How do you Craft Party?

[AnxiousOrganizer]

Hi Everyone,

It's been so exciting to watch Craft Party grow over the past seven years from a seller meet up in the US to a global event that brings together all facets of the Etsy community. I want to ask all of you in this team - how do you interpret Craft Party and what unique ideas have you instituted in the past to make your event unique? Any exciting ideas for this year that you'd like to share with the team? Fair warning, your suggestions may end up in our Craft Party handbook or communications!

Lauren

[PeriwinkleDzyns]

I'm captain of a location team called Winnipeg Etsy Street Team.
https://www.etsy.com/ca/teams/5032/west-winnipeg-etsy-street-team
Way up north in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada!

In 2014 we piggy backed onto a market that at the time was happening the first Friday of every month in a hip part of Winnipeg - called First Friday's in the Exchange
http://www.firstfridayswinnipeg.org/about.html
here's how it looked for us
http://winnipegetsy.blogspot.ca/2014/06/etsy-craft-party_17.html

Last year in 2015 the market no longer existed so for 2015 we piggy backed onto a pop up market happening in our Old Market Square area of Winnipeg, called Wildwood Rose Vintage Market
http://www.exchangedistrict.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/VintageMarketVendorFAQ1.pdf
here's how it looked
http://winnipegetsy.blogspot.ca/2015/07/etsy-craft-party.html

You can see that both years the activity kind of followed the suggested. we do what works for our group :)

For 2016 we had hoped to again join this market, but it's staying the first weekend in June while the craft party has moved back to later in June so it's not quite figured out yet. What I do know is it will be awesome!

It has worked really well for us to find an event happening the same weekend and team up with them and then just have our activity open to anyone who drops by. The team has covered the minimal material expenses, provided volunteers and the events provided us space for free, heck it's an additional draw for them!

Our team already does multiple team sales per year so to organize another one around the craft party made no sense for us.

I hope this helps someone!

[PeriwinkleDzyns]

Just realized I forgot to add we are open to any of our photos being used as long as our photographer is given credit :)

[Former_Member]

I'm the captain of an area based team that came about because of the first ever craft party. We have been doing them ever since and the team, itself, has turned into an actual guild. Last year we finally decided to take that big step and add a selling event along with craft party like other teams have been doing in the past. It was an amazing success. We had over 3000 people come through the doors to craft and shop.

This year we are planning to do the same and, with so much interest from last year, intend to make the selling event a little bigger (more available vendor spaces).

We ended up in local university papers about our event (I was interviewed) and also had a lot of new members sign on to our guild.

Craft party, to me, has always been about community and creativity. A way for people with similar ideas and interest to get together, have fun, craft, chat and learn new things.

My biggest suggestion for others thinking of putting together a craft party would be to include some way to showcase those who are sellers and their items. It does not have to be a selling event (craft fair) but can just be as simple as a table with items and business cards from different sellers. It is a great way to get your name out there to the community about what you make/sell through craft parties.

We have already started to offer advanced spots to our members that way those who may have missed it last year won't this time around.

[stacywonghandmade]

For all of you experienced Etsy Craft Party Planners, I have a few questions...

What types of venues have you found make the best locations for parties? Private homes, shops, public places (i.e. libraries, community centers)?

Do you charge a fee to your etsy vendors who are vending? Especially if you are being charged for the venue?

Do you charge a fee for the craft party itself in order to cover supply costs or do you solicit donations for the supplies/goodies?

Thanks everyone.

[Former_Member]

Hi Stacy,

I'll try and answer your questions based on my experiences.


What types of venues have you found make the best locations for parties? Private homes, shops, public places (i.e. libraries, community centers)?

This really depends on what you want your craft party to be and how large. Some people like a more intimate gathering and host it at someone's home or a small space if they have connections with a local shop that supports the party. If you really want to connect with the community than more public places would work.

I have seen many other teams who have been able to partner with local craft shops, coffee shops, boutiques and even pubs in their area for hosting their parties. Once again, it really depends on comfort level and how large you want it to be.

Do you charge a fee to your etsy vendors who are vending? Especially if you are being charged for the venue?

If one can get a venue for free than they may or may not charge depending on other needs they may have for the party; craft supplies, food, etc. We had to charge our vendors last year because the venue was charging us per vendor plus we had to also cover expenses for supplies and advertising.

There is one team in Tampa that I recently saw a post stating they are holding a fundraiser this month to help raise money for their craft party and vending event this year, which is supposed to be free.

Do you charge a fee for the craft party itself in order to cover supply costs or do you solicit donations for the supplies/goodies?

For our past parties that didn't have the vending events we did charge a small fee or asked for donations to help cover cost of food and craft supplies. The highest we ever asked for was $5 per person because that particular year we had over 100 RSVPs for just a regular "small" craft party and had to rent out a local coffee shop to use their space. Etsy was using Eventbrite during that time, so we utilized the feature of being able to charge for "tickets" to collect the money.

I hope these answers help. If you have any others feel free to pick my brain or convo me.

Good luck this year.

[stacywonghandmade]

Thank you Lanie! Really appreciate the time you took to answer and address all of my questions. Stacy

[Former_Member]

You're welcome Stacy. I also forgot to say that you can do a pot luck type thing to save money on food and goodies. If you are having a smaller gathering you can ask people to bring different things or assign them something to bring. For example, someone could bring drinks and cups while another person brings plates and napkins. Then you can have others bring different types of foods, etc. The same goes for supplies. Ask if anyone is willing to share their supplies for the crafting activities, and make the decorations.

[UglyBaby]

We own a little shop in the historic Pike Place Market in Seattle, WA. We have hosted the party for the last three years. Our tiny shop is too small to accommodate many guests so we take over the sidewalk and a covered promenade area on the same block. To tie the event to our store and make sure folks come by the shop we have the registration at our counter and also provide sidewalk chalk for guests to draw a path from the event space down the block right to our front door.

