First Solo Art/Craft Fair

  So.. the weekend after Thanksgiving this year was my very first SOLO arts/craft fair.  I've done a few in the past, but it was always with a fellow potter, or other Maine artisans.  With the type of ceramics I make.. nearly ALL of them are personalized, so I make the orders as they come in.  That being said...I had virtually NO inventory to speak of.  So for the end of October and all of November, I was busting my @$$ trying to make sure I had inventory for the Christmas show.  I made a bunch of earrings and ornaments, thinking those would be big sellers.  Lower price points, great gifts for the holidays, etc.  Needless to say, they weren't!  I had a smorgasbord of sales.  My goal, was to bring in enough profits so I could replace my iPad that I got two years ago. 


One of my disabilities is that I have tremors.. and due to my tremors, I'd dropped my iPad a few too many times, cracking the screen and causing some of the functions not to work..  But I digress.  At the end of the weekend, I'd made $325 in sales.  My booth fee was $50, and then I paid for lunches.  So in the end, I had roughly $250 in profits.  Not bad.. but not great either.  I was hoping for more.  Despite the low sales, I would consider it a success.  I learned a lot, met some amazing people, and was still able to replace my iPad!  I ended up getting a Samsung Galaxy Note, rather than another iPad.  Amazon.com was having an awesome Cyber Monday sale and I got it for $200 off retail price.  So I was a happy camper. Still figuring it out, but I REALLY love it!

As for the actual craft fair... one of the things I struggled with was my display.  What was an appropriate way to display the wide variety of wares I offer.  I bought a small Christmas tree and hung up a wide array of ornaments.  People like to touch!  Under the tree, I put all the hand built ceramic mugs and tumblers, so they looked like presents.  I had a revolving display for my pendants/necklaces, and used a cookie cooling rack propped up on a plate display for my earrings!  The earring display has room for improvement for sure.  I also made a display for my buttons, by hammering nails into boards and propping them up (which you can kind of see in the photo).  The second image isn't the greatest quality, my hubby took it with my iPad, so the resolution is iffy.  But you get the general idea.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

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