Lessons From A Holiday Craft Fair

Over the weekend I had the pleasure of participating in my first ever holiday craft fair.  And when I say pleasure I mean, the stress inducing nightmare of showcasing my handcrafted tumblers to real life people!  

I opened the kimono so to speak.  I put myself out there and was excited to get feedback.  Honestly, I was most excited about the negative feedback, the critiques of my products and pricing.  I needed this moment, that feedback and to be knocked down a peg.

Selling online is easier because it’s faceless, right?  You can hide behind a browser, an Etsy page or whatever digital space you’re selling on.  Live events, craft fairs, flea markets…those are scary!

It lived up to my expectations.  I learned a number of things that I’m bringing to this shop and my Etsy shop.  What did I learn?  Well…

- My prices need to come down and be realistic.  I’m not selling Stanley, Yeti, or any of the major brands who can command a premium.  I’m selling my handcrafted products. 

- What looks good to me is probably not what other people want.  People wanted cool designs that are “one-of-a-kind” but feature people, characters, and things they know.  They want homemade Taylor Swift products that aren’t mass produced.  They want Star Wars items that can’t be found anywhere else.  Pokémon. Minecraft. Fortnight. NFL teams and other stuff

- What people at the craft fair didn’t want were tumblers with sunflowers, water bottles with simple designs.  They can buy that at Target, Walmart or Amazon.  They want the cool shit mentioned above. The item you can’t find anywhere else.  The item that people will stop them and ask “Where’d you get that?”

- I need to talk about my business more.  No more hiding in the shadows hoping people will find me.  I learned that by talking to people at this event I can get more insights, understand what people in my community are looking for.

It really was a great event for me.  I made $100 which is more than I thought I would make but like I said, I learned a lot.  While I’ll try to get away with a trademarked product here or there at craft fairs, my main goal of this site will be to focus on the designs that people like at a reasonable price.

There are 3 more craft fairs on the horizon for me before Christmas!  Wish me luck!