If you are a crafter, and you craft to sell, eventually this will be one question that will cross your mind. There are several things you may want to tick off your list before you can honestly answer that question:1) Do you have enough product?
There is only one thing worse than selling out of everything you have before the weekend is even close to being over. That is having people pass right by your booth because you have hardly anything there. I have seen it happen...as well as the look of despair on the crafter as they watch everyone just walk on by. If you are renting a 10 x 10 space, you will need alot of things to fill it up. Before you can honestly make that decision, draw out a 10 x 10 space on your driveway or garage floor. Set up your tables and set out your stuff. Take a step back and honestly ask yourself..."Would I stop here?" If you can do this without raiding your Etsy stash, you can tick this one off.
***Note on this***
Some crafters swear by the "hold back approach" meaning that you don't put everything you have to sell on the table all at once. I totally support that and do engage in this approach. You simply keep them in a box/container under the table and restock your table as it sells out. The point I was trying to make is that you don't want to have so little product that you cannot sustain your sales for a whole weekend. You want to be sure to have enough to sell, even if you don't put it all on the table at the same time (which may be damaging by making your book appear cluttered and messy). Keep design in mind, here :]
2) When is the application deadline?
Most juried shows have an application deadline of the end of January. Most non-juried shows need the application and rental fee about a month or two before the show. Be sure to plan ahead.
3) Can I afford the application fee?
Juried shows are considerably more expensive to rent space than a non-juried craft show. Juried shows typically cost me about $250 for the weekend, more if I need electricity (lights, credit card machine/cash register, etc). Please remember that juried shows need the money WITH the application, not the day of the show or after the show. If you are considering going to a juried show to sell, go to the show the year before to see what kind of traffic the show has. You don't want to spend $250 to sell five things :[ Alternately, non-juried shows are very cheap ($25 for the day), but sales are also typically lousy for these shows, too. You can think of it as "you get what you pay for".
4) Do I have stuff for my space?
You will need tables, plain and simple. You may need walls, a tent or other props to put your stuff up. All these things cost money. If you are business, they are all write-offs, but still, money is money. You also want to invest in nice tablecloths for your tables. I have tried plastic tablecloths (cheesy) and colored cotton sheets (even cheesier). Don't skimp on your presentation. In craft shows, presentation is everything. You want to draw people to your booth or space.
As you can see, there are many things to consider before doing shows. I have done juried and non-juried shows (prefering the juried shows), and you will think of many more things to consider as you go along. If you are ready, take notes and pictures of your space as you go along, learn lessons as they present your self, and remember...craft shows will be around for a long time. You don't need to rush into them. Listen to your gut...your instinct. You will know when you are ready to take the plunge!
