Erica survived her first craft show!

Friday and Saturday were two extremely exhausting days but I made it! My first Indie Trunk Show is done and in the books. I didn't do as well as I hoped but it was still a very good experience. My main goal was to sell enough to recuperate the booth/vendor fee charged by the show. Unfortunately, I came up a few dollars shy. (Ok, more than a few dollars but I'm trying to stay positive.) After talking to other vendors, the consensus was that there were tons of lookers but not very many buyers. Many other vendors also complained about low sales but praised the high amount of exposure. I need to get my name out there so high exposure is good for me. I talked to many customers & vendors and passed out several business cards.  In theory, those connections will lead to future sales so I guess I can't really beat myself up too much over poor sales at the show.

My booth display

I took notes during the day and came up with my top five tips for first time vendors (or any vendors, really, if you are interested in craft show advice).

1. Do your research BEFORE the show.
        This is the one that really got me into trouble. I was so excited (and naive) to get into the Indie Trunk Show that I did absolutely zero research about the size and scope of the event. Its a big, big, big show. My booth was nowhere near as good as my neighbors' & my presence there wasn't very "professional." Its hard to explain but you could tell that this was my first show. Live and learn, right?
        Also, its an expensive show (I later learned that most smaller shows charge vendors only half of what Indie Trunk Show booth/application fees are) so a majority of the vendors there are experienced with large budgets. One of my neighbors does craft shows full time. She has an established customer base and people come to shows just to buy a onesie from her. Can you imagine driving 25 miles out of your way just to buy baby clothes? Sounds crazy but this woman had customers all day; she knew the ropes and this was definitely not her first rodeo...on the other hand, I was a complete rookie and you could tell.
        During the week before the show, I learned that you don't just start out at a huge show. You start small at local fundraisers or community craft shows. You slowly build your customer base and then go do something like Indie Trunk Show. It was too late to back out by the time I gained this knowledge so I just decided that I would chalk it up to being ambitious. Looking back at it now, I wish that I had some experience before jumping into one of the largest shows in the metro. I spoke with another one of my neighbors and she mentioned a small show at the Earlywine YMCA. Its basically a small fundraiser benefiting the Greater YMCA. I've already applied for it. The size of that show and quality/quantity of vendors who will be there fits my experience a lot better.

2. Make friends with other vendors.

Networking is key!

        Other vendors, especially your neighbors are not necessarily competition. They are actually your best source of advice. I was lucky enough to be right next to Lil Nana's Creations (the onesie lady) and across from Wood Warriors. Both are extremely successful and experienced crafters. Both were more than willing to answer my questions, calm my stressed out self and offer tips and tricks of the trade. Lil Nana's Creations told me about a discount shop where I can buy display furniture and Wood Warriors went as far as to conceptualized a booth layout for me! Wood Warriors also told me about several upcoming shows (that are a lot smaller and cheaper than Indie Trunk Show).
       Gather business cards. Talk to any vendor who is willing to chat. Several vendors came up to my booth to exchange cards and "talk shop." I would name them all but I met so many that I can't even remember them all. It was great! Friendly faces make the day go by a lot faster. I actually made two pretty good friends who were nowhere even near my booth: CulbertsCreations Jewelry and Cyndi-Lou Fashions. They walked by several times throughout the day just to check on me because they knew it was my first show. One of my coworkers at Delta Dental, Glass Soldier Gifts, was there which made it tons better after finding out I had a friend I knew outside of the crafting world.
       Check out other vendors' displays. Get ideas for your own booth and sales pitch. If a booth is loaded with customers, go in and observe. What are they selling? How is their booth set up? What are they saying to customers? I did a quick walk through before, during and after the show and got quite a few booth layout ideas.

3. Bring a friend.

I'm an independent woman but I also have basic human needs like going to the bathroom! LOL

     
        You absolutely will need someone to help set up and tear down before and after the show. One of my neighbors, Zahara Clothing, had it down to an art. She and her boyfriend got her entire booth (structures and items) up in less than half an hour. It was entirely because they had a buddy system going. If she was there by herself, there is no way she could have managed. You can run your booth the day of the show by yourself but I would not recommend it.
        Because of scheduling conflicts, Wes was only able to help me set up before the show and stay a while the morning of the show. He left right as the show started and was out for 3-4 hours. I was doing okay on my own until I had to pee. Then there's the other biological function of needing to eat. My mom and Mike were scheduled to bring me lunch at 1pm. I ended up getting hungry before then. I preferred to not eat in my booth so I spent a few hours starving myself and almost pissing my pants. Plus, you just need a break. Its good to leave your booth and walk about for a little bit. Get some fresh air and take it all in.  I didn't get to shop or meet as many vendors as I would have liked to because I was the only one manning my booth in the morning.
        Luckily, Wes, my mom and Mike all showed up around the same time to rescue me and Wes stayed the rest of the day so the afternoon went a lot better. We took turns walking around and scoping out other vendors. We also had regular potty breaks. LOL

4. The show "rules" are really just guidelines.
        Being a newbie, I followed all the rules. (I'm also a square in real life so following the rules is just what I do.) The most basic rule of "handmade, vintage and repurposed" was not followed. I saw tons of vendors who were just reselling items. A lot of the clothing vendors were selling clothes that I could swear I saw at Forever 21 and Fossil. I saw one booth that was selling some baby contraption that was still in its original packaging.
        Other rules such as stay within your chalked booth perimeters, set up and tear down times, and parking were also not followed. Some vendors started packing up as early as 4:15pm when the show ended at 5pm. Parking and unloading was a NIGHTMARE. There was a rule to park up front as you unload and then move your car when you're done. No one followed that rule. Also no one parked within actual parking spaces. Everyone was doubled parked or parked in the fire lane. One woman walked around shouting, "Whoever is in the HHR needs to move their car because I almost hit you!"
        I'm not saying to be a complete rebel but the packet of rules they give you before the show should not be something of concern. Follow them as best you can but don't worry if you can't abide by them all. Also, don't be angry when you see other people openly breaking the rules.

5.Look busy in your booth.
        I know that not everyone can do this. But, if your craft is something that can be transported, bring it to the show.  You make ceramics? Bring your wheel and clay. Trust me on this one. If you don't follow any other tips in this blog, be sure to at least give this one some consideration.
        I brought my sewing machine in anticipation of custom orders. I also brought three shirts that I didn't finish before the show. I had a lot of traffic come through my booth. Tons of people stopped to look and take a card. I would smile & say good morning and they would smile back. Most either just looked at my booth without really coming in and those who did come in, only took a brief look around. I'm not an intimidating person! But me just sitting there prevented a lot of people from feeling comfortable really looking at and handling my items.
       Once I started sewing my left over shirts, that completely changed. People came in to ask what I was doing, people came in and asked if it was okay to browse while I worked, people noticed that I wasn't watching them so they rummaged through my bins of pillows and picked them up. I actually got a few sales. I would say that the only times I got sales was when I was sewing and paying my customers no mind.
        The best part was that Wood Warriors' child came over. Cute little kid of 7 years.  He wanted to "help" me. I let him hang out and because of him, I attracted a teenager (who had money) and another little boy (who asked his mom for money). Then another one of the vendor's children, little pre-teen girl, came in and started telling me what's hip and what would sell. She said her friend loves Snoopy and if her mom gave her money, she would come back and buy my Snoopy Knowledge is Power pillow. She never came back but now I know what will sell in the younger market. I can't have kids so I'm not in tune with that niche. Kids don't have money but their parents do and about half my shoppers were kids who asked their parents for money to buy a pillow.

So there you have it. I learned a lot during my first show experience but I condensed it to my top five just for you. I'm still selling. My items are on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RagsRebornGifts) and will slowly be posted on Etsy (www.etsy.com/shop/RagsRebornGifts). I'm always available for custom orders--those are my favorite, actually. If all goes well, I will be at the Earlywine YMCA Arts and Crafts Show on Saturday November 14th, 2015 and possibly again at the Indie Trunk Show (but sharing a booth with Jessa & Mason Summer is Glory) on Saturday December 16th, 2015. Don't quote me on the December Indie Trunk Show, though. And next spring at the Country Glam Pop Up Shops On Monroe in Crescent, Oklahoma in April 2016.

Aftermath of the show. I have a lot of cleaning, organizing, Etsy posting to do.