Fayetteville Tennessee held their 48th annual art and craft festival Friday and Saturday June 14-15, 2013. Since I am a member of the Fayetteville Art League, I decided that it was time that I experienced what it was like to have a booth.
Even though I had never done a craft fair before, I knew I didn’t have enough inventory. My mother-in-law Jeri, who makes different types of jewelry, joined my booth so that it would be full. I haven’t worked that hard getting stuff done since I was working on my art degree! The whole week before the fair, I was up at 5 a.m. and put in late hours (12:30 one night!) just to get everything I had put in frames, bags and priced out to be ready to go on Friday morning.
We arrived early and were set up and ready to go by 9 am when it officially started. Setup went smoother than I was expecting and even though I forgot to bring things and didn’t have enough easels, it was okay.
The crowd was nonexistent on Friday. It was hot and there were a few lookers but no one was buying anything. I didn’t mind. I was so busy soaking up everything I could and checking out other boothes and making mental notes that I wasn’t really disappointed as some were. Of course, I didn’t have as much invested as some who had come a lot further to exhibit.
Because there was not security there, we packed up everything and brought it home with us. Saturday morning was a totally different experience. We got there later just because I frankly couldn’t get moving. We still managed to get set up in plenty of time.
I had decided that I would demo calligraphy so that maybe folks would stop and look at my pieces more closely. There was an immediate difference! I had just gotten warmed up when I was asked to give a quote for a fellow artist’s customer who wanted something written on the mat. A lady loved the card I was making and bought it before the ink was dry. Several people are interested in commissions and classes so I took names and will call them as soon as I get the classes set up. I even sold a piece. Actually, I didn’t even do that, Jeri did, while I was talking to another artist!
Overall, I broke even and made a little bit of gas money so I am happy with my first showing. I really enjoyed talking with people and getting ideas of new things to do. I am really considering doing more shows in the fall/winter when it is not so hot!
In fact, Jeri and I have already signed up for the Elk Valley Crafters show during the Host of Christmas Past in Fayetteville TN in November. We really need to start working on stuff NOW in order to have inventory. I think I’ll be busy for quite awhile.
