1st Craft Fair Experience

I successful completed my first major craft show!! Through snow and cold my friend and I persevered and had a great weekend full of learning.

Positives:
Our booth got lots of compliments on set up. We had great height and depth going on and I was pretty proud since we weren't able to do a practice set up beforehand.

Note to self, remember to adjust lighting and retake bad pictures.

We got the largest boot size and managed to fill it up nicely! My friend and her husband built a great display for all her handmade jewelry organizers. Between the two of us we had a nice mix of items that meshed very well display wise.
 
   We met a lot of amazing people, Caramel Creations was the booth right next to us! We got lots of delicious samples and were inspired by the story of this amazing company started by a mother and two daughters. The other vendors were very friendly and helpful.
   The time flies by! While we were never wall to wall people it stayed pretty busy and time at the table flew by. Between visiting, crocheting rugs, eating and bathroom runs the day was over before we knew it!
   Have a partner. I couldn't have done this without my friend, Natosha from OneBlessedMommie. We found it easier to talk about each other's products than about ourselves and ended up being saleswomen for each other. It's great to have another set of eyes and hands around to bounce ideas off of and allow you to leave the table or chat a bit. It also allows you to run out and nab a tasty gluten free lunch!

Learning Points:
  Get your rest! It makes your time a lot less overwhelming and helps you deal pleasantly with the customers.
   Bring drinks and snacks. While this may not be allowed in all venues it's really nice to have some water to sip on. With my diabetes and celiac, snacks are a must too. Make sure they are easy to eat and don't leave your hands messy.
   DIVERSIFY! We probably heard and later read this tip the most. We had mid to higher priced items so missed those customers looking for something small to pick up.
   Don't give up! Since it was our first show we were warned not to expect too much.

Feedback:
  It was great to get live feedback on our items and see people's reactions as they interacted with our products.
I learned I must get used to hearing, "Oh these are SO cute! But I don't have a baby."

Shop

It was great to see that my baby boots are a hit but I need to make something that has a wider target audience if I want more sales. I also need to seek a venue that caters to my boot target market.

My friend heard, "Oh what a great idea!
"That's just a board?
"I've been trying to make something for my jewelry."
We had to learn tact and patience to politely reply to people when we felt like her hard work and great product was getting the short end of the stick.

My favorite jewelry organizer

All in all we had a great time and learned a lot. We made several great connections and leads on some other great shows. We look forward to the next time.

Here's a few links I found the day before or right after our show: Handmade Jane; Etsy Article

This is an amazing pinboard with lots of great display ideas:

 http://pinterest.com/paperflora2/craft-set-up/

Do you have any great craft show tips? I'd love to hear other thoughts and ideas.