So are craft fairs really worth it?

This weekend I attended two separate events with the hope of selling my cards at each. Craft fairs, or the general kind of fair where you pay a table fee for the day are a bit of a mystery for anyone starting out, so I want to try and help by giving my opinion.

There are a few things to consider when deciding on what and where to go.

1. Venue. This is more important than you think. It needs to be appropriate, so antiques or

collectables fairs are not the place to sell hand crafted items.

2. Location. Can you travel there in under and hour and park for free or a small fee? You need to consider this as part of your costs.

3.Fee. These vary, from free to £100+. Remember, if you're selling cards, it takes a LOT of cards to get to £100, and then you need to cover your travel expenses and cost of materials.

4. Who can attend? Always check that the venue is free entry to the public. It's a big battle for customers if they have to pay to even cross the threshold. Check this with the organiser beforehand!

So you've considered your venue, got your cards ready, arrived on time and got set up. Is it really worth all the hassle? I'm going to use my two events this weekend as an illustration. I normally wouldn't share finer details like this, as I like to keep it kind of private (not sure why...), but here we go!

Event 1

Held at a town hall, Saturday from 10am to 3pm. Table fee £15, parking £1.50, fuel and lunch £5.00.

The event was well attended with a steady trickle of customers. The organiser was professional and friendly, the venue was clean, free entry and very welcoming. The public were on great form with plenty of time to chat and give feedback.

Total takings about £28, profit £6.50.

Event 2

Held at my workplace. This was the annual easter egg hunt, held on a farm about 6 miles from town. Table fee was covered by me agreeing to arrive early and help set up and then stay late to help clear down the pack house. Free parking, travel costs about £3 in fuel.

The event was very well attended, but was not a specific craft fair, there were all kinds of distractions and other activities going on, but the public still had time to chat and talk about crafting.

Total takings, £24, leaving me with £21 profit.

Although the first event was a specific crafts/ table top sale, I made less profit due to increased costs. The second even was less geared towards sales, but I had few expenses to cover, leaving me with more profit against less sales.

So back to the question of is it worth it? My opinion is yes, if you love doing it. If displaying your stock and speaking with the general public fills you with dread, don't bother. There's not the profit in it to make a big living, and it's more a case of covering costs. However, for me it's about staying in touch with what people like. When you post a card on-line for sale and it doesn't sell there's no way of knowing if this is because people don't like it, or because they haven't found it! The public are very good at telling you straight! You'll get lots of feedback on what they do like, and if you watch browsing habits can get a pretty good impression of what really turns people off.

All in all, for me, these kind of events are a great way of inspiring me, an keeping it fresh. I have had complete disasters where I've not sold a thing. That can be really hard, especially when you'v incurred costs. There will be good events and bad events, but if you have a passion for crafting and sharing your craft, it's all worth it in the end!