Craft fair

[Maurice]

Well I took my first foray into a craft fair at a local community centre yesterday. I did reasonably well selling a few bowls, fruit and mushrooms. I took 40 pens with me and sold 5 Slimlines and one Seirrra but for all you plastic haters I can say that I only sold wooden pens!!!
I found the whole experience like pulling teeth. I had loads of “They are beautiful “, “Oh how lovely” and “I have always loved wood” but to get them to put their hands into their pockets was a struggle.
I only did it so that I could find extra funds to buy some high-end pen kits but for you who try to make it a business you have my heartfelt sympathy.

 

[L200arg]

Thanks for that Maurice I have got my first Xmas craft fair today.

 

[silver]

I can't understand, I'm a self made millionaire, all done from making pens and selling them through sitting in cold village halls, market halls and big marquees.... :wink:

But as I made that much money I have now given the stalls up for someone else to make their millions

As I'm getting less teeth now I understand what it's like for pulling teeth., dentist had all mine..

But when you get in to the hi end kits as I did you will find equally that they will fly off the table and make you the second million pounds and you can then retire just as I have done and just keep turning pens because I enjoy the hobby and as I have made the money I don't need to make it now

 

[Grump]

I echo you words Maurice "I found the whole experience like pulling teeth." I think perhaps its' because I am not a people person and cannot, will not and don't see why I should have to put up with the sheer stupidity of the public at large.
My price is my price for a very good reason, if you want to barter or haggle go to a Medina not a craft fair.
If you not gonna buy it then don't bloody touch it in the first place, I now have to clean it after you have wiped your sticky greasy fat fingers all over it, are you gonna pay me to do that? NO. Then Foff.
I fully understand where you are coming from dear chap.

 

[Woody]

I'm the opposite end of the scale to Brian I am a people person and love being out there chatting and generally enjoying the experience and I encourage people to pick thing up an old sales technique once the pen is in there hand they will generally sign on the dotted line
As for haggling if they want to knock say a fiver of then I put an extra fiver on and you can see the confusion start to set in but you have put the price up yes haggling session over
I think this may be my last shot this Christmas poor ol git cant keep the pace up anymore so I'm going to make the most of this one and enjoy every moment then come home at the end of the day and fall asleep a happy man

 

[Jim]

Maurice, can you tell us where the fair was held please?

Thanks for that Maurice I have got my first Xmas craft fair today.

Good luck with it Richard ..

I'm the opposite end of the scale to Brian I am a people person and love being out there chatting and generally enjoying the experience and I encourage people to pick thing up an old sales technique once the pen is in there hand they will generally sign on the dotted line
As for haggling if they want to knock say a fiver of then I put an extra fiver on and you can see the confusion start to set in but you have put the price up yes haggling session over

My very thoughts Woody, if you want to sell you have to encourage people to buy, and if that means a close inspection with a feel so be it ...

Now before you all dive in, the feel of the pen of course ...

 

[Woody]

Maurice, can you tell us where the fair was held please?



Good luck with it Richard ..



My very thoughts Woody, if you want to sell you have to encourage people to buy, and if that means a close inspection with a feel so be it ...

Now before you all dive in, the feel of the pen of course ...

Blast you had to go and spoil that one I was ready to pounce

 

[Maurice]

Yes the craft fair was in the community centre in Mere Green Sutton Coldfield, north of Birmingham.

 

[Maurice]

Where are your craft fairs

Maybe members could let us know where there are exhibiting, it would give others the opportunity to meet up if nearby

 

[Doug]

Yes the craft fair was in the community centre in Mere Green Sutton Coldfield, north of Birmingham.

Blimey there's a blast from the past, I used to drink at a pub near Mere Green seem to recall it being called Blakes Barn (?) though it was 25 years ago, probably been demolished now.

 

[Jimjam66]

I'll be he first to say that I have very little experience of craft fairs (did my first a couple weeks ago and had a similar experience) but I know a little about marketing and target audiences. If you want to open a Ferrari dealership in London you wouldn't do it in Southwark - the cars are more likely to be stolen than bought. You'd go for Canary Wharf, where the disposable income average suggests more people could afford what you're selling.

We used to call it "fishing in the right pond". Neil has a lot of experience and he will tell you that certain fairs he won't touch with a barge-pole (I think he said about one that the people were there because they couldn't afford a TV license ). Even the organisers of a particular fair will usually be honest as to he footfall they attract - we were warned in advance that our fair probably wasn't suitable for our market but we wanted to shake down our stand and the like so went anyway. Professionals like Neil know which fairs to attend and which to avoid, but I think hat kind of skill only comes with hard knocks.

 

[Jimjam66]

if you want to sell you have to encourage people to buy, and if that means a close inspection with a feel so be it

Went to an IT fair in Brum a few years ago and one of the exhibitors had the bright idea to hire in a couple of lap dancers (you can't throw a stick in Brum without hitting one) and dress them up in body paint in corporate colours (and very little else!). As Phil will tell you in a hall full of IT geeks whose prior experience of women has largely been of the inflatable variety that nearly caused a riot ... Jim, that wasn't your idea was it?

