craft fairs

[Graham]

Would turning 'driftwood' in a beach hut produce more sales than a shop on Oxford Street ?

That's a very salient point....although I've not yet attended craft fairs, it is most noticeable that items made from locally sourced materials sell better than others.

Les

In a similar vein..... I wonder if being able to weave a ( true ? ) story around the wood would help sell it. I have an oak blank on  my shelf that is from a tree planted in a stately home by Lord Nelson. It was felled exactly 200 years later...... If they ever have a craft fair in Portsmouth historic dockyard......

[bodrighywood]

Location definitely makes a difference IME. When I lived in Cornwall sales were not good and moving to Wiltshire has proven far better. Ideally you become recognised as an artist or artisan in wood and start getting commissions from collectors and galleries but I find that doing demonstrations at shows is perhaps the best way to get your name out there.  Bottom line some of us have that flair for selling and promoting and will find outlets wherever we live, some of us will just struggle. I see crafts people siting behind a table of hand made goods reading and wonder if they sell anything. You have to work at it wherever you choose to sell. Just turning up isn't the answer whatever type of outlet you choose.

Source of wood can be a good selling point Graham, one pro I know has wood (with authentication) from HMS Victory whic he makes pens from and sells complete with a leaflet stating it's origins. Naturally charges a bit more for them.....and gets it.

Pete

[Graham]

I have also seen the stallholder  sat reading and acting as if they don't want to be disturbed. It makes you wonder why you should be interested if they are not. But turning is a solitary affair and not all good turners are equally as good at talking to people or 'acting' in front of them. they need all the help they can get and location combined with 'what' you sell can ( could ) solve some of that and make the customer come to you.

[TWiG]

   Pete , Location certainly must help, but the venue is probably more important eg if in Cornwall if you had work in good galleries at St Ives ,or the Eden project then I am sure you would do well , but footfall is important but they have to be the right feet !  The South East /London area is probably the best area but are there any turners in London ?  I am sure other turners take their work to London to sell. I often look out in various locations when out and about  for turned or any wooden work for sale just out of interest but it is pretty rare to find to be honest , especially  more "artistic " turning  fine furniture , carvings , etc  . If you are demonstrating then that will draw attention to your stand , but doing this increases cost and effort I would assume . I have not ruled out craft fairs but prefer the gallery route for now .

[Graham]

Source of wood can be a good selling point Graham, one pro I know has wood (with authentication) from HMS Victory whic he makes pens from and sells complete with a leaflet stating it's origins. Naturally charges a bit more for them.....and gets it.

Pete

That would sell one to me as well

[Graham]

Looking back at some of the pieces I have seen and been really impressed by...... Many of them have a story woven about them, some of them true, some inspired by truth, others obviously not.
Someone on here has  a piece made from wood from the Victory
I have a piece of Nelsons oak tree he planted 200 years plus ago.When I make a platter from it I will think of a reason it was planted
Pete ( Bodrighy ) recently showed an example of his work that was an egg inside a hollow form, It was a dragons egg in a cave and even had a 'hatch by date'
Now, in the gallery, we have a rice bowl next to a dead Acer tree. that tree looks ( after a drink or two ) like an old man lent over his bowl of rice without the life left in him to pick up the chopsticks. Such a story could be told about its meaning or symbolism.
If I was at a fair, or showroom, or turners workshop, or wherever, a story bringing a piece to life would go  long way towards selling it to me, even if the story was blatant nonsense

[TWiG]

I told people  at one time ( and it is true ) that this bowl is made from 5 star wood ... what do you mean ?  they said ... my reply was that it came from the grounds of a very posh hotel  !!  .. in fact I had felled it my self !!  then got my tractor stuck on the golf course and made a hell of a mess !!  ... In fact there is often a story with most of my wood as I often fell it my self, or get it from some one I know who has felled it and know where it came from !!  not sure if it helped sales though ....  Terry

[Graham]

This is a totally true story ( )
I have a piece of wood from a tree that was inside the entrance to a hospital I used to work in. This was no ordinary tree. It was in fact a douglas fir ( I think ) that grew with two trunks and  was special because about 20 feet above ground there was a branch that grew out of one of the trunks and directly into the other one so well that it was not possible to say which direction it was going in.
Now, you might think this was quite rare, or of no importance but it is a fact that at one time there was a tree like this inside the grounds of almost all hospitals and the branch was known as an elfin seat. It is said that in the olden days an elf would sit there watching over the hospital and protecting the lives of those who worked and resided there.










That was why it was called the National Elf Service

[Bryan Milham]

When attending Craft Fairs I take a stool, I place it to one side of my stand, never behind it and only sit when there are no customers about.

I talk to anyone who stops to look, invite them to pick up items and as noted, tell them the story behind the wood they are holding as I know the history and origin of a good portion of my wood from the tree surgeons etc., who I get it from. Yes, the story really helps, especially if they can relate to it.

As for talking to people, you only need 3 or 4 basic conversation starters to get people engaged in talking, after that nature takes over.

[bodrighywood]

I used to say feel free to fiddle but changed that to feel free to touch after a couple of strange looks LOL. Seriously when people stop about 4 foot away I just smile and say good morning or whatever, if they approach I invite to touch and if they do I start talking about the pieces they are looking at. Remember that people don't read signs either. I have one for example with my goblets stating that they are all sealed for use but still get asked whether you can drink from them. If someone picks a piece up and either starts running their fingers inside or turns it over to look at the bottom ten to one they are a wood turner.

Pete