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| My Stall at New Milton Spring Craft Fair |
As I try to ignore the chocolate stash I want to tell you all about my first craft fair of 2014. I took a trip to New Milton, Hampshire. I'd visited this craft fair last year and was impressed with the organisation and the footfall it attracted. I also want to attend craft fairs outside of my local area in order to promote my business to a wider audience. My parents live in the area so I don't have to pay for accommodation so it seemed a good fair to try out.
I feel it was a success in many ways:
- I made more sales compared to the previous fairs I have attended.
- I had quality conversations with customers who genuinely were interested in the other places I sold. So hopefully they will be visiting my Folksy or Etsy stores in the future. I have an exclusive discount code so I can track shoppers that saw my stall at the fair.
- I collected email addresses for my newsletter.
- I tested new products which had great feedback.
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| New products included coasters with funny quotes which were popular and crochet egg cosies especially for Easter |
Unfortunately I didn't quite cover the cost of the stall (I was very close!). Even though it was my most successful for sales compared to other fairs I have done so far, the charge for the stall was more expensive as it is a larger event.
So I may not have made a profit but I will be returning to this event in October because:
- It gets my brand name out there and spreads the fizzi~jayne joy to a wider audience.
- It was a well organised and advertised event which meant it had good footfall.
- In October I hope to reach the Christmas shoppers and a greater opportunity to sell more.
- I get free B&B at my parents!
- If there weather is good enough I get to go the beach....
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| Love these new Beach Huts |
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| I do love to be beside the seaside |
I have just under 4 weeks until my next craft fair in Harpenden, this is one I was recommended by a fellow stall holder from Berkhamsted.
I'm glad it went well for you! I think that getting your name out there is one of the main advantages of fairs even if you don't sell as much as you would like.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sally. I think it is important to get out there. It is also a good way to network and meet other crafters.
DeleteIt’s nice to know how your trip went well! Engaging in some business activities, like joining a crafts fair, is really helpful in promoting your work. Aside from being recognized by the larger crowd, you could also observe on how your target niche would react to your products. That way, you could make some improvements in your future offers. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteClint Shaff @ Franchise Match
Thanks Clint, I'm glad you enjoyed the post. I really enjoy craft fairs and they will continue to be an important part of my business. I have more planned, in fact one this weekend, which I will be writing about here :-)
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