it's official!

[Former_Member]

found out today i have my first fair at the end of november :D

i have done a gallery bookfair previously but the only people through the door were friends of the organisers and exhibitors. think i learned my lesson about advertising and visibility there - though i made one sale which covered the shelf fee!

this is a stall in a busy city-centre craft market, free for one day only. i was worried that my books might not make much of an impression on their own and without a stall fee to cover i've had some leeway getting creative with my displays.

i'm using bamboo shoe-racks to show the books at an angle but in tiers - they're super-colourful and unique so i want to show as many front covers as possible. the booths are garden sheds with opening doors at the front, so i've ordered tall/thin fabric banners to fill those spaces either side. i've got sakura shaped fairy lights that tie in with my japanese theme and give extra light behind the books on the racks. and i've made origami business- and post-card holders from altered books :)

as you can probably tell i'm a bit excited about all this, and i've been reading and taking so many tips from this team's discussions i thought i should really say hi and thanks :)

soph

[Former_Member]

Way to go Soph, you're on your way!

Good Luck at your first show later this month. :)

[Former_Member]

thanks mike and cindy :)

my luck has been up and down like a yoyo lately, so i figure it mostly evens out in the end.

[Former_Member]

I know what you're saying Soph. Personally, I treat doing craft fairs & festivals as a long-term play. There's gonna be bad ones, good ones, & maybe some great ones, but it does take time. Every time we do a good or great show, it totally wipes out all the bad shows we've done previously.

Plus, IMHO, just like in any other business, the more shows you do, the more experience you get = the luckier you get. Luck is simply preparation meeting opportunity. The harder we work, the luckier we get. And, the more we network with other vendors & share information about the good shows, the luckier we get.

[Former_Member]

Congratulations and good luck! As Mike and Cindy said, luck (or success) happens when preparation meets opportunity. I have my first booth on Dec. 5th and I'm very excited as well and happy to be starting small so I can fan out all changes prior to doing a big show.

[theyellowroses]

Good luck Superfurry!

[Former_Member]

thanks everyone for the words of encouragement. and good luck fellow newbie sharon!

i *thought* i was starting small but everything seems to have mushroomed in the past week. i've been offered another day's trading on the free stall. it's through my university (i'm a recent graduate) and they'd like me to write a blog on my experiences, which should be fun :)

and then out of the blue i got invited to show at a prestigious fair in london. it's *totally* my target market - and an event i would have been gradually working my way up to - but to get a spot in my first few months trading is both a dream come true and a bit of a nightmare! i'll have to transport my entire stall on the tube. eek!

[WhimsyBits]

Congrats!! It sounds exciting :)

[Former_Member]

thanks dawn. it is, but a little unnerving since i have no idea how well my work is likely to sell and the london show is £££. but i'm seeing it first and foremost as a marketing exercise - just to get my name/product out there.

[Former_Member]

I know the feeling...I just had my first show offering my artwork as prints and notecards...was a pretty slow show...was concerned that it was my items, I did sell some prints and cards and made a profit above the cost of my space, but was hoping to have sold more than I did...it was a 2 day show and upon arriving on the second day, i started talking to alot of the other vendors...I felt much better after I did, everyones sales were down at this show, so it wasn't anything personal...I hope the next one I have next Saturday will be a good one..Good luck to you!

[Former_Member]

Soph, I think you're going into your first fair with the right attitude, treating it as a marketing exercise. You'll be making a lot of tweaks over time for future shows but use this one to get your name & products out there, see what sells & what doesn't, see what customers are interested in, see if you get any special requests or suggestions from customers, etc...

The information & experience that you'll gain from this first fair will serve you well as you continue doing more & more fairs. You'll know which products to make more of, which to possibly discontinue, you'll get ideas from other vendors displays that you can use to tweak your display, you'll discover if your price points are where they need to be & so on.

One big tip that I would recommend is that you try if at all possible to make friends & network with other vendors when you're at the fair. Believe me, sharing information with other vendors can be GOLD, especially if the other vendors share information about other fairs & festivals that they've done well at. That information alone will save you a lot of $, time & aggravation when it comes to finding more fairs to attend.

When we first started doing fairs, we jumped at every fair we could get into, lots of trial & error. Over time, we weeded out some bad shows & added some new shows. But our best & highest selling shows we found out about by speaking with other successful vendors. We now have a handful of other vendors who we share show information with & have compiled a list of over 30 additional shows that we didn't know about, until the other vendors recommended them to us.

Good Luck at your first fair. Be sure to report back after the fair & let us know how it went!

[Former_Member]

thanks for the ongoing support, it's much appreciated - i guess you can all still remember your first fairs :D

i'm not the world's most natural networker, but i totally see what you're both saying about making contact at least with my neighbours, if not the wider market (i'll be on my own manning both stalls).

my lighting came today and i'm super-happy with it - 2 battery strings of warm white fairy lights and a mains lit "bonsai tree" all with blossom shades. i was worried they wouldn't be bright enough but i think they should be perfect. hopefully a good investment for £33 :)

[Former_Member]

(and i get to have them in my bedroom in-between shows :D)

[Former_Member]

just wanted to say thanks for all the help and advice. today was my first day and it went really well :) i had some practical and moral support from friends and family - i was really nervous but amazingly i made some sales :D will post more info on the big show thread :)