August Craft Fair
Feedback from my August Craft Fair
Happily the weather was good and the day went well.
I had 90mins to set up and the show started at 10am. It started slowly but soon picked up, as the weather turned fine and hundreds turned out to enjoy the stalls inside and outside as well as the Car Boot and games organised in the grounds. The Craft Fair is part of a large Fun Day held in the Community centre and Cricket Club .
The footfall was very good but you have to remember that a lot of the people attending are nott there necessarily for the Craft Fair, and are therefore not your target customers. I was situated in the main hall and overall had a good spot. A few people showed interest as they wandered by and I made my first sale early after the opening.
As this was one of my Gift Centre Items that was a new section for me I was pleased with this first sale. The middle of the table was set out with a selection of jewellery , displayed in individual stands, and alongside a stand of jewellery purses. You could select a piece of jewellery and a jewellery bag so the gift is ready to give. Next I had a customer who was looking at my Journals and went onto purchase 2 of them, a gift bag and tote bag. I continued chatting to her after she had made her purchase and she then went on to purchase one of my Pad bags.
The rest of the day was steady and sales were up overall on the March Fair. This was not necessarily due to the number of people through the hall as many came to have a look but were not necessarily there to buy, but they helped to add to the atmosphere and the cake stall sold out by 1pm. The crowds meant it was difficult to get a drink as the queues were long all day, but as I was manning the stall on my own I had brought a flask of water.
This fair was interesting for me, as sales were quite different from previous Fairs. I did not sell one of my best selling item (the Craft Bag ), and instead sold several items that had not sold before. Journals, Pad Bags and the new Gift Bags, and this has given food for thought for the Christmas Craft Fairs. I am wondering if the sales were down to the layout of the table, my talking to customers, (certainly I think the new gift bag sales were made once I explained the concept of the bags. They have multi-use as they are big enough to hold a variety of items. So if you want to gift make-up, toiletries, chocolates they can all be presented in the gift bag, which can then be used for practical purposes after the gift has been used. Ideal, also for teachers presents, thank you gifts etc as they make a simple gift look thought out and more special, as they cost an average of £4 it would be good to have as a handy stand-by.
Here is a sneak preview of the Christmas gift bags.
This style of flat bag can hold all sorts of gifts and would make perfect re-usable selection boxes. You can fill them with the persons favourite chocolates and sweets at a great price, and the bag can have multiple uses.
I also have a christmas gift bag that is more like a tote bag with handles, and Christmas shopping bags for the festive season.
Overall the day was lovely, I chatted to some new customers and some customers who had seen me in March, I chatted to other crafters, Craft Fairs are a great place to catch up with new ideas in the craft world a well as new craft fairs coming up. My Sum-up machine proved very useful and I took almost half of my sales on card and half with cash.
The day did not finish with the craft fair, as you have all the packing up and sorting out when you get home. All the stock has been packed and put back in the bag ready for November, and I am happy to add more to my charity pot. This year’s charity is the local hospital. I sell my paper crafts and “Sew Useful Bags” for charity, it is a lovely hobby that has helped me through the difficult times.
Happy Crafting
Dee
