Good Morning Readers!
So, after all of the pinning, starching, crocheting, last minute primping, ironing, and so on and so forth, the "Holiday Gift Show and Craft Fair" has finally arrived!
Sadly...as of now, I have only sold two snowflakes out of the 35 I have entered.
I can't help but admit that my heart is sinking. However, I do think that this was a GREAT deal of fun, and an all around good experience! The other vendors at the fair were AMAZING...How can a few tiny white Christmas ornaments hold up to felted flower headbands (I bought one, a yellow Dhalia), handmade Christmas Cards (VERY reasonably priced!) and handmade soaps, candles, wreaths and birdhouses?
I learned a couple of things from this experience; and a couple of the reasons WHY my snowflakes didn't go over as well as I thought they would:
1. I didn't really think my presentation of my flakes through. The other vendors had some WONDERFUL ways to showcase their wares: sparkly table clothes, old photo frames revamped as card holders, boxes and shelves and jewelry hooks of every kind...I ran out last night to Ross and picked up a mini Christmas tree at the last minute. My table looked bare in comparison; and kind of cheap.
2. My snowflakes were a bit too expensive compared to the other things for sale. I had priced my snowflakes as follows: $1 for x small, $3 for small, $5 for medium, $7 for large, and $10 for extra large/fancy. As of now (the sale goes until 3pm,) I have only sold two flakes, a large and a small. I was set up right next to the soap vendor; where you can get a bar of hand milled soap (in BEAUTIFUL scents and shapes) for just $4, so by comparison my prices looked like highway robbery. The doilies, I am reasonably sure, are NOT going to sell...simply too expensive. While I LOVED the organic Alpaca yarn I used, the customers didn't seem to appreciate the high price that this material demanded in order for me to make a profit AT ALL.
3. I made the HUGE mistake of forgetting to add my vendor number to my price tags. This lead to a panicky moment where I grabbed a pen off of the cashier table and started to frantically scribble "vendor 7" on each price tag...and that certainly did NOT help my professional crafty demeanor :-P.
Next year, I'm going to do this again, FOR SURE, but I am going to do a few things differently:
First, I am going to "bundle" my flakes in groups of four or five of the same pattern, and price them at $15-$30 for a set. This is MUCH more consumer friendly, as I know a lot of people who are buying Christmas decorations want things that match.
Second, I'm going to be much more careful about my presentation. Tablecloth? Yes. Tree that can showcase the details of each flake? Yes. Price tags that look more thought out and neat? Hecks yes.
Third, I'm going to shy away from the uber expensive materials. I Love, LOOOOVVVEEEE all things cashmere, alpaca, mohair...but the typical buyer at a craft fair usually only sees the PRICE, and not the work and the high quality material that went into the product.
And lastly...no more doilies or pillows. Just snowflakes. :-) Not necessarily just snowflake ORNAMENTS, mind you...These things are VERY versatile! Snowflake on card stock for a lovely Christmas card? Hecks yes! Tiny snowflakes made into earrings? Oh yeah! Lace collar with a snowflake motif? Yeah Baby!!!
All in all, lessons learned, and a bunch of lace ornaments and doilies left over...
Guess what everyone in my immediate family is getting for Christmas? :-D
**Edit:**
Well, thats the end of the sale. Only sold five snowflakes; small ones.
Long story short, I'm crushed. I spent SO LONG and worked SO DAMN HARD on those flakes.
No comments:
Post a Comment