Pam Cresswell on sun 15 may 05
My first Craft Fair
I took my first step into the craft show world yesterday. Yes, I
like to sell my pots, so if selling pots is offensive to you, just skip on
over this post :-) I have shown and sold my pots before, but in a protected
atmosphere, with fellow potters at our Guild. But yesterday I was solo.
A couple of months ago a stack of flyers, calling for artists to
sell their wares at a local church's 2nd annual craft fair was left at the
guild. The fair was only a handful of blocks from my home, and the entry fee
not too bad, so I decided to give it a try. My house is overflowing with
mugs and soup bowls and tea bowls and pitchers and ..and..well, I am sure I
am not the only one with pottus overrunus.
So, they cash my check, sent my booth info, and all is well.
Actually, the church ladies did a great job of organizing. I spoke with a
potter friend who has done many shows, and found that she did this same show
last year (the 1st annual one) and she did not sell anything, but the
organizers did a good job, and feed everyone well :-) Several local potters
have said craft fair sales have been bad for the last year or so, and that I
should not plan on making a pile of cash, but do it for the experience. Ok,
I am forewarned, no money.
Saturday morning I pack up the car with boxes of pots, table
cloths, a camping table and a card table, and some sunscreen. My
husband/chauffeur takes me the short hop to the church parking lot and helps
me unload. We all have 12 foot square spaces marked off. Mine is in a great
location, everyone must walk past my spot, either as they arrive or as they
exit, but it is in full sun. All those folks who are already setting up have
identical white canopy/tent contraptions. My husband tells me to find out
where they all rented them from, for next time. Turns out they are all using
EZ-Ups that they got for @ $200 at Sam's Club. Hmm, unless I do very well
today, no tent for me next time. My husband takes off with a promise to drop
in around lunch time to see how things are going. I am all alone, no
friends, family or potters in sight! After I unpack my boxes (old clay boxes
from Bracker's) and set up, I take the opportunity to see who else is here.
Out of about 40 booths, I see only six, including myself, which are selling
things that they make: one soap maker, two basket weavers, one sign maker, a
pen and ink artist, and myself. Everybody else is fronting a mail order
outfit. Well, ok, there was a booth with ladies selling home depot terra
cotta flower pots that they painted with acrylic paints, and seedling herbs
and tomato plants. I bought some plants from them; I will make my own
planters.
Then the winds picked up. I discovered a new meaning for the name EZ-Up on
those tents! Oh baby, baskets and hats and display racks and framed prints
can go a-flying! Pottery for the most part stays put, but the winds were
strong enough to knock over some cups once. Over under the shady trees, an
older lady had her EZ-up tent, and some nice tables and display racks,
filled with native style jewelry. After a couple of gusts, this seasoned
craft shower put out word that she was never going to do another outdoors
show. Did anyone want to buy her EZ-Up? ($50, tent, side panels, and
home-made anchors) You betcha! In a heartbeat I had a check written, and
promised to help her breakdown at the end of the day. They only stayed
another hour or so, so most of the morning I had my new old tent behind my
table. Everyone all around me was having to take down the tents because of
the wind, so it may have seemed strange to buy one on a day when I could not
use it, but next craft fair, I will be better off. I am pretty pleased with
my buying skills, just need to sell some stuff!
I had some sales. Shoppers are fun to watch. Some folks ooh and ahh, then
walk away without even touching or checking the price. Some talk about a
close friend or relative who is a potter, and gives them pots for free. Some
touch, look, compare, look again, then buy whatever is the lowest price,
even if you can see they like something else better that is only a bit more.
Some want to talk about glazes and technique, I like that. Some have a close
friend who paints roses on platters at the local "paint your own" shop. And
I had one or two who looked, touched, then without knowing prices, said "I
want this, this, and this, please." Too bad I had priced everything on the
low side :-)
At the end of the day, I had made back the entry fee, and earned some pocket
money, which I spent over at the handmade soap booth, and on the tent. It
was kind of slow. We (the folks selling) all laughed about how we seemed to
be mostly selling to each other, and that we would all see each other again
at the next craft show. I took home a few less pots, and a bit of sunburn
where I had missed with the sun block. It was not a big financial success,
but I met some good folk, and maybe some good contacts and formed ideas for
future work (soap dishes maybe?). I was sure coffee mugs would be sellers
for me, but I sold more bowls. Next time, I will have more bowls, and a
tent! Hope the winds don't blow....
