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Which Craft Shows Do I Choose?
by Natalie Goyette
Every weekend, nearly 600 craft shows take place around the U.S. - that's around
30,000 a year - offering more than 10,000 full-time craftspeople a place to sell
their craft show items. According to a National Endowment for the Arts survey,
nearly 70 million people attend craft shows annually.
Now, you've selected the craft you want to produce, you've started production,
you've tested prices and set up your business. You're ready to take your craft
show items on the road. In order to do that, you need to decide where you will
test your wares. Initially, many new crafters begin with local one-day shows that
cost under $100 to enter and require no prior jury selection.
This means anyone can enter as space allows. This is where you will get your feet
wet, iron out the kinks in your product and learn the ropes of "hiccraft show"
business! It's preferable to make mistakes when you're paying a $25 entry fee and
no travel expenses than when you're paying several hundred or even several thousand
dollars to attend and even more for motels, gas and meals.
Although there are wholesale as well as retail craft shows, we will address retail
craft shows only. In a wholesale show you are selling your craft at about half of
the retail price to buyers who are looking for products for their stores or galleries.
You have to sell larger quantities to make up for the lower price, so you may wish
to do this down the road when you are more seasoned.
Wholesale craft shows might be a good option for you if you have a way to make
your craft show item efficiently and with a good amount of quality. You can make
money with your crafts by selling them to larger vendors, and having them peddle
them in other craft shows, or even in their studios or stores.
The retail craft shows come in every shape and size, from church bazaars with 20
booths to the Harvest Festival with hundreds of vendors. The attendance varies as
well from several thousand at a one-day local craft show, to several hundred
thousand at state fairs. How do you decide where to sell your precious products
made with your tender loving care?
Various factors will affect your decision, such as the type of craft show, the types
of products at the show, the types of customers the show attracts, how vendors are
selected, the type of promoter in charge of the show, where the craft show is located,
the costs to enter and probably a few more. This doesn't make your job of selecting
shows any easier. It's just one part of your business you will improve on as you learn and grow.
Natalie Goyette shows you how to make your craft show business profitable in
her best selling ebook: Craft Show Success Secrets. Visit her site:
www.craftshowsuccess.com
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