Craft Sales - Part 1

This year I'm participating in my very first craft sale.  I have no idea what to expect, but I'm going to do my best to keep you all updated (and to keep a bit of a record of it for myself too)

Step 1:  Find your shows.

Here's what I've found works for me so far:

Search on Kijiji - I found 2 like this, one of which I'm doing

Try Craigslist - our community isn't huge into Craigslist, and Kijiji usually offers better results, so do what works for you

Talk to people you know!  I found out about a sale from someone asking me if I was going to be at it, just because she knows I'm crafty!

Check local papers - one of our local free papers has a "happenings" section, and I've found a couple shows here too.  

Facebook!  A lot of groups create events here because it's free and seen by a lot of people!  

Craftster.org - in some of the City-specific forums people discuss this, or you could even ask what events are in your city

Google search - this one's kind of a given, but doesn't necessarily provide the best results

Local Community Associations - my boyfriend lives in a lovely little neighborhood that has an annual spring event Art in the Park, stuff like this is all over, but relatively quiet.  Again, stuff like this can often be found on facebook.

Step 2:  Pick your shows

Not all of the shows you find will be the right fit for you.  Things to consider are:

Audience: are they looking to buy what you're selling?

Location:  Will your travel and accommodation costs outweigh what you will make?

Table Price: Again, will you make enough to cover your costs?

How many shows do you think you can do?  How close/far apart can you do shows? 

It's good to communicate with the organizers, figure out who the audience is, how big the show is, and anything else you can find.

Step 3:  Keep records

Image from Geekware

You've just done a fair bit of research, and it's a good idea to record your findings.  Keep either a notebook, or a computer document that contains information on the shows you've found.  I have spreadsheet that I enter the name of the show, where it is, what the date is, how to contact them, how much tables cost, and how I found out about it.

It's a good idea to make note of what you're attending and which ones you're not, and the reasons you're not (ie.  Too expensive, same weekend as my grandpa's 80th birthday and would have liked to go, didn't look like my type of show, etc)


Keep building on this each year!  After the show it's a good idea to make notes about how the show was, what you'd do differently next time, and if you'd be interested in going again.  

I'll be adding new Craft Sale Posts as I continue on and learn new things, but for now, here's a couple links that I've been checking out.

One Pretty Thing - Craft Sales

eHow - How to do well at craft shows (beginners)

Also, I'd love to hear any experiences you'd had with craft sales or any words of wisdom you'd like to pass along!