelf/ boxes or displays that you use can give you the height and interest.
You could also hand some bunting around your table, maybe also a business sign, your bunting could even be your business sign?
Craft fairs & markets are a great opportunity to advertise. You want people to remember you long after the market, so take with you some business cards and/or price lists/ flyer's. Business card holders are relatively cheap and a great investment for your regular stall, also a holder for your price lists/ flyer's, this just raises you game as a professional crafter -
I use Microsoft Publisher to design my leaflets, these are one A4 sheet which is folded to have 6 pages, a tri-fold, like this -
It is cheaper to design and print these yourself at home, we all know what we do with leaflets that we pick up so spending loads of money on having a printer do them is not always cost effective. Something basic, with your logo, contact details, lists and prices of products, folded perfectly and displayed well will look just as fab at a fraction of the cost.
Always have all your items clearly priced. I attended a craft fair at Christmas, it was a 2 week event, the first week I didn't have any prices out as I was worried that it might have looked tacky, it was a quiet week. Another crafter spoke to me and said that people might not want to ask me for the prices in case I was too expensive and suggested that I put prices out, so that's what I did.
I cut an A4 piece of card into 6 same size pieces, folded them over and wrote the product, the scent, the weight and the price on these with glitter pen, drew a wee butterfly on and sat them in front of the relevant product. Did it make a difference, yip it did, I had a great 2nd week and now I always always price everything.
It is also a good idea to take extra card and the same pen with you in case some blow off onto the ground if your outside, or if you are selling cupcakes for example you may want to change the prices later in the day to clear your stock.
So that's the table, the table dressing, the advertising & the pricing, what other things do you need to take with you?
I always have a good float, remembering your stall rent and always having alot of pound coins One tip I learned early was not to have things priced at 0.99 & 0.98 etc, everything is to the 10p so I don't have to have pennies, two pennies or five pence's it saves alot of hassle if you run out.
I have a locked money tin for my float but I also have money aprons which were purchased from Denny's these have the Scottish flag and the company name embroidered on these;
You will need packaging aswell, some small paper bags if you have small things, carrier bags for larger things or lots of little things, also its good to have carrier bags if its raining. Most people usually wont take a bag but I always make sure that I have a good amount.
Depending on where you are, and how long your event is lasting you may also want to take some food & drink. If you are outside, especially in the colder months, I always have a large flask of hot water for tea, I have seen other stall holders with flasks of soup also. For all events though, I generally take sandwiches, crisps and chocolate. The way I see it is if I bring my own food then I am not spending the money that has been made.
It is also good to think about your setting aswell, when outside I usually have many layers of clothing on as standing or sitting in the one position for a long time you can get cold, gloves & scarfs in your bag as back up is also a must. If you are inside, have a t-shirt & a jumper as again it could be a very cold or a very hot building and you want to be comfortable.
Once you have set up and you have wandered around and had a look at the other stalls, it can be a bit quiet. Rather than sitting looking bored and possibly anxious, it is good to have something to do, I do not advise a book or magazine or anything like that but something craft related, maybe even related to what your stall holds, so if you make jewellery you could take a wee box of beads and make up some charms, if you do cards, take bits to make up toppers, or decoupage to cut out, if you sew or knit take some small things to complete or start. Its great to look busy and crafty, however, always look up from what your doing, smile say hi, offer a business card or price list.
Good service, enthusiasm, advice, and generally being friendly will always help to sell your products, people will remember you for being nice & being yourself.
The biggest piece of advice I can give though is be confident in your abilities, your products are fab, relax, enjoy yourself & remember you do what you do because you love it!!
I do hope that this helps any new crafters out there,
Happy Crafting
Amanda x
PS any link to products and services are for reference only and not endorsed by myself or my business, always do your research and achieve the best price & quality.
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