Hosting a Craft Fair

Starting up a new business while working a full time job is challenging.  I continue to look for ways to market my business and would love to do jewelry shows and craft fairs, but I can't see myself spending an entire weekend doing a show and then back to work on Monday.  I just don't have the stamina for that and I don't want my jewelry business to become a burden. 

One way around this dilemma was to host my own craft fair at home.  I hosted one last November and it was a huge success.  I will be hosting another one on May 5th and hoping that it is even better than the first one.

Get Your Bead On Display at the November Craft Fair

If you are thinking about hosting a similar event, here are a few tips:

• Invite crafters who make high quality items 
• Don't have more than two people selling the same thing (jewelry, soaps, art, etc.)
• Have a good variety of vendors
• Make sure the vendors are spaced far enough apart to allow traffic to flow
• In lieu of a booth fee, ask each vendor to contribute a small item to be used as a door prize
• Offer drinks and light snacks at your event (you might ask your vendors to help with this)

One concern with this type of event is opening your home to strangers.  I decided to only invite people I knew and asked the other vendors to do the same.  This way, we would have some connection to the people attending.  I found that people who attended were there to make a purchase -- I averaged approximately $20 in sales for each attendee.  

If you've hosted a similar type event, I would love to hear about your experience and any additional tips you might want to offer.