Hello! We are doing are first 2 day event. We have a hallway space but I believe it's a corner. We usually do 10x10. Just looking for some inspiration pictures. I know we are limited with a hallway space as far as layouts go. Just looking for some visuals. Tried a Google search but didn't really give me anything.

We have a 12x4 space. 😅

Like many people, I love to go to craft shows, but I don't have much disposable income. I love browsing all the booths and seeing all the amazing creations, but I know I can only afford to buy maybe one or two small things. I feel so bad having to tell a creator that I love their stuff, then not buying anything! Is it weird to tell them why I can't buy their awesome stuff? Does that make anyone feel better?

I’m a new vendor and looking to purchase a canopy. Is it better with or without sidewalls?

Someone told me that only one side being covered is better.

It's going to my first craft fair and I am unsure what the best approach is while standing behind my table.

As a customer, I personally feel afraid to look at stuff if the owner is staring at me like a hawk lol. Like I'm afraid to even have a look at stuff.

But I've also heard that if you're sitting/looking away or at your phone you seem bored and unprofessional.

So what's the best balance that allows people to feel comfortable browsing but also makes them feel engaged in a conversation?

Hello all! I have my very first craft fair in less than two weeks. I am selling keyfobs/wristlets for $6 each (went lower than others typically sell them for so i can try to sell more, as I have not had much luck in past marketplaces.) I am going to take all kinds of payments, including cards using Square. I have a 6% sales tax in my state (and have filled out a tax form so of course to pay the gov.) and Square takes 2.6% + .10 per sale. If someone were to buy just one keychain, the cost between both of those would be 62 cents, bringing the profit down to 5.38 not even including materials and labor.

Soo my question to you all is do you charge for the taxes and processing fee on top of the product cost? Or do you add it in to the product total?

I know my answer should probably be to add it into the product cost, but I would like some input.

Edit: thank you all for your input. I knew the right answer was to include it in but wanted some more perspectives and you totally provided that. I was between pricing them at $8 (which is what they go for practically everywhere else) and the $6 to make them a little cheaper. I think I’ll now decide to do 7 or 8 so I can still make a profit and include the cc processing fees and tax. Thank you!

So I have two shows left and would love to downsize on the amount of left over product I have this winter. I thought of using my cricut to print “chaos cash” that if you spend $50 you get $10 in chaos cash to spend at my booth or redeem through my fb page. But it expires by the end of dec. Has anyone ever done anything like this? My prices are high enough that I wouldn’t technically be losing money doing this.

Hi everyone! I'm doing my first craft fair and it's at a church, and I was given the opportunity to set up the evening before the fair. I was thinking I could set up my table and display, but not put out my products. The event organizers said everything would be locked overnight, but I'm still worried about stuff getting stolen.

So my question is, if you ever get the opportunity to set up the day before for an indoor event, do you do that? Do you set up everything, product and all, or just your big items like your table?

Thanks!

Still looking rough, but we are figuring things out 💪😤

Hi, I've seen some booths offer small shopping baskets to help carry stuff as you shop in their booth. Has anyone here offered that and do you think people appreciated it? Do you think it may have increased sales?

First craft advice? Sorry there isn't much to go on.

I've never sold at a craft fair. The church I work for is going as a vendor at one hosted at a local high school.

Nobody seems able to tell me if many students actually go or if it is likely middle-aged older women etc.

Their theme is Christmas/winter but not sure if every vendor will be Christmas themed.

Thar is, what would I even make that is winter/Christmas themed, not knowing my market and if 10 other vendors will have similar? The people in charge of ours said they usually do knitted hats and stuff which seems super overdone.

What are your best sellers and why do you think they’re your best sellers? What was something you thought would sell super well but doesn’t? I don’t do many craft fairs anymore, I give most of my things to a friend who crochets stuffed animals and let her sell my things as filler items- stickers, key chains, scrunchies, small knit items.

For me when I had my own booth my number one seller was hand printed (screen and block) tote bags. I think because they were a larger size item but weren’t expensive they sold super well. Plus people would buy them and fill them with items from other booths! My worst seller that I thought would do well was quilted pot holders/oven mitts. I think they were cute but they weren’t very trendy and most people aren’t buying matching sets/themed kitchenware as much anymore. Most people I know have two pot holders/ovenmitts/tea towels that are fairly neutral and they just switch between the two.

My friend who crochets that sells my things as filler now her best sellers are “weird” animals like axolotls/platypus/opossum. I think because they’re popular animals but not as common in stuffed animals people gravitate towards them. Her worst sellers are traditional teddy bears in any color which she thinks is because she has such a variety that the teddy bears don’t seem as special. My filler items that sell the best for her are scrunchies which I assume is because they are inexpensive. My worst filler item is keychains and I think that’s just because while they’re cute people dont want to add just anything to their already heavy keys.

