I'm making a list of all the best craft fairs to attend so I can plan ahead of time. So far I just have Pride and Shipshewana on the Road.

I sell handmade perfumes and stickers just in case there are craft restrictions.

I’m still fairly new to paying sales tax. I live in Iowa and I crochet, I’ve attended a couple craft fairs this year. I don’t make much from this small business, but I know in January I’ll be paying sales tax, I just don’t understand the “local option sales tax.” I did 2 craft fairs in 2 different counties this year, am I supposed to pay local option sales tax to each county I sold at a craft fair? Or is the local option sales tax based on where your business is registered/where you live?

Just discovered that the pop up shop I agreed to is outside and this weekend isn’t supposed to get above 40 degrees. I live in the south and we are not prepared for this kind of cold!!!

I make sun catchers. I consider them to be on the more fragile side since they’re made of glass and metal.

I’ve been reading this subreddit for months to prepare to vend, and your stories of dirty little hands touching everything makes my heart race. What do I do if everything I sell is fragile?

The pic I included is not my event set up, just my workspace area, but I’ll be using the over table bar and some display holders for them. I included it to give you a feel for what I’m working with.

How do I prevent mass destruction and dirty fingerprints?

I know I'm probably overthinking this, but, I'm going to be selling at my first craft fair soon but I'm worried about giving people change because I have anxiety and I’m worried I’m going to be super slow at getting them their change or that I’m gonna accidentally give them the wrong amount of change and I’m worried people are going to get annoyed.

Someone suggested doing online craft fairs but where do I find them? I can't seem to find what I'm looking for. Instead I keep getting stuff like Etsy which isn't what I'm looking for.

**Photo in comments**

Hello! I make homemade natural products and I'm having trouble with my booth. This weekend I did better than I usually do but if there are a lot of vendors around me people don't even look in my direction. I need to make a sign for the front of my table so that's on the list. I'd like to add some vertical aspects to my display but I'm struggling with how to do that. I sell soap, natural deodorant, herbal salves, lip balm, bath salts, and i want to add solid lotion bars as well. Any ideas are appreciated! :)

Like many I had my first craft fair, I did make money and consistently sold one item well. Didn't make a huge amount, but it was encouraging.

However I'm heading back into my studio feeling a bit defeated and a lack of creativity. How do you just keep going knowing that it might just be a donated item, or not have room on my own walls, or not be able to sell that item? I have a lot of mediocre art now, it's starting to get a bit...depressing? I don't strive to make incredible art, not by any means, in fact my hubby and I have a running joke about our mediocre art. We encourage each other to do it, I welcome it and mostly have fun. I try to just learn, have fun, explore. But after this show I just cannot get started on a piece. It didn't help I've been sick... From the damn show!

All tips welcome!

Edit: this is a kvetch. I know how to fix.

Can we talk about customers not respecting signs I have 4 (yes 4) please don't touch signs on one specific item and yesterday one was almost ripped apart by a mom/ child. Mom was trying to take it and kid held on with Kung fu action grip. My MiL has scarves that get molested to the point of needing to be washed after each show.

I did my second craft fair today. I’ve been raising money for the stray and abandoned cats at my military base, and people have been generous. What I’ve had to sell isn’t anything very special, so I’ve been a little more engaging with shoppers than I might otherwise be, since a lot of people are interested in the cause once they hear about it. (The local county won’t help with the cats because the military should, but they don’t either, so it’s up to me and some other cat-loving people.) I have a banner that gives an idea of the cause and I printed out some pictures of cats I’ve helped this year to talk about the ferals, the abandoned pets, and the lost pets who I’ve been able to reunite. A woman walked by my booth and made eye contact so I gave her the one sentence spiel: “Hi, I’m here today to raise money to help the stray and abandoned animals at Fort X.” After that she leaned over my table and aggressively said something like “People need to take care of their own problems and not expect others to do it.” I was really shocked at her tone and body language and I guess chose to hope that she was really passionate about stray animals (since I think you could hear her statement two ways), so I told her that I agreed and pointed at a picture of a guinea pig that someone had abandoned this week. Before I even got a sentence out she hissed “I am NOT INTERESTED.” She and her husband turned and walked out the door of the fair and I didn’t see them return. I’m a little rattled, because I was trying hard to not make anyone feel obliged to support, while still telling them about my cause. I figured that this is a case of her having something else happening in her life that had nothing to do with me, but can anyone give any feedback? (Please be kind- on my way home from the fair I stopped to pick up the deceased body of one of the ferals I’ve been trying to trap. It’s been a sad day for me.)

We’re combo crochet and wooden goods. Sometimes we also have plants in bottles. People definitely have a hard time seeing everything. Ideas?

How exactly can one become a vendor at a craft or market fair? I've tried looking it up and the best advice I've found was looking up local events or such.

I don't own an official business or anything like that. I just crochet a lot of stuff that I'm trying to sell online. I went to a couple festivals recently that had tables where people were also selling crocheted products (mainly cute animals like amigurumi) and I want to do the same, but I don't really know how to do that.

Do I have to look up different events and festivals and sign up for it? I know some festival sites do have a menu option "become a vendor". What is the best way to find out what events are going on that have vendors selling things? Is there also some sort of requirement I would have to meet to qualify to "become a vendor"?

It was a failure financially. I did learn a lot and got to interact with a few people which I do enjoy. I also met some potential buyers that may contact me on Facebook. I did speak to another vendor near me that said this is usually his biggest event of the year but this year it is his worst. Now it's time to pull myself back up and find another show! Hopefully this next one works out.

removing the aspect of time, marketing, vendor fees and shipping since it’s so variable.

View Poll

I sell diecuts in packages. So about 10-14 in sticker packs. Do you think people would rather buy the stickers individual vs in a pack?

Example of my diecut display: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_DrtOpJcRS/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

I have my annual craft show coming up next week. As usual, I have put all of my energy into making sure I have enough items made instead of how to display them. I want at least some to hang, I think that would be eye catching. But I have just 1 6x3 table (Provided by the organizer to keep things "coherent") and zero floor or wall space. So I need to come up with a table top stand to hang purses on. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

How much stuff shout you make if you are making stuff by hand. Especially if it’s like a weekly stall rather than an occasional stall

Hey y’all! My holiday market still has some space and we’re accepting applications for the rest of the weekend! Deadline to apply is 11:59 PM on Sunday, December 1st!

This market takes place at Gilman Brewing in Berkeley on December 15. It’s a popular spot in the neighborhood that hosts markets regularly and gets a lot of foot traffic. It’s $80 for an indoor 8’x5’ space, and you can opt to share a space for a lower fee. We also have some outdoor 10’x10’ spots.

Apply here: https://forms.gle/N52RvVT7qD46cdVZ9

I'm curious what everyone's experience has been wearing a mask at a craft fair. I didn't wear one at my first fair last week and I'm now sick as a dog. I'm immune compromised and fairly isolated, so moving forward I will be wearing one.

I'm just curious if anyone has had lower sales, or a negative experience wearing theirs.

Why do I do crafts? Because I enjoy being creative. Why do I sell crafts? Because I want to share my creativity with the world. And so I can buy more supplies. And because otherwise my basement would be full of crafts.

I consider a craft fair a success when customers tell me how much they love my stuff, I make a net profit of at least twice the booth fee, and I take home a lot less merchandise than what I brought.

I used to be obsessive about tracking my expenses and income, comparing sales trends year-to-year, agonizing over every dollar spent or earned.

I stopped doing that a few years ago and I am enjoying myself so much more now.

I also switched from doing the most profitable shows (street festivals) to doing the shows that are the most fun (Fairy Festivals).