 

[Woody]

Craft fairs like boot hairs have seen better days the hay days of craft fairs has long gone most are now a bit of a hit and miss not al but some are just about hanging on by the skin of there teeth you talk to most craft fair veteran if you can find one nowadays and they will tell you the bus has left town there was a time when you could demand what you liked and got it but sadly now the market is moving I think to the internet like most things.
I can remember a time when there were loads of woodturners at craft fairs but very few of them will bother now I was talking to an old timer at the Stamford craft show he had spent years earning a good living at craft fairs and he said the only people making money nowadays are the organizers not the stall holders and this was his last show this particular site was once the gold field of craft shows, sellers reckoned people in Stamford had money to burn not any more

 

[stevenw1963]

Don't do craft fairs as such, we have a couple of Christmas fairs coming up which allows local crafts people to have stalls.
I will be doing two in the one day on the 6th Dec, at a large old fogies home in the next village then the open doors event in our own village.
Made enough last year to buy a decent band saw, if I can do the same amount this year then what I make goes back into the hobby & allows me to carry on for another year.

I'm like Brian, I don't like doing these things but can live with it for a day. Paula helps out & I leave all the gabbing to her

 

[Maurice]

No, Blakes Barn is still going strong. They have a curry night every Wednesday

 

[Neil]

Craft fairs like boot hairs have seen better days the hay days of craft fairs has long gone most are now a bit of a hit and miss not al but some are just about hanging on by the skin of there teeth you talk to most craft fair veteran if you can find one nowadays and they will tell you the bus has left town there was a time when you could demand what you liked and got it but sadly now the market is moving I think to the internet like most things.
I can remember a time when there were loads of woodturners at craft fairs but very few of them will bother now I was talking to an old timer at the Stamford craft show he had spent years earning a good living at craft fairs and he said the only people making money nowadays are the organizers not the stall holders and this was his last show this particular site was once the gold field of craft shows, sellers reckoned people in Stamford had money to burn not any more

Stamford Craft Fair, was that at Burghley?

Unfortunately there is a lot of tat on the craft fair circuit, organisers have not been meticulous in selecting their exhibitors and there is everything from plastic toys from China to Duvets and Pillow Cases made commercially. They don't care long term, they want a short term buck. The government has recently dealt a severe blow to the craft fair circuit in that they have imposed VAT on stand space. Yup, 20%, not on market traders, not on boot fairs but on Craft fair traders. Its going to kill what was already on the seriously ill list.

Stamford is still very affluent but people are very careful about what they spend, if indeed they have it to spend, You can appear to be well off but have very little disposable income!!

 

[Neil]

I'll be he first to say that I have very little experience of craft fairs (did my first a couple weeks ago and had a similar experience) but I know a little about marketing and target audiences. If you want to open a Ferrari dealership in London you wouldn't do it in Southwark - the cars are more likely to be stolen than bought. You'd go for Canary Wharf, where the disposable income average suggests more people could afford what you're selling.

We used to call it "fishing in the right pond". Neil has a lot of experience and he will tell you that certain fairs he won't touch with a barge-pole (I think he said about one that the people were there because they couldn't afford a TV license ). Even the organisers of a particular fair will usually be honest as to he footfall they attract - we were warned in advance that our fair probably wasn't suitable for our market but we wanted to shake down our stand and the like so went anyway. Professionals like Neil know which fairs to attend and which to avoid, but I think hat kind of skill only comes with hard knocks.

I wish I knew better which fairs were better to attend! I have just had two horrors, but there is a tale in both. The first was at Newmarket Craft and design show. Fantastic quality stuff, great range and historically a really successful show, I could, in the past have happily lived off it for a month. The organiser was complacent, trimmed his marketing budget because he thought he could save money and make a bit more for himself. He didn't realise that behind him four weeks later there is another fair there called Presents Galore in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. The local branch of MCS have been promoting it madly and as a result allegiance has switched from the Art Craft and Design Show to the event called Presents Galore, The Design Show bombed, big time. It wont happen next year, which is almost a relief I think.

David is right, there are certain fairs that I wont touch with a barge pole, but sadly he is not as correct when he states that organisers will normally be honest about the footfall they attract. They all went to the Pinocchio College of Mathematical Statistics and all achieved a Masters in Advanced Bullshit.

Footfall is what cheese sellers and burger vans need, quality is what makers need. To buy a lump of cheese doesn't need mental consideration, it is sub consciously from the food budget, although nobody counts their pennies quite so categorically, buying cheese isnt exactly a capital expenditure. You dont go out of the front door saying I'm going to a craft fair today, I must buy a pen, or a bowl or light pull! Buying what we sell is a "capital" expenditure in that sense and these are the fairs that are profitable. I caught a cold last weekend, as a result of the Newmarket mess I had planned a weekend off but ended in a double whammy. What looked like a good local show, 6,000 footfall (I know what I just said but amongst that there must be some who can breathe without thinking), The organisers lied about the show, half of the attractions didn't materialise, the punters were upset (mainly because they couldnt find a tattoo artist there I think) they all had to be pulled out of the car park because the car park was inadequate, the place was down a one way lane, just a bloody mess. We all live and learn.

The biggest lesson I have learned is that making pens is one thing, but marketing is another, the famous (but not so famous that I can remember his name but it began with a B!!) American marketeer said that 95% of his marketing budget was totally wasted, trouble was he didn't know which 5% worked. And that is why we will all continue to have failures at Craft fairs.

Off to the Harrogate Christmas show this tomorrow and I am looking forward to meeting Jim and his wife on Sunday so I guess that he will get back and report on the fair before I get back to my machine on Monday.

 

[Terry]

Thanks for the info on the Harrogate show Neil. It is a new one on me but I shall try and get there on Sunday as it is not too far away!!!!

 

[Neil]

Thanks for the info on the Harrogate show Neil. It is a new one on me but I shall try and get there on Sunday as it is not too far away!!!!

Best I put the kettle on then! You wont be able to miss me, I'm about six foot four, slim athletic build.