The craft show season winds from summer through the holidays. It includes both indoor and outdoor venues. Making the product is one thing but there is a bit of mental preparation in dealing with the general public. I generally enjoy shows and festivals. They are fun. People plunk down their hard-earned dollars for something I made. The people watching is fabulous and the food is tasty. Have I mentioned the fried cheese curds and pork chop on a stick? But they are a lot of work. A lot. It is no easy feat to pack your car, haul your stuff, set it up, sell it, remain cheerful and good-natured, take it down, haul it back to car to re-pack it. Rain, snow, sun, wind and extreme heat. It’s a lesson in tenacity.
At the risk of biting the hand that feeds me (or more accurately the hand that keeps me in pedicures), a few musings as a mentally prepare for another show season.
Yes. I actually make all the items I sell. It’s surprising how often I am asked that question. I wonder if people think I pre-order from China, throw up a few display racks and try to pass the stuff off as my own.
Yes. It takes a long time to dye it all. It’s all hand-dyed. That takes time.
Yes. My colors are brighter then what you did with RIT dye in your summer camp project. I know what I am doing, hence the reason I can put up a shingle and collect sales tax.
Go ahead and pop for the $5 pair of socks. I am always a bit surprised how much people will agonize over such a small purchase while clutching a $300 Coach purse and guzzling a $5 Starbucks White Mocha. The same mocha which will be gone be gone in 15 minutes. My socks will last longer with 500 fewer calories.
Cheapest is not always the best. I’ve already provided a too lengthy commentary on this subject but revalidated this philosophy first hand as a shopper while investigating up-cycled woolen mittens. The cheapest were not the best made. The most well made were a bit more expensive and therefore worth my patronage. That said, the best is not always the most expensive. Check carefully for quality and value.
No. Tye Dye is not just for summer anymore. And it doesn’t make your kids hippies. It’s bright and colorful which is why kids love it. Embrace their passion for color before they turn into monochromatic adults like me who wear only black, grey and brown.
Assembly is not the same as creating. Buying $10 worth of trinkets and trash at the dollar store and then assembling like themed trinkets and trash into a little gift basket is not art or craft. It’s assembly. Nothing is being made or created. Craft show organizers need to keep a little integrity with their show and not give a booth to anyone who has the booth fee without proof of artistry. I’m just saying.
And in that same vein Commercial products have no place at the craft show. Creative Memories and Tastefully Simple are pre-made items. Sorry.
Fellow artists please stop de-valuing your work. I get that Grandma does nothing but sew little snowman all day to keep herself busy, but a well executed hand-sewn snowman ornament is worth more than $4. I am betting that the materials in said cute snowman were more than $4 not including Grandmas time. You do yourself, Grandma and all the other artists a disservice by cheaping out the value of “handmade”.
Hauling your stuff when its 90 degrees with the humidity of a Turkish bath sucks. So does hauling in the snow and wind. I’ve done both.
It sucks even more if the show was abysmal and you barely cleared the booth fee.
If you’re thinking of getting in the handmade game don’t pick jewelry. You can’t walk through a show without every 3rd vendor selling jewelry. I’m not kidding. It’s utterly oversaturated. So is the little-girl princess tu-tu market. At least I’m generally the only tye dye artist around.
And with that I’m looking forward to another festival season. And the cheese curds. And the pork chop on the stick!
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