Tips for Craft Festivals

Craft festivals represent one of the best opportunities for crafters to get their work seen and sold to the public. There are many crafters out there who have found an extremely lucrative operation as they have been able to get the format right. Unfortunately, being able to attend all the best ones and finding where to sell and make money from a festival is something of an acquired skill. So, here are a few pointers that might help you: and before you embark, you will need to make sure that your stall and your work are insured in case there are any accidents. This usually involves getting insurance, so it’s a good idea to ask yourself, “How much does craft insurance cost?” Having the peace of mind of knowing that you can trade legally and successfully will make the whole process seem a lot easier.

The first thing to do is to pick and choose the craft events and festivals that you are going to attend. Planning and organising are always important elements of any business, but giving yourself the time and space to be well prepared for an event such as a craft fair is crucial as it may need meticulous planning. Before anything else, you’re going to have to consider exactly what you’re going to sell. Make sure that you have a good seasonal range available to anybody coming to look at your stall. You should, however, always have one eye on the future as well. Don’t be afraid to feature Christmas products, even if you’re at a festival in August or September. It might be that this is the last opportunity that you’ll have to attend a fair before the festive season starts. In that case, how are people going to be able to buy your festive creations before the big day arrives? Many sites that only open during the summer season will happily launch Christmas cards in late August to try and catch that audience before the site closes. If you are the type of producer that uses the winter months to create stock, then you may not have an opportunity to push your Christmas lines during this period. It is certainly what many summer opening operations, like those run by the National Trust, for example, do, knowing full well that the shop will not be available over December and January. The same could also be true when dealing with Easter options. If you don’t think that you’re going to be active during the holiday, then seek out earlier festivals and shows to sell your Easter items. Whatever time of the year you decide to start your festival schedule, make sure that you check out getting adequate cover in case there are issues along the way. The answer to the question, “How much does craft insurance cost? needn’t be an enormous amount.

The next stage of looking at craft festivals is to make sure that you do your research first. It might even be an idea to spend a good few months studying the locations where the craft festivals are going to be. It also might be an idea to not exhibit at some of the ones you are thinking of attending so that you can get an idea of the layout. Customer flow in retail is an extremely important factor when planning a shop, and you should also take this into account with your positioning at the Craft Festival. Being one of the first stalls to be seen does carry something of a burden, as the organisers of the festival will be expecting you to make a statement with your stall. It could be that you are one of the defining features that set the tone for the visitors. That means you’re going to have to pay some attention to how the site actually looks and is presented.

Make sure that your name and company name are prominently displayed and ensure that you have printed cards out so that people can take away details if they need to contact you later for a more bespoke item that you can craft. Even in this age of digital contact, it’s surprising how a business card can make all the difference. Secondly, don’t be tempted to swamp your stall with all of the items that you make. The key to a good display is balance. Make sure that you have some prominent signature pieces on display to attract the eye, but also give thought to having some smaller and more affordable takeaway items that someone can buy on the day. Much of this depends on your actual output, but don’t be afraid to have something that people can handle if that’s the world that you work in in terms of crafting. Tactile touch and inspection of the product that the person is looking to buy are very important. The ability to be able to handle the product and engage with it first and foremost can increase sales. If something gets broken, you can always make a claim on your insurance, so it’s a good idea to ask yourself, “How much does craft insurance cost?”

Finally, don’t be afraid to engage with the people who are looking at your stall. While it might be fun to produce the craft, ultimately you do have to have a desire to sell it. This is where you have to engage your customer service side and also your salesperson side. Another old saying in retail is that people buy from people, and that certainly is true with what you’re looking to sell to the public. Don’t be afraid to talk about your engagement with your work. In fact, it can be quite an exhilarating experience to be able to discuss what you do with interested parties. Some of the magical things that you create through your crafting can only be conferred by you when you actually talk about them, and craft festivals give you the opportunity to do just that.