Ok, enough of my rambling, off to the studio! Must return to pottus
overrunus
Pam
In the land of tornados and windy craft fairs
Steve Slatin on sun 15 may 05
Pam --
A slow craft fair can be a real weight on the spirit.
Glad you managed to more than cover your booth fee,
it's really disappointing when you end the day out of
pocket.
With regard to those lightweight canopy things, what
you certainly need to do is to get some weights for
them. The one I got at Costco allows you to put some
weight directly onto the 'foot' if properly shaped,
but it's even easier to take a few cinderblocks or
something like that and some bungee cords and tie them
to the legs. (If the winds aren't too strong, I'd
imagine a few bricks on each leg would work.)
Another thing you can do is get some plastic pipe,
some fittings to close them up, and fill them with
sand. Again, a few bungee cords make for a sufficient
if unattractive attachment.
Best wishes -- Steve Slatin
--- Pam Cresswell wrote:
> My first Craft Fair
>
> I took my first step into the craft show
> world yesterday.
Steve Slatin --
Sera que ela mexe o chocalho ou o chocalho e que mexe com ela
Discover Yahoo!
Use Yahoo! to plan a weekend, have fun online and more. Check it out!
http://discover.yahoo.com/
Carl Finch on sun 15 may 05
At 09:12 AM 5/15/2005, Pam Cresswell wrote:
>My first Craft Fair
Great story!
I'm struck by how some parts of the experience that delighted and
challenged you are the very same ones that have confounded and discouraged
other Clayarters at fairs!
Looks like you're the sort to make lemonade when confronted by lemons.
Have you considered bottling your attitude? :-)
And for the future (just in case), here's a snippet that I've found useful:
"Any path is only a path,
And there is no affront, to oneself or to others,
In dropping it
If that is what your heart tells you.
Look at every path closely and deliberately.
Try it as many times as you think necessary.
Then ask yourself, and yourself alone, one question--
Does this path have a *heart*?
If it does, the path is good; if it doesn't, it is of no use."
-- Carlos Castaneda
"The Teachings of Don Juan"
--Carl
in Medford, Oregon
URL Krueger on sun 15 may 05
On Sunday 15 May 2005 10:57 am, Steve Slatin wrote:
> With regard to those lightweight canopy things, what
> you certainly need to do is to get some weights for
> them. ...
> Another thing you can do is get some plastic pipe,
> some fittings to close them up, and fill them with
> sand.
Aw, C'mon Steve, think clay. For my tent covered, metal
framed patio gazebo; I tied on bags of wet clay. Been
since last November and gazebo hasn't moved an inch since,
and you know what kind of winds we have had around here.
And if you are at a really slow craft fair you could just
open a bag of clay and start making pinch pots. Better way
of killing time than fretting over no customers. Might
even draw in people who want to see what you are doing.
--
Earl K...
Bothell WA, USA
Lee Love on mon 16 may 05
Pam,
I just did my first MashikoToki-ichi (pottery fair.) Had a much better
time than I expected. Especially enjoyed meeting other potters. I am
guessing that the Toki-ichi is about the only time potters around here
sit down for long.
I tied bundles of bricks together for weight on our EZ-up type shelter.
We also used folding type trelliss at the front corners of the shelter
where Jean hung her prints. I also tied these to the shelter legs.
I put up some photos of our setup, including pinhole photos, some with
my work in the foreground and the setup in the background (I will
illustrate my book with wood block prints and pinhole photography.)
The shots were great experiments. Will know to put the pots closer to
the camera next time. It is very wide-angled. You can see the photos here:
http://potters.blogspot.com/
--
李 Lee Love 大
愛 鱗
in Mashiko, Japan http://mashiko.org
http://hankos.blogspot.com/ Visual Bookmarks
http://ikiru.blogspot.com/ Zen and Craft
Darlene Yarnetsky-Mudcat Pottery on mon 16 may 05
Hi Pam!
I enjoyed reading your account of your first craft fair. It brought
back some great memories. I did outdoor shows for more than 10
years. My first one was also without a canopy, in Toledo sharing a
booth with a painter friend, a group of wobbly card tables set up
with my student pots on them. I made 250 dollars and that was 2
weeks worth of minimum wage at the time! A fortune for me!