Hi all, I am struggling to figure out whether I should apply for a business license. I sell porcelain jewelry. I've participated in our local farmer's market all summer, though in that case I sold things via my local pottery studio where I'm a member. The studio owner took care of things like sales tax, we sold via her business license, etc. My stuff sold really well over the summer, netting about 3K in sales. This motivated me to look for holiday craft fairs to participate in and I have signed up for three, none of which require a business license to participate in. I have no idea how my jewelry will sell at the holiday markets, though the owner of the pottery studio assures me that it'll be really popular.

At this point I'm trying to figure out whether I should get a business license or just operate as a hobbiest. I have a good job that I will not be leaving any time soon. And if things go poorly and it turns out that these are the only markets I ever participate in, then I'll be sad but also my life won't really be impacted much. My general attitude about this (I'm doing this mostly because it's fun and I make far too much stuff to keep and give to fiends) makes me think this should be considered a hobby business. But the fact that I am spending a decent amount of money (a sign and display things for the shows, materials to make the jewelry) to do this and am actively looking for craft shows to attend make it seem a bit more like a business.

Does anyone have advice for whether to stick to being a hobbiest or to apply as a sole proprietor of a business? Are there particular considerations that really helped you determine which you would be? Thanks for your help thinking through this with me!

Just starting out at a small Christmas Event. Where should I look to create a sign with my name and logo? Or I could do it by hand (?). Any advice is welcomed!

Do vendors ever bring their kids?
I have 4 kids, 3 of which can be babysat. I however do have a 3 month old that I just do not trust anyone to babysit. He will probably just sleep in his car seat the whole event, might have to give him a bottle or two but that's it. My husband is also coming so he will be able to help out. Is this a no-no?

Any recommendations for generators or lights? I know there’s a post about light, but generators would be welcomed.

I’m a new vendor. I make my accessories but buy clothes from bulk and resell them. I honestly don’t know how the sales will go. I paid for three events already, which one of them is for Christmas. I’ll have a lot of Christmas theme items, so I think that event will go at least decent.

Should I wait until I understand my market to book more events?

What are everyone's favorite holiday markets? For context, looking for best product mix, most foot traffic, best overall sales?

Some ones we've enjoyed are the Nashville Christmas Village ($1250 booth fee) but tons of traffic and great sales and 100s of vendors. And Vintage Market Days have been decent for us as well. A bit more affordable ($275 booth fee).

I’ve started making shirts using dtf prints and htv. There is a craft fair at the end of the month in my town…it’s usually small; the size of my town square. My question is how do I know how many shirts to make in each design and size and style? Should I only have shirts or should I offer like tote bags as well or something different?

It’s a Christmas market, so I plan on having a lot of Christmas designs but also some neutral designs as well.

I want to start doing craft fairs or vendor shows…a couple of questions…first I make earrings and I was thinking about only putting out one earring of each style with a price tag on it to stop others from stealing…I will have them numbered and will be able to provide the other at check out…is this idea good or will it deter people? Also, if you send money to get in a craft fair do they tell you right away or should you just be ready in case they say yes? The one I put in for is 12-6-24… but my check hasn’t been cashed yet. Also if you do jewelry/earrings how much should I have in product?

How do you track inventory across different fairs? App, website, Excel? I currently use Paper and Spark for my taxes and general inventory on a yearly basis, but would love a breakdown by market to see what sells where.

My wife had a really good day yesterday at in indoor craft fair. Despite it having really poor instructions on where to go and how to find it.
The organizer had food trucks outside and there were 3 other craft fairs within 30 minutes of this one which brought in a continuous amount of people
She advertised a ton
The day after my back is killing me.
My wife doesn't have a ton of stuff. A 6 foot table that folds in half, narrow 4 foot table that's super light, 2 totes and 8 wood crates.
The distance from where we parked at the school school was a really long walk to the gym and I had to make 6 trips to get everything.
And to leave was just as challenging going back and forth that many times.
The totes were too heavy to stack and carry in one go. I can only carry so many wood totes at at time. All in all I would say everything weighed just over 120 pounds.
I couldn't help but notice we were the only people that didn't have some kind of cart or dolly to haul things on.
What do you all use to move your stuff from your vehicle to the event space? There has to be a better way than what we are doing.

And they match my brand's colors/aesthetic! The back 2 will just be plain green.

I'm getting ready for my first craft fair. I was wondering what is the best option for taking credit cards for payments. Any recommendations would highly appreciated.