Selling at Craft Fairs

by Michael Archer on April 26, 2023

Preparing for a craft fair can be a lot of fun, but it can also be quite daunting if it's your first time. First and foremost it's important to keep an upbeat and positive attitude, craft fairs can be demanding and not always successful. The right preparation and planning can make all the difference in your overall success.

Below you'll find a simple and easy-to-implement plan of action when preparing and presenting at a craft fair.

Planning

Once you've booked your spot at a craft fair, there are several things you need to take into consideration. Most importantly make sure you have a sturdy table, many venues offer tables, but often at a price. Before you arrive, be sure to ask the craft fair organiser if you need to bring your own table or if there are tables available for hire.


A few weeks before the fair is a perfect time to consider if you have enough produce. Regardless of what you're selling, whether handmade produces or products you are looking to re-sell, nothing is worse than running out of stock on the day.

 

Producing Your Products

If you are making you own handmade items, then it's important to think about the type of people that will be visiting the craft fair. Perhaps people are looking for a cheap gift for a family member, or maybe they are looking for something more expensive, such as a piece of artwork. Spend some time researching the target audience of the craft fair and then produce any extra items you think are destined to sell well. Also take a varying price range of your products on the day.

Insurance - Do you Need it?

You may need market traders insurance, depending on the nature of your work. Insurance is relatively cheap and can be extremely beneficial should anything go wrong. Take some time to research market traders insurance before arriving at the craft fair.

The Day Before

Tomorrow might be the big day, but there's still much to prepare. As best as possible, try and get yourself organised the night before, so you're not rushing around in the morning. You'll also want to get some money exchanged at your local bank or post office. It's best to get at least £20 or £30 changed into various coin values.

Items to Take on the Day

Obviously, you'll be taking all your stock and your freshly changed money, but there are also several other items that can come in extremely handy:

  • Pens, markers
  • Invoice book
  • Scissors
  • Tape - Bring as many different varieties as possible
  • Bags and packaging materials
  • Bumbag/Waist pouch for change
  • Water and snacks
  • Calculator
  • Tablecloth
    Most importantly remember to take some marketing tools, such as business cards and brochures. If customers love you products, they'll likely want more in the future.

The Big Day

Be sure to arrive early at the craft fair, there's nothing more embarrassing than trying to set up your stall whilst customers are walking by. Spend some time working on the display of your stall, ask yourself whether you would buy from your stall if you were a customer. Once you're all ready to go it's time to get promoting. Talk to every customer you can, ask them questions and tell them interesting stories about your products.

Try to remain positive, regardless of the amount of your sales - It only takes one customer to turn the whole day around. Most of all remember to enjoy yourself and have fun.

This article was provided by UK Card Crafts.

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