Now this year I am doing just one show - our local show where I set
up a booth right on the riverfront. I have my studio in an old 1840s
commercial building and have a display in front and actual shop
hours. (which I try to adhere to) My husband is in graduate school
and we are settling down for now. The shows have been down for a
while in sales, and the ones where I once made a small profit, I made
none last year, and the ones that I used to sell well have slowed
considerably. This I hear is a trend all over. Financially, it just
wasn't happening for us. So we are trying a new approach and selling
from the studio. Even though my sales are not up to show levels yet,
my expenses are down considerably, so I think in the long run we will
do much better. I do miss all of the great people I met while doing
shows over the years though. After all of the traveling around I
find staying put feels a little isolating to me.
Weather is a major downside of outdoor shows of course. I refused to
do any shows in the spring. Too many got rained out. By the way,
the ez-ups are not real strong, but I started out with one as well.
Get some weights for the legs to hold it down in the wind. Sand,
concrete poured into PVC pipe, bricks - I've seen many different ways
of weighing these down. I did actually have the wind bend the frame
of mine while my husband and I held it in place at one show. If the
weights aren't going to hold it during a really strong wind, I would
advise undoing the canvas top and letting the wind get through the
frame. Otherwise, as you saw, you have a parachute. Anyone at
Michigan City,IN after the tornado can tell you how much damage
flying canopies can do!
There is good and bad in doing craft shows/art fairs. Instant
feedback on your work, meeting other artists, getting a break from
the studio all are a plus. If you don't need to make a lot of money,
it can be a good experience just to get your feet wet. If you really
want to make an income from it, it takes a lot of time and travel and
gruntwork. Get decent slides of your work and apply to juried shows,
and talk to other potters about which ones! Much discussion on shows
etc. in the clayart archives. I am not sure if it is the easiest or
most profitable way to sell our work, but there are potters who do
quite well!
I could ramble on awhile here, but it is almost 9 here and I need to
get started. Good luck to you!
Happy potting and happy sales!
Darlene Yarnetsky
Madison Indiana, USA
mudcatpottery.com
Pam Cresswell on tue 17 may 05
Morning Clayarters! I wanted to take a moment, while my coffee brews
and before I am covered in mud, to thank everyone for their supportive
replies both on and off list. Seems I brought back memories for some of you
old hands :-) I had hesitated to post my ramblings, thinking no one would be
in the slightest interested in my in-experienced experiences, but Kelly was
telling everyone to jump in and be a part of Clayart, so I did.
Some things I want to change before my next show...
1) Signage: I need a big sign with "Hand Made Pottery" or similar, and a
sign that says," yes it is food safe, yes you can put it in the dishwasher"
2) Better boxes. Recycling old clay boxes may not be as good as investing in
a few rubbermade type bins. They can sit in the dew-wet grass without
falling apart, and are less likely to blow away like a cubed tumbleweed!
Well, time to get dirty
Pam
Carl D Cravens on tue 17 may 05
On Sun, 15 May 2005, Pam Cresswell wrote:
> Out of about 40 booths, I see only six, including myself, which are selling
> things that they make: one soap maker, two basket weavers, one sign maker, a
> pen and ink artist, and myself. Everybody else is fronting a mail order
> outfit.
As a customer, I always hate that. I don't go to art and craft fairs to
buy junk made in China.
> Shoppers are fun to watch. Some folks ooh and ahh, then walk away
> without even touching or checking the price. Some talk about a close
> friend or relative who is a potter, and gives them pots for free. Some
> touch, look, compare, look again, then buy whatever is the lowest price,
> even if you can see they like something else better that is only a bit
> more. Some want to talk about glazes and technique, I like that.
I attended the Wichita River Festival Arts & Crafts Show two weekends ago,
and it's always a treat... lots and lots of potters, most of them very
excellent. I'd say there's a potter or ceramic artist out of every eight
booths or so. Maybe twelve potters represented. (I tried to collect
business cards so I could know who was there... but only one in four had a
business card displayed.)
It's a frustrating show for me... I never buy more than one pot, and some
years I don't buy any. Just don't have the cash, and I'm usually looking
for gifts for my mom, etc as well. And I spend a lot of time in potters
booths, oohing, aahing, touching, looking at prices, chatting with the
potter, showing cool stuff to my wife... all knowing that I'm probably
going to walk away without purchasing a thing, because I've already made
my purchase for the day. I feel bad for the potter, because I show so
much interest in the work and then walk away. I guess folks get used to
it... far more walk away than not, but most don't spend ten minutes in the
booth and then walk away.
