what do you make at craft fairs?

[seventhdevil]

as the title say really chaps, what do you make at craft fairs?

i only go to one since my dad died as he was my chauffeur but living in taplow the eton action fair is 10 minutes away however i also go to it as it seems to always give me a good haul so just wondered what other people do at other fairs.

the eton fair costs £26 to attend you get a 10' square with six 2' square tables provided. yesterday i made £120 in selling small bowls with one at £60. i also sold a huge 18"x10" brown oak bowl that i turned wet and let move in to a very wobbly shape for £200. i'm looking at roughly £295 proffit.

what margins do others have?

[The Bowler Hatted Turner]

This is a difficult area to quantify. I have been doing craft fairs for donkeys years and no two are ever the same. Did one last week for 3 days, it cost me £150 for a pitch plus £20 fuel each day. I did cover all costs and make a profit over the first 2 days but on the last day I only took £17.50.
  I don't look at margins but look at each fair as an advertising opportunity, I usually get a lot of my commissions from places like that so I guess in the long run it is all worth while.

[Bryan Milham]

I think I’ve said some or all of this before. But I tend to work on the principal that the ladies in this world are responsible for 90+% of all expenditure. I therefore turn to please them.

Bowls don’t work for me, fruit platters at best. Most of my bigger (and hence costly) items are decorative vases, something that can be displayed and I find my use of colour helps catch their attention as well.

However I feel you also need to have the impulse buy’s/ pick-up’s like wooden fruit, tea lights etc. Something else I’ve branched into is Lace work bobbins and associated tools and various needlecraft items.

[bodrighywood]

I have done fairs and shows where I have covered costs and made a profit and sold nothing that cost more than £10. Other times I am selling pieces that cost up to three figures. At the same venue. My best to date was a folk festival where I was just short of a four figure total and sold all sorts. It was strange seeing people waking past drinking from a goblet they bought off me earlier LOL. You cannot guess what people will be purchasing. One big difference I have found however is being able to take cards, people are rarely going to have enough cash to spend on the more expensive items and don't forget that except perhaps around Christmas time most people who come into the fairs and markets are curious but unlikely to be looking specifically for something unless it is one that you do on a regular basis. Being able to take credit cards and having a sign stating so means that someone who sees something more expensive they like is more likely to buy it spontaneously.

Pete

[The Bowler Hatted Turner]

Pete MJ wrote
"Being able to take credit cards means that someone who sees something more expensive they like is more likely to buy it spontaneously."
I can't agree more Pete, best thing I ever purchased for the business.

[Derwent Woodturning club]

.... It was strange seeing people waking past drinking from a goblet they bought off me earlier LOL. ....

Pete

Hi Pete,
Sorry to 'gatecrash' this thread but I was intrigued by this comment, as it is a question that was asked at our club a few weeks ago. Namely, what do you use to seal a goblet so it can be used to hold drinks?
I tried a product called 'Plastikote' (think that was the name) many years ago but found it very thick and took away the character of the wood. Some other turners have said several coats of melamine lacquer would do. Obviously a lot will depend on the grain of the wood, but do you have any recommendations?

[seventhdevil]

a few coats of danish usually does the trick but it will depend on the substance being drunk.

i had a lady ask if red win would stain the african blackwood goblet she was interested in and my reply was that my research had not got that far, i don't drink anyway.

these days i'll give no guarantee but i tell them that if you buy it you can do with it as you please...

[David Buskell]

Craft Fairs are always unpredictable, I find. What sells at one, doesn't at another. In all cases, I cover my costs and have also sold some large ticket items - make sure you have credit card facilities !!!!!

To answer the goblet question, I have one from a recent WoW swap which is coated with Rustin's Plastic Coating which is said to be "heat,impact alcohol and solvent resistant". The piece is a tankard made from Australian Red Cedar.

David

[bodrighywood]

I have uswed melamine but prolonged use with alchohol can break through even with 1/2 dozen coats so I now use the Rustins plasticoat. If you sand lightly between coats and put at least 4 coats it is pretty much impregnable. You can get thinners for it which help to have a number of lighter coats if you prefer. Through experience I now also coat the outside of the bowl section as well as people dribble. Recently I made a communion cup for a church and they asked me top see if I could do anything about the one they had already. It had been oiled and the red wine had soaked right through to the outside. Impossible to get off as it was totally soaked into the wood.I managed to clean it up a bit but it was a classic example of wrong finish for a piece.

Pete

[David Buskell]

Interesting to see the list of exhibitors at the recent Stock Gaylard Oak Fair. Was this a success for those who exhibited?

David

[Derwent Woodturning club]

Hi Guys,
Many thanks for the replies and for the recommendation of Rustins Plastic Coating. Looks like the next order from Axminster will include some for future projects.

[bodrighywood]

Interesting to see the list of exhibitors at the recent Stock Gaylard Oak Fair. Was this a success for those who exhibited?

David

Very successful. It was the 10th anniversary so was held over two days instead of one. Main concern was that we might have the same numbers spread over the two days but as it happened we had the same numbers both days. We are doing it two days again next year now. Big advantage was that it stayed dry. Last two years it was very wet though we still did OK.

Pete

[David Buskell]

Thats good. May be down there next year and will say hello.

David

[andersonec]

as the title say really chaps, what do you make at craft fairs?

i only go to one since my dad died as he was my chauffeur but living in taplow the eton action fair is 10 minutes away however i also go to it as it seems to always give me a good haul so just wondered what other people do at other fairs.

the eton fair costs £26 to attend you get a 10' square with six 2' square tables provided. yesterday i made £120 in selling small bowls with one at £60. i also sold a huge 18"x10" brown oak bowl that i turned wet and let move in to a very wobbly shape for £200. i'm looking at roughly £295 proffit.

what margins do others have?

Steve, 
I do a craft fair with a chum who turns other items than me (I do the boxes) he tries to find spectacular pieces for his bowls which sells them but other stuff include Skeleton clocks £90, rolling pins with Celtic knot £30, Perpetual calendars £20, etc. etc. We usually do very well at these fairs, I have spoken to people who do nothing, not a penny?? one difference is these people sit reading a newspaper all day, we don't (and I find this is very important) we speak to the public, explain the wood and it's origin, how it's finished, why that piece of wood is used for that item, anything you can think of, and smile at them, we make it interesting for the punters and make them fall in love with the items, they then can't resist, the usual out come is "I've got to have that" and another vote for the card machine, especially when you are selling stuff up to and over 200 squids.

Andy

[seventhdevil]

i'll take cash over card any day mate.

i've been thinking about getting a card machine as my business of skittle making is going well and i do get people asking if they can pay that way.


i talk to people too and think that anyone who sits there and reads the paper really shouldn't turn up...

most people don't have a clue about wood and just like it so they buy the smaller bits but i do get ones who are collectors and know a bit more than the average joe. they are the ones i talk too more as they are more likely to buy something.

my range of species usually fascinates my customers too...

i had about 20 different species on the table and only two or three bowls were the same wood.