I’ve been spending the last week designing a booth display for shows as well as deciding what to make/bring. So far I am scheduled for two shows this spring and I can’t wait. These will be my first in my new city. I am also compiling a craft show checklist that I will be posting next time. So before we jump too far ahead let’s talk about sales.
The reason we do craft shows or art fairs is to give ourselves exposure and make money. So what kinds of things sell at these shows? I’ve found that small and less expensive items are more likely to move. Smaller items because most people don’t want to carry large items around with them while browsing other booths. I still plan on bringing original artwork (usually about 18x24 inches in size) but will offer to hold it until the customer is ready to leave.
Price. Most of my paintings sell for around $100.00 each. Since most craft show dwellers don’t carry cash like that I’ve started making smaller original art priced between $10-25.00. I also have a paper crafts business which is great for low cost items. My paper crafts are also easy to make and will help fill my booth.
I do have a few remedies to hopefully get around price issues. For 2D artists there are many ways to have prints made of your work. ImageKind (as mentioned it my last post) is a wonderful site. You can sell your work directly to buyers from here and set your own markups. You can also purchase your own work (without markups) on a wide range of supports. Most craft/hobby stores or printers (like Kinkos) can do prints. Just make sure your photographs are good- taken in natural light and colors match the original.
Another great tool for artists and crafters, especially one’s involved in shows, is Square. It allows you to accept credit card payments anywhere with your iPhone, iPad or Android phone. It is a small slider that plugs into your headphone output. Payments are sent to any bank account you wish to link square to.
That’s all I have for today’s post. I’ll be posting other craft show goodies over the next couple weeks. In the meantime, enjoy…
Above: Art blocks
No comments:
Post a Comment