Our First Craft Fair!
We did it! Jumped in with both feet this past weekend and set up a vendor booth for two days at the Bates Nut Farm Spring Arts and Crafts Show. It may have felt like we were drowning at times, but it ended up being a success. We made a small profit, learned A LOT, and got our name out in the world. Bonus…we connected with other vendors who told us about upcoming shows in the San Diego area. And, we met two ladies who are starting up a collaborative arts and crafts space nearby which we applied to rent a permanent space.
Many lessons were learned over the two days. The primary one: Booth Layout is King. Now we scoured the internet and pinned lots on Pinterest about layout of your booth. But we forgot one very important element…where we would sit. We went with the traditional U shape layout primarily because we wanted our booth to open and accessible. Not considering where we would put our chairs, we simply set them on the sides in back of booth. This was all well and good until the sun came out and baked us. We quickly looked around at the veteran vendors who were all perfectly placed under their tent, comfortably in the shade. Sunburned and sweaty, we vowed to find a better set up for next time.
Despite some small kinks, we did make money. And more importantly, we made contacts and connections. Customers gave us valuable feedback on our products, our booth design and display decor, and our overall presence. We eagerly welcomed their suggestions and comments. We relished their compliments. Taking all of these conversations to heart makes us better business owners as well as better artists.
Now we have work to do! We learned that a robust online store is a necessity. People constantly asked if they could purchase items online at a later date. So we will get to work this week on photographing our items and listing them in our online Marketplace.
We are still committed to starting a physical storefront so we continue the search for the perfect space.
In the meantime, we are diving right back into the deep end of the pool. Our April-June calendar is now full of more show dates. Wish us luck! Better yet, come check out our booth at the following events and be sure to say hi!
APRIL
Lavender and Olive Blues Jamboree
Blues Jamboree at Lavender & Olive 633 Montecito Way, Ramona, CA. 92065
April 28 5-10PM
MAY
Mother’s Day Makers Market
Fallbrook – The Vineyard 1924
May 11 11am-4pm
Makers and Shakers Mom’s Day Out Market
Escondido - Rancho Guejito Vineyard
Sunday May 5 11am-5pm
Artist on the Asphalt Pre-Summer Fest
Vista – Backfence Society
110 South Citrus Avenue Suite F Vista, CA 92084
Saturday May 25 4-9 PM
JUNE
Makers and Shakers Hello Summer Market
Escondido - Rancho Guejito Vineyard
June 2 11am-5pm
San Diego Psychic Healing and Arts Fair
SD – Handlery Hotel
June 8-9 10 am - 6 pm
