Craft Fair vs. Online Sales

This post might get long. I have a lot to say. I will start by saying that this post is in no way a bashing of craft shows. It is just to document my experience so other people can learn from it. I LOVE craft shows.

This past weekend I set up my booth at the New Salem Mountain Festival. It was supposedly a big show with 8,000-10,000 attending. So I figured that maybe 1% of those people would buy from me. That's 80 people, at about an average of $20/sale equals $1600. I thought that might be a stretch so I put $1200 in my head for a sales expectation/goal.

Here's how the weekend breaks down:

• $85 Booth Entry
• $50 Gas
• $20-30 Food
• 6 hours to load/unload/setup/breakdown/load/unload
• 4 hours of driving

For $600 in sales. And I'm not even counting the money I put into my display since that is not a specific cost to this particular show. So now let's put a dollar amount on my time. For custom orders, I charge $15-20/hour depending on the difficulty of the project. Let's say I got paid $15/hour this weekend. I worked a total of 26 hours, which amounts to $390.

So taking sales, less the costs, my business profited $45. And that's probably a stretch since I didn't even count the hours I spent sewing the products. Also, I did not include my dear husband's time. He helped me all weekend and I didn't even really ask him to do that.

To sum it up, I just don't think these craft fairs are for me. I don't think they are worth the time and stress (I lost a ton of sleep last week getting ready and worrying). To test this hypothesis, I will be spending $135 on relisting on Etsy and possibly some advertising spots on a few blogs to see if I can get $600 in sales from that. This will take away the driving and setup time and time spent sitting on my behind at the fair, giving me a better profit margin.

On a not-so-sour note, I met these two fun ladies! They have nicknames for each other (and everyone at their work, I learned) and wanted koozies with their nicknames stitched on them. They were so sweet and I was glad to have met them. Turns out that Robin lives a few miles from me!

My House is Full of Craziness

I read somewhere that crafters should take three times the amount of stuff they want to sell to a craft fair. WOW. That's a lot of stuff. I took that statement to heart because it makes sense. The rationale behind it is that you never want your booth to look empty.

For the past several weeks I have been buying fabric, cutting out fabric, and sewing fabric . I think almost every room in my house might have fabric or finished products in it. When I look at all of it, I feel that I have enough...but...I always feel like I could make more. My husband says I'm too hard on myself, and I say that I can do better. Did I mention that I also homeschool our 4th grade son?

WHAT. AM. I. THINKING?

I signed up for the New Salem Mountain Festival (a big craft fair) a long time ago before I decided to homeschool. Had I known I would be homeschooling, I would have passed on the craft fair!

Alas, I have a week and 2 days until the craft fair. I still have about 20 aprons, 10 camera straps, 30 makeup bags and a couple of purses to sew. I think I need to re-evaluate this! There's no way I can get all of that done and maintain any ounce of sanity.

Needless to say, next week will be a slacker week as far as homeschooling goes.

What I Did Labor Day Weekend

This past weekend, I sent my husband and son out of town so I could sew. I needed some uninterrupted time to get ready for the New Salem Mountain Festivalwhich is in one month. I have lots and lots of these made, but none of these.

So I ended up making 9 Buttercup Bags and 3 Marti Bags! I also made one of these. Here are the pics:

New Salem Mountain Festival

I am happy to share that Forshee Designs will have a booth at the New Salem Mountain Festival in Dade County, GA this year! Dade County is where my husband is from, so I'm sure to have lots of family and friends stop by!

From the festival brochure:

The New Salem Mountain Festival started as a celebration at the changing of the seasons from summer to autumn – some people think the most beautiful time of the year – when brilliant color of the trees provides a glorious background for beautiful and exciting works of art.

The Mountain Festival emphasizes quality. Artists, craftsmen, and musicians – many local are carefully selected from the best agent available. You will discover here many visual arts – paintings in oil, acrylic, and watercolor; pottery of earthenware, stoneware, and porcelain clay; quilts made in our own community by internationally appreciated quilters; other textiles; weaving and stuffed toys so well made as to warrant people calling them “soft sculpture.” There will be woodwork, jewelry, and various other works in traditional expression and in experiments with newer artistic, industrial arts.

The purpose of the New Salem Mountain Festival is… to be a FESTIVAL, an organized effort to bring together a variety of art, crafts, music, dancing, so that each member of the family can share special pleasures to delight the senses.

Today, in our world of changing experiences, what was once community – held traditions have in many instances been lost to factory work and dehumanized processes. Now it often takes a special effort to locate fine objects made by folks at home. Our efforts are culminated in this our Mountain Festival, and we invite you to come and enjoy the beautiful made–by– hand works and their makers that we have gathered in celebration.

If you want to know more about how you can participate write George “Doc” or Faye Nichols, 805 Cherokee Trail, Rising Fawn, Georgia 30738. Telephone (706) 398-1988. Email: NSCIC@aol.com. Fax (706)398-1988.

Fun for the old and young, come spend the day. Food and drinks on the grounds. Food booth sponsored by the New Salem United Methodist Church.

October 9 & 10, 2010

Saturday – 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Sunday – 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

(E.S.T. each day)

Admission - $5.00

Children under 12 FREE

ABSOLUTELY NO ALCOHOL, DRUGS, OR PETS ALLOWED.

The New Salem Mountain Festival is located on top of Lookout Mountain between Trenton and LaFayette, Georgia, at the New Salem Community Center, 12477 Hwy. 136.