2009 Craft Shows in Review

You know how when you have a vacation day or a trip scheduled, you feel like you couldn't possibly go another day without it? Craft show season has that same sort of self-fulfillingness to it. Thank goodness yesterday was my last show of the season because I just could not do another one - I'm exhausted!

Except I'm not really - because I did 15 shows in 2008 and just 9 in 2009. Some of that was by design - to do fewer, but bigger shows. I did outdoor shows for the first time, which tend to be bigger, multi-day shows. The mack-daddy of all shows was Letchworth - 3 super busy days in October, that I canceled out of at the last minute when Steve's mom died. Not only did I lose all that revenue but I had turned down several shows around that time, based on wanting to have enough inventory for Letchworth. (The show refunded all of my entrance fee, which is more than I had hoped for, even though it was the right thing for them to do. I'm grateful.)

In 2008, when I did 15 shows, the lesson learned there that I was over-saturating the market a little bit. You could have seen the light bulb over my head by the time I'd heard this several times: "Oh yeah, I just saw you at (insert show here) last week!" Better to pace oneself. I know, it seems obvious, doesn't it? I thought I was being ambitious and hard-working. There are lessons and steps to go through for every learning process, right?

The good news is, even without Letchworth, my total show sales for 9 shows in 2009 was 3% higher than 15 shows in 2008. That says it all.

I'm sorry to say that my heart wasn't in yesterday's show at School 46. I don't think it showed though - hope not. In my head, I'm already in 2010, planning and plotting and scheming. New products, new venues - I'm very excited.

A woman introduced herself as the producer of the Lilac Festival, took my card and said she'd send me an application. That is a show to which I'd planned to apply for 2010. The Lilac Festival is a big deal around here - runs for 10 days in May. (The craft show part is only on the weekends.) I believe vendors can sign up for 1 or 2 weekends. My vendor friends who participate now, recommend doing both weekends. The only downside is that the weather in May around here can be a real crap shoot, running from rainy & cold to sunny, warm & summer-like. And yes, we've had snow in May, on rare occasions. Still, I'm ready.

I had a couple of people tell me they came to the show just to see me. I love when that happens. I received a few good suggestions for future product ideas - some of which I've already been thinking of, so the confirmation was good.

I did go to the Alternative Fair held by Metro Justice, at the First Unitarian Church on Winton Road Friday Night to vet it as a possible venue for the 1st weekend in December next year. Granted, I got there right at 6:00 when they opened, but holy cow, it was busy! Nice to see all the hippie kinds of vendors (vegan stuff, social change stuff) - I can't even remember what else. It was so crowded!

Ultimately, I decided it's not for me, at least not now. Vendors rent a table, though you can bring your own set-up and you can get a double (table) space. I was struck by how small the vendor spaces were and how crowded they were together, cheek-to-cheek. It was all very sensory overload for me.

I have a good (highly coveted) spot in the gym at the School 46 show so yesterday I committed to that for next year. The only downside is the spaces are only 5' deep by 8' wide. My tables are 6', plus I need a lot of walk-around space for my two sided Sticky Notes stand. Thankfully they aren't very strict about keeping within the space because the aisles are really wide. So my table overshot the 5' mark by 1'. I had Steve take the other table home - I just couldn't make it work. So I had all my table-top product (pins, magnets and cards) on one table, rather than spread out over 2 tables. Little cluttered for me but it worked okay. So while I had all my usual product out, it still felt like it was an abbreviated version.

I requested a double booth space for next year but there isn't currently one available. My current space is right by a door so that actually gives me additional viewing area. So if the people on my other side don't commit for next year, I can have their space - or maybe something in the middle will open up. I prefer being against a wall, but I'd gladly move if I could have a double space. I paid for one space for next year but the organizer made a note that I'm first on the list for a double space if one opens up. (Note to my curious vendor friends reading this - the entrance fee is only $45 so even a double space is very affordable.)

I slept until, gasp, 6:30 today - 8 hours. By then my mind was racing about what I wanted to do today. Now that I'm up though, my energy is lagging. I guess this is supposed to be a recovery, recharging kind of day. Plus I'm going to my friend Nancy's house for lunch today, with Kim and Kathy. So there's a few hours of relaxing with friends built in to my day already.

Recharging is a necessary and good thing. I've learned to embrace these days!