Blogger Templates

Pages

Sunday 7 April 2013

COULD IT BE THAT SPRING HAS SPRUNG?

Hello everyone

What a lovely sunny weekend we have had - hope it has been the same for everyone reading this post?  The forecast for this coming week seems to be reasonable - no double figure temperatures, but no sign of any snow.

Another busy week working on websites and card-making for yesterday's event.  It wasn't a great success and it is no consolation saying that the majority of stallholders did badly as well.  One lady I spoke to said she just covered her stall fee, but only because friends came in and bought her paintings, which they probably would have done without attending the event.  It was advertised as a Craft Fair so you can imagine my surprise when I saw Pheonix Cards (PC) were taking part.  In addition to PC the world and his wife were there selling cards along side their other goods.  Such competition is hard to cope with.  I had forgotten to ask if PC were taking part, just took it for granted that Craft Fair meant craft, as in handmade.  A fellow crafter, Snowflake Gems, taking part in the event sought me out as she had recognised my business name as being that of my Facebook page - her jewellery is lovely, so it's a good idea to nip over and have a look at her work.

The event was held in two halls: the smaller one seemed to have a much friendlier, buzzing atmosphere; someone said it was possibly because people were a little more closely packed into the smaller hall.  It also had a lot of natural light, which the larger hall didn't - apart from roof windows which were about 10 - 12 feet above our heads.

Here is a photograph of my stall.  I normally have a black cloth, which sets things off well, but this time I didn't have it ready and I felt there was no dynamic 'come and look at me' colouring to show my work off:



However, that was yesterday and I return to the guns I had planned to stick to early last year: reduce the number of fairs in the January to August period, restrict venues to within a 10 - 15 mile radius of my postcode and try not to pay above £15.00 for a stall.  For most of last year it worked well and although I seem to have veered a little off-track this year, I think I am back on it now.

Having organised an event and taught event organisation for a few years, I know what is involved and how it can be hard work for very little income or other reward.  What is the answer?  Yesterday's event was well organised, good publicity: radio, local newspapers, flyers, Facebook and Twitter.  I know that the area the event is held has a lot to do with it - aim for affluent areas in the hope the residents will spend.  However, does that guarantee those who live in an affluent area will attend a craft fair?

Apart from working on websites and card-making this week, I also confirmed my attendance at two wedding fairs later this year.  In addition to my card-making workshops, this is an area of my business that I want to concentrate on, so I will be looking into doing perhaps a couple more wedding fairs this year.

I treated myself to a Big Shot machine this week; despite having a lovely Cricut Expression machine, loads of punches, etc I don't have an embossing machine and really like the effect this can produce.  In between gardening today I have been embossing sheets of paper and rubbing some down with sand-paper - lots of fun.  I want to get some cards ready this week for my wall at Bourne Mill and also hope to have some to display in my post next weekend.

Have a great week everyone, let's hope we have lots more sunshine and the temperature gets to somewhere near what it should be at this time of the year.  Don't forget to visit the other Handmade Monday bloggers to find out what they have been doing this week - always great to catch up with them.

I will be back next Sunday and Milly will be here on Wednesday with her view on life.

Jill

21 comments:

  1. Ohhh looking forward to seeing the results of cards made with the Big Shot - I've been thinking about getting one for cutting some of the simpler felt shapes that I use. Have a good week, Simmi x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My Mum has a Big Shot that I use for cutting felt shapes with - it is a great piece of kit, and really versatile

      Delete
  2. So sorry the sale wasn't a soaring success for you.. must be a bit disheartening.. ((hug))

    I'm continuing to stitch and knit etc..had an idea to knit on cocktail sticks and make a card or two, lol...sounds odd but it might work out yet! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your stall does look fab. Craft fairs have never really worked that well for me, so I focus my efforts elsewhere these days.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sorry to hear that the craft fair wasn't as good as it could have been for you, it is so hard to tell which ones will work - and sometimes event the same event can be variable as customers can be so fickle!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I am also sorry about your fair but it sounds as if you have picked yourself up and re-focused your direction. Good luck :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I hope you have more success at your next fair.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I would love an embossing machine, I think they are fabulous (and I'm not a card maker!)! Sorry about the fair, I think your rules sound good and if you stick to them things will hopefully even out in the long run. xxx

    ReplyDelete
  8. Your stall looks great, well done for keeping up your morale. I'm totally intimidated by the idea of having a stall at a fair for fear of not covering the stall fee. Good luck with the Big Shot x

    ReplyDelete
  9. Sorry to read about your craft fair - your experience matches my own. My husband's theory is that if the same size space was a shop only the shop owner would be profiting and would only have say 3/4 staff. Craft fairs have too may people for the space and so the overall money taken is split into small amounts - hence no-one will ever do really well! Interesting thought isn't it?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Sorry to hear about your fair, mine was a bit of a mix, some done well while others didn't even make their table money back. Hopefully the next one will be better.
    Enjoy your new 'toy', I'm looking forward to seeing your makes.

    Jan x

    ReplyDelete
  11. Really sorry to hear about the fair. Your stall looks great so please don't be disheartened.

    I've seen the embossing machines on the craft shopping channel and they're amazing. Have fun playing with it xx

    ReplyDelete
  12. Really sorry to hear about the craft fair. Your stall looks great so please don't be disheartened.

    I've seen the embossing machine on the craft shopping channel and they are amazing. Have fun playing with it xx

    ReplyDelete
  13. Craft fairs seem so tricky to get right... the general public are such an unpredictable lot aren't they! and then there's things like the weather to contend with.. I'm sorry your most recent wasn't a huge success for you but i'm sure its no reflection on the loveliness of your cards :) fingers crossed for a better turn out next time! x

    ReplyDelete
  14. Sometimes it's hard to put your finger on why you do well at one fair but not at another. I'm having to reduce the number of fairs I do as a can't afford not to make tge table fee back. I have a website but sales are poor there too. Its hard to know what to do for the best.
    I hope you've been having more embossing fun x

    ReplyDelete
  15. The craft fair sounds so disappointing, but your stand did look lovely. Embossing sounds fun though :-)

    ReplyDelete
  16. I am hoping to get back into doing craft fairs. I used to do loads. Good luck with your future one's and hope they are more discerning :)


    Janice x

    ReplyDelete
  17. I dont sell any more and the only fairs that used to be greatly successful for me were from October onwards but I miss the regular stall holders that I used to meet up with. It's good that they arent the only place you rely on to sell your cards. Enjoy your big shot, I love mine!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Bummer! I'm sure Molly would have something to say to those commercial card people!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Sorry to hear that the sales did not go well. Your cards are amazing and you should not give up, there are many people who appreciate handmade cards. Good luck and we look forward to new posts on your blog. xx

    ReplyDelete
  20. Sorry to hear the fair didn't go very well. I felt it was unfair that a commercial company was able to sell at a craft fair. It was interesting to see your stall and it looks lovely but I could see what you meant regarding the black cloth.
    Take care.
    Ali x

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comment - it is always lovely to have feedback and I hope you enjoyed my post.