The show's a big inspiration for me. I just wish I had more wealth to
spread around there. :)
--
Carl D Cravens (raven@phoenyx.net) Wichita, KS
Read my Pottery Journal: http://raven.phoenyx.net/pots/
I *wish* I could remember where I parked my hard disk.
Ken Nowicki on tue 17 may 05
Thank you Pam for sharing your craft fair experience with us. I for one
enjoyed reading about it. It's these kinds of posts that keep Clayart 'personal',
and 'down-to-earth' in my opinion... and I like reading about the
experiences and lives of other studio potters... it keeps things interesting... and I
often learn something from it too.
I'm glad you "jumped in" and I hope you will again, as well as others that
might normally stand on the sidelines of this list.
Kelly, I'll echo what others have already said by simply saying 'thank you'
for your post and especially... challenging folks to join in and be more
active participants on the list. How could it possibly not make it even more
varied and interesting if more folks get involved, right? : - )
- Ken
Ken Nowicki
Port Washington, NY
RakuArtist@aol.com
Potters Council - Charter Member
......................................................
Pam (_pamcresswell@SBCGLOBAL.NET_ (mailto:pamcresswell@SBCGLOBAL.NET) )
wrote:
I had hesitated to post my ramblings, thinking no one would be
in the slightest interested in my in-experienced experiences, but Kelly was
telling everyone to jump in and be a part of Clayart, so I did.
Cat Jarosz on tue 17 may 05
In a message dated 5/17/2005 10:47:51 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
pamcresswell@SBCGLOBAL.NET writes:
Some things I want to change before my next show...
1) Signage: I need a big sign with "Hand Made Pottery" or similar, and a
sign that says," yes it is food safe, yes you can put it in the dishwasher"
Awwwwww Pam don't do that. The Hand Made Pottery one is ok but the other
one is your chance to educate and talk with potential customers. Its your IN
so to speak. Many times people will ask those things because they want
some interaction with the maker. Dont throw that opportunity away. You can
always stick in more imfo with that YES it is and its also OVEN SAFE and the
best dang stuff for cooking with as the thermal properties are awesome..
cold stays colder and hot hotter for long periods of time. YOu can stick in
how you chose this clay body because it was the best for all these things.
You can also ( once you have a captive audience ) talk aboutHow you were
thinking of the people that would be using your work when you made it and
somehow involve them and engage them . YOu make a connection and these innocent
???? they ask is your invite to talk about your work and how it could
pertain to them.... You will get the signal if they think your talking tooooo
much but you'll be surprized at how hungry folks are for personalization. I
am not talking HARD SELL either... Just show your passion and your joy
of making and the stories and the whys you do it..
Its good practice so dont put that sign up You'll learn alot by
talking and listening to the public.... some if its a HOOT...
PS Thank you for writing in about your experience.. Yes it did bring back
memories and your attitude was wonderful and positive and must I say
refreshing I really did love reading your email...
http://www.guildcrafts.com/cat/
V)''(V woof & >^..^< mew; Chicks with beards rule !!!
(_o_)
\||/
Lauren Bellero on wed 18 may 05
Pam Cresswall wrote:
>Some things I want to change before my next show...
>2) Better boxes.Recycling old clay boxes may
>not be as good as investing in a few rubbermade type bins
hi pam,
bins that i have found VERY useful, are the plastic
ones with the interlocking attached lids. that way
you don't have to worry about misplacing or finding
the lids. i've got about 20 of them and they stack
inside each other for convenient storage. they have
handles built-in and are of a size and shape i can
easily manage. sometimes costco has them for less
than $5 a piece (at one time, under $4).
i put a piece of foam backing for carpets in the
bottom. and i use foam bags for the pots. the
foam bags are truly AWESOME!! so much better
than paper or bubble wrap. they come in many
sizes and last a long time if you don't abuse them.
you can find them at:
http://www.uline.com (search for 'foam pouches').
i have a few sizes. i shared boxes with another
potter to defray the cost. they are worth every penny.
quick, easy, and they do a better job of protecting
the pots (IMHO).
one caveat: most of my work doesn't stack inside
each