Bizee Bee Spring Shows!

The next time you attend a street fair, craft show, or festival with craft vendors, look around and see which booths really sell HANDMADE items. More and more, as I participate in these events, I am struck by how few of us are actually selling handmade items anymore. Of course it depends on the type of event you sign up for. Juried events are the choosiest about handmade items for sale. So I try to stick with those.

Craft Shows take a lot of energy and there's no way to predict what will be the big sellers. Last weekend it was Wire Crochet Sets. This weekend it was Earrings! So you bring it all and hope for the best! Set up takes me about 1.5 to 2 hours. Break down is about half of that. I'm fast and can repack properly later in the week.

I choose to stand the entire show and greet my customers with a smile. I like to chat, if possible, but that depends on the body language/facial expression of the customers. Some like to chat, others don't. Some are looking for a particular item and some browse looking for something different to purchase.

I've found that some shows are big in credit card sales and some are mostly cash sales. I take both but continue to use the manual credit card machine. No squares or electronic sale do-dads for me... Maybe next year when I upgrade my cellphone. I still have a no frills, no internet connection, type phone. My husband handles all the sales transactions so I just do the wrap-up and package part.

I don't know how people do these shows solo.Thank goodness for my work-horse husband! He does the driving, lifting, back breaking part of the set up and leaves the jewelry arrangement/placement to me. Without him, I'd be lost...literally. I'd never find the event...even with use of a Garmin!

This is my third year for shows and each year I am learning more:
*What sells, what doesn't
*Which shows to do, which to avoid
*What setup works, what's too much hassle
*How to judge people
*How to handle good/bad event situations

I'm sure every show-crafter has advice, tips, and could write a book. The best advice I can give is to SMILE, project a positive image, and keep a sense of humor! Some shows will be good and some will be losers. For me they've all helped to build my knowledge base. I try to take something positive from each show and let the rest go.

Winter Dreams and Summer Plans...

We're barely into Winter and already I'm dreaming of warmer days when the birds, bees, and dragonflies are fluttering about blossoming flowers. We have many weeks of cold and dreary weather ahead of us. So the best therapy for me is get all of my spring and summer colored beads out and create something for the coming warmer months.

I'd also like to plan for my upcoming Spring Shows and decide what to make ahead of time. I learned this year that to wait for inspiration is not a good thing to do. Nothing like last minute preparations crammed into a few weeks of hectic activity to convince you that there has to be a better way to prepare!

Maybe I need a big Dry Erase Board to map out and prepare for this year's shows. Yeah, I need a plan...A Big Plan:
1. What sold well this year.
2. What shows were more successful.
3. What to make this year.
4. What supplies I need to buy.
5. When to get started and how many to make.

So while the winter winds howl and skies are dreary I will be brainstorming and making My Big Plan! And dreaming of blue skies and warm sunny days picking blackberries and watering flowers...