We do charge a nominal fee for tickets. It helps to cover our costs as well as ensuring that people are invested in attending after they get their ticket. If the event is free -- people flake. At this point we have a small army of sponsors that include 3M, Epson, Sakura -- and many others. Thanks to their amazing donations, we are able to provide party bags stuffed with goodies that are WELL beyond the cost of the ticket. No one has complained.

We have raffles every hour with larger gifts donated by our sponsors and local shops that support handmade. There is also a backdrop for photos outdoors.

Attendance has grown over the years and I think we had about 300 or so guests last year. Our main issue is that we don't have enough seating for everyone. I think this year we'll try selling staggered tickets so folks can come for just part of the event and give late-comers a chance to craft a bit too.

I think that's about it -- can't wait to get more info about this year's party!

[Former_Member]

We offered swag bags to the first 100 guest and the event didn't start till 10am...at 9am there was a line that wrapped around. Even though they were there for the free goodies they still stood and checked out the vendors, crafting and demos. We also did drawing every half hour. The venue we used had a stage with mic set up so it made it easier to do those drawings.

I think if you want to draw in community and not just do something intimate in a private home or setting, you really need to have things that will grab people's interest in attending.

[stacywonghandmade]

What is the length of time you recommend for the party? 2-3 hours?

[Former_Member]

Really there is no set time frame. Again, things like time frame, location, themes, etc. all depend on you and your party needs.

If you need an idea I would say a min of at least 3 hours for parties that have no selling events attached to them.

You want adequate time for people to arrive, mingle and craft (if you are planning on it).

[EviesToolEmporium]

Good Wednesday afternoon everyone-

Since the Christmas In July team is global we hold the #CraftParty on our blog.

Here are the links to our previous events:
2014
https://etsychristmasinjuly.wordpress.com/category/christmas-in-july-etsy-craft-party/
2015
https://etsychristmasinjuly.wordpress.com/category/christmas-in-july-etsy-craft-party-2015/

We are looking forward to the 2016 #CraftParty!

Michelle

[EverCrafty]

This year I was trying to get ahead of the game and pick a theme that people liked/or was trending in my Augusta, GA area. I just didn't "feel" last years theme and I don't think the attendees did either.

To help my team the CSRA Creators this year I formed a three question survey on Survey Monkey (free) and asked questions on facebook like:

What theme would you like the craft party to be:
1. Adult Coloring Books
2. Watercolor
3. Chalkboard Paint Crafts
etc. And Chalkboard Crafts won.

What time works best for you? What day?

Also, I have noticed that a lot of people want to be able to bring their children to craft. I am for some grown-up time, but I am thinking this year I will try to get kids to come and I will let you know how it goes...

Like Lanie, I do swag bags for the first 50 guests, and raffles every 30 minutes, or less depending on how many raffle items I get.

I have gotten donations from a belgian chocolate maker, doughnut shops, and discount on shirts for team members/volunteers, which made it seem more legit!

I will post more ideas as I keep planning this year...I will hold the event earlier this year because I am preggo and my due date is a week before Etsy's birthday! No matter what, I must be a part of this event that I love so much!!!

Janette

[EviesToolEmporium]

Hi Lauren-
When will the graphics be ready?
We want to start promoting!
Thank you,
Michelle-

[Former_Member]

You could just use one of the older graphics that does not have the year or theme name on them to begin promoting. That is what we have done.

[AnxiousOrganizer]

Hi Michelle,

I'm glad you're excited to begin! Our engineers and designers are working hard to make a great site and assets and we are planning for a mid April launch.

Lauren

[EviesToolEmporium]

Lauren-
Excellent!
Thank you for your quick response!
Michelle-

[BlissfulSoiree]

Does anyone have a good template they use to contact vendors to sponsor?

[Former_Member]

Jessica I have found that using google docs forms is a great way to make any type of application you may need, and all the info goes straight into an excel sheet.

If you are looking for information to give you a base to write a proposal for sponsorship, Etsy has some in their past Etsy party handbooks that were really good.

[BlissfulSoiree]

Thank You Lanie!! This is our first event and I think I was overly optimistic but now feel completely lost. Any help on how to organize an event would be greatly appreciated.

[Former_Member]

You're welcome Jessica.

What type of event are you most interested in?

Just a small gathering of people to get together and craft?

A workshop or class along with your craft party?

A selling event or swap along with your craft party?

There are so many options but it all depends on how large of an event you want, how intimate or not, how many people you would like, etc.

Once you have that idea set it's pretty easy from there.

[Mettaville]

Hello Lanie and all,

How do you market and promote the event? I'm planning to host one here in Auckland, mainly in my community. Just trying to get som eideas.

Thanks.

[Former_Member]

Hi Alison,

We make a flyer and give it to the vendors. In our case we have a selling event so they would need it but you could make a flyer for your event to post on public boards, and if any local businesses will let you put one up that works too. These are on web ways we use the flyer. On the web the flyer is used on social media, websites and emails.

We also look for the website that are local to our area which have free event submission areas. For example, the main newspaper in Orlando have an events page on their stie, and they have a "submit and event" section.

We use a Facebook event page but that needs to be utilized correctly. People must share it more than once during the time frame up until the event, and they should also invite others to it. I have seen way too many people set up a FB event page but they don't use it. They just leave it there hoping people will find it. We also set up an eventbrite page this year. Word of mouth is also very good and useful.

[Mettaville]

Thanks Lanie, very useful information indeed. I've just secured the venue today, on to planning workshops and marketing, Hope to be able to do well in marketing the event.