John Hesselberth on tue 20 oct 98
>I am selling in 6 gallaries right now but decided to try
>street faires. Just finished my third one yesterday. After investing in a
>nice
>canopy and display, it seems like an awful lot of work to sell only 15 to 20
>pieces. These have been "harvest festivals" in my area (small population).
>Other vendors did not seem to be selling much either.
Vicki,
Let me pick up on the part of your note that expressed frustration with
your sales at craft fairs. After being out of the craft fair circuit for
15 years I started to work my way back in 2 1/2 tears ago. I found out
the hard way that it is a different world from what it was in the late
'70s and early '80s. Today there are just too many fairs for the number
of customers that are interested in buying crafts. The only ones that
make money for sure are the promoters. They guarantee that with their
up-front booth fees. Most of the potters I have talked to consider
$1000/day sales at a craft fair to be very good. $1500-2000 a day and
they are ecstatic. And there are quite a number of $500 days. There are
also a few fairs in the country where your sales can be signifcantly
higher; however the competition to get into those is fierce. (I'd be
interested in ClayArt members view on all the above--it comes from my own
data and talking to non-ClayArt potters). When you figure that booth
fees run about $150-200/day and that a 2 day fair takes you out of your
studio for 3-4 days with packing, travel, setup, etc., you have
essentially eaten up all of that $500 discount you would have to give by
selling wholesale (using a very good $1000/day sales figure for a fair).
Then if you have hotel/motel bill, trailer rental or any other expenses
you are worse off than selling wholesale. And of course, if you only
sold $500/day, well..... Bottom line: making a living by selling at craft
fairs is a tough way to go. A few can do it; however I would bet it is
not more than 1 in 10 or 20 of the potters you see at craft fairs.
I have also found that it takes a 2-3 years to find fairs where your pots
sell. You have to spend at least the first year or two working your way
up the "craft fair food chain". The fairs you can get into easily are
probably that way for a reason--at least I've found that to be so. Not
only did I have to figure out what fairs would work for me, but I had to
go back and work on my pots, my slides, my booth setup and my selling
skills before I began to have some success.
I continue to feel selling at craft fairs is an important part of selling
my pots. In spite of a few "customers from hell", I can get more useful
feedback from peddling my pots personally for a couple days every now and
then than I get from gallery owners. But for me, the ideal would be 2 or
3 craft fairs a year and a string of galleries who periodically send in
repeat orders. Maybe I'll actually get there in a couple more years.
John Hesselberth
Frog Pond Pottery
Pocopson, PA 19366 USA
EMail: john@frogpondpottery.com web site: http://www.frogpondpottery.com
"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed, and
hence clamorous to be led to safety, by menacing it with an endless
series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." H.L. Mencken, 1925
Sherry Lutz on wed 21 oct 98
Hi John,
I too have gone through the craft fair vs. wholesale debate in my mind. I've
been doing between 18 and 20 craft shows a year for the last 7 years. (They
range from 1 to 3 day shows) What's worked for me in some cases is sticking
with encouraging shows (not always the most profitable at first, but a lot
of interest) and building up a clientele over a few years until I'm making
decent sales. These usually produce phone orders also so I get more sales in
the long run. I also stay within a two state area so my travel time and
expenses are lessened. Most of my shows are within 1 to 1 1/2 hours from
home so I can come home at night if I choose. ( I also have great friends
who put me up for a night or two if I feel like staying around) Since I do
mostly the same shows each year,
my customers know where to find me and not only want to buy my pots but also
visit for awhile personally - something missing from wholesale sales.
But I fear the day when I can't keep this sort of pace up - not getting any
younger and working the shows alone. The phone orders are encouraging (so
can conceivably cut down on shows) but without the shows will I get the
phone orders? So, I've added a couple more wholesale accounts on wondering
which direction to head in over the next few years.
For me 6 shows a year would be ideal if those 6 shows would generate enough
outside sales to keep going.
-----Original Message-----
From: John Hesselberth
To: CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU
Date: Tuesday, October 20, 1998 11:12 AM
Subject: Craft Fairs vs. Wholesale
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>I am selling in 6 gallaries right now but decided to try
>street faires. Just finished my third one yesterday. After investing in a
>nice
>canopy and display, it seems like an awful lot of work to sell only 15 to
20
>pieces. These have been "harvest festivals" in my area (small population).
>Other vendors did not seem to be selling much either.
Vicki,
Let me pick up on the part of your note that expressed frustration with
your sales at craft fairs. After being out of the craft fair circuit for
15 years I started to work my way back in 2 1/2 tears ago. I found out
the hard way that it is a different world from what it was in the late
'70s and early '80s. Today there are just too many fairs for the number
of customers that are interested in buying crafts. The only ones that
make money for sure are the promoters. They guarantee that with their
up-front booth fees. Most of the potters I have talked to consider
$1000/day sales at a craft fair to be very good. $1500-2000 a day and
they are ecstatic. And there are quite a number of $500 days. There are
also a few fairs in the country where your sales can be signifcantly
higher; however the competition to get into those is fierce. (I'd be
interested in ClayArt members view on all the above--it comes from my own
data and talking to non-ClayArt potters). When you figure that booth
fees run about $150-200/day and that a 2 day fair takes you out of your
studio for 3-4 days with packing, travel, setup, etc., you have
essentially eaten up all of that $500 discount you would have to give by
selling wholesale (using a very good $1000/day sales figure for a fair).
Then if you have hotel/motel bill, trailer rental or any other expenses
you are worse off than selling wholesale. And of course, if you only
sold $500/day, well..... Bottom line: making a living by selling at craft
fairs is a tough way to go. A few can do it; however I would bet it is
not more than 1 in 10 or 20 of the potters you see at craft fairs.
I have also found that it takes a 2-3 years to find fairs where your pots
sell. You have to spend at least the first year or two working your way
up the "craft fair food chain". The fairs you can get into easily are
probably that way for a reason--at least I've found that to be so. Not
only did I have to figure out what fairs would work for me, but I had to
go back and work on my pots, my slides, my booth setup and my selling
skills before I began to have some success.
I continue to feel selling at craft fairs is an important part of selling
my pots. In spite of a few "customers from hell", I can get more useful
feedback from peddling my pots personally for a couple days every now and
then than I get from gallery owners. But for me, the ideal would be 2 or
3 craft fairs a year and a string of galleries who periodically send in
repeat orders. Maybe I'll actually get there in a couple more years.
John Hesselberth
Frog Pond Pottery
Pocopson, PA 19366 USA
EMail: john@frogpondpottery.com web site: http://www.frogpondpottery.com
"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed, and
hence clamorous to be led to safety, by menacing it with an endless
series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." H.L. Mencken, 1925
Barbara Long on thu 22 oct 98
Most of the potters I have talked to consider
$1000/day sales at a craft fair to be very good. $1500-2000 a day and
they are ecstatic. And there are quite a number of $500 days.
John
I consider the figures that you quoted to be fairly accurate about how I
judge success at a craft fair. Of course there are a few other
considerations.THe cost of entry fee is one. When I pay $100-$125(or
less) for an entry I use those figures, but when I pay $225 as I did
recently, I think those figures are kinda low (of course I was still
satisfied, especially since one day out of the 2 was a washout quite
literally).
THe other point to consider is how long you have been "doing" shows. It
seems like only yesterday that I was just glad that someone was actually
paying for my work, and if I got back my entry fee plus enough for a
nice dinner out and a little pocket money, I was quite happy. Now I
would cross that show off my list for next year. I also think that You
have to take a little time to develop a following.
As far as wholesale is concerned...my own opinion is that I do not
produce fast enough to make that worthwhile. I sell what I make at full
cost about as fast as I make it, plus I enjoy the comaraderie(sp?) of
meeting other vendors and customers.
Barbara in Lyme,Ct
Philip Schroeder on thu 22 oct 98
Hi John,
My experience with craft fairs echos your assessment. In my view, the hardest
part is finding fairs that draw customers that are interested in the style of
work I am doing and of course, most of the time, returning the following year
isn't automatic. An effective mailing list( I keep mine bygeographical areas)
is helpful but yet another expense.
And I look for ways to cut expenses whenever possible. I almost always bring
my own food from home as art fair food is generally not very good or healthy
and is often expensive. Anyhow, there are ways to keep expenses down.
I havew done 12-14 fairs for 4 years. With my work being more decorative than
everyday functional, I feel I have to do some travel. I find I do best where
people have been exposed to good quality work, university towns and the like.
I don't ever do well out in the provences where people are looking for
conservative or functional work at bargin prices.
As to sales, I aim for $1000/day. I have had some much better days but my
average is about $1000/ day for 1998. If a fair brings in alot less than
that, I'm not real likely to return unless I think there is potential once I
establish a mailing list. It sometimes pays to pay your dues.
And I also agree, competition espesially at the better fairs is mind boggling.
The increase in fairs is unfortunate but collectors and serious art buyers
seem to find their way to some fairs. If you can get good customers coming to
your studio with some regularity, then that factors into the success of a
fair, in my view.
I have never done or even strongly considered doing wholesale shows. I don't
think my work lends itself to that. I have a few galleries that carry my work
but it isn't a big percent of my income. Maybe I don't know enough about it?
But I do like dealing with customers directly... some folks don't like that.
However you slice it, craft fairs are an unpredictable adventure.
Philip Schroeder in Chicago
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