Boy am I ready for Fall Craft Show Season!! (I'm also ready for fall weather.) I hear this is when shows pick up for vendors. Thank gawd!! I didn't participate in September or October shows last year but I'm sure anything will be better than June, July & August shows. Summer shows were absolutely terrible, like really really bad. (;_;) Worse than Spring Craft Show Season, and that was pretty rough. The only good show I had over the summer was Quarter Mania the last Friday night in August. That event always rocks!
My advice for other vendors: Spring/Summer craft show season is a big risk. Do your research before applying for shows and be super careful of dates. I learned that most people aren't wanting to spend money because they just blew it all on summer vacation or back-to-school shopping. Don't expect to make a lot of sales but it is a good time to get some experience and hand out business cards.
Besides Quarter Mania, the only spring/summer shows I did well at (and plan to return to next year) are The Spring Handmade Show at The Crown Center, Western Oaks Christian Church's annual Spring Craft Show and (if they make it reoccurring) the craft show at Trinity Free Will Baptist Church. That was a first year show and it was tiny but really well put on & well received.
There are two shows that are on my "maybe" list.
The first one is A Bazaar for all Seasons at Del City Christian Church. It was so well organized. Just look at that sexy vendor packet I got! LOL The volunteers were also very appreciative of the vendors. There was a group of church ladies walking around all day with the sole purpose of handing out free snacks. I didn't make any money but I didn't have to spend any on food, either, so that was really nice. One volunteer from the youth group, Matthew, helped me unload and load my car with a smile on his face. He also walked around with water to keep the vendors hydrated all day.
The main problem I had with this show (besides the fact that my sales completely sucked) was that there was very little advertising. The craft bazaar was held in three buildings. The main building got all of the advertising and traffic. The other two buildings only got about one third of the traffic as the main building. The building that I was in also held the silent auction (its main attraction). The silent auction was all the way in the back room (fellowship hall). The vendors were placed in the various class rooms that lead to the fellowship hall. All the signs pointed straight to the silent auction... nothing directed shoppers to come into the class rooms. I saw people walk right by the room I was in...tunnel vision straight to the auction to place their bids and then straight back out without stopping. At one point, I stood outside the classroom and harassed shoppers to come into our room.
The other show that I might or might not return to is the Norman DeMolay show at the Masonic Lodge. This show had great advertising (the show coordinators were taking pictures and posting on social media all day long), volunteers (the teens in the DeMolay Masons Club-or whatever its called-are top notch. A crowd of them ran to my car to help me unload as soon as I pulled up. And they all eagerly offered to help me pack up after the show. I barely lifted a finger!) and reception (busy flow of traffic all day). Everyone stopped by and looked at my booth. They all had nice things to say. What they didn't have was money. No one had a single penny to spend. It wasn't just me, a couple of the other vendors near me also had dismal sales. But this show is held three times a year... August, October and December. So, I might participate in the October or December one next year.
Anyway, I'm trying to put January thru May behind me and focus all of my positive energy on the rest of the year. Like I mentioned earlier, I haven't participated in fall shows before and I haven't heard of any of the shows that I've signed up for in the vendor community, but I'm feeling good because these are established shows. (And I'm sure I'll see my vendor friends there!) The only show that is relatively new is the one at the Cole Community Center. I believe that the shows at the other three churches have been around a while. Which is great for me... they'll already have an established customer base and marketing strategy. I've already started an autumn line up of pillows. I'll have fall colors & themes and a lot of OU & OSU college football pillows. I'm excited!
One last thing... and it's not on my Fall Show Schedule flyer... I'm going to be in a car show (https://www.facebook.com/events/677548479078250/) this weekend! I think I'm the only vendor there because the main focus is on the classic cars. It'll be held at my friend, Laura's, salon (https://www.facebook.com/doowopglamshop/). Laura has been doing my hair since she was in beauty school and her salon is great. I am so proud of her for following her dream and am grateful that she let me bring some of my pillows to show. I've never been to a car show so this should be a fun experience. It's a retro themed car show so all of the ladies at the salon will be dressed up pin-up style and there's going to be a barbershop quarter there to provide entertainment. It's an outdoor event (another first for me) but the weather should be cooling down. Yay! It promises to be a fun filled day so I hope to see everyone there!
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