I’ve met many people through the craft show circuit who sell at craft shows full-time. I remember chatting with a jewelry vendor who spent her entire year travelling to different shows. I had a table beside her at a 3-day event so I got to ask lots of...
Whether your handmade business follows trends or not, it’s always helpful to be informed and take color/scent/style trend shifts into consideration when designing new products. Don’t confuse your existing Etsy customers or craft show shoppers by offering a...
Here’s how I used to treat craft shows. I’d go into crazy-woman sewing mode in the weeks leading up to a craft show. All other marketing and updating of sales channels would stop so I could give my full attention to production. I’d stay up late the last couple...
When I started my handmade business, I thought more was more. The more options of handbags I offered, the more sales I could make because I’d be appealing to a wider variety of customers. I had: No clear customer I was targeting. No clear style I was...
The very first craft show I sold at was in a small community league hall with less than 20 vendors. Craft fairs were fairly new and indie at that time. Although people showed up, it wasn’t exactly a buzzing scene. So it made my lack of conversation/selling skills even...
I have a confession… I love reading YELP and GOOGLE reviews. Especially the bad ones. I’m not really sure why. I’ll spend several minutes scrolling through strangers’ opinions of a business, even if I never plan on being a customer of theirs. At the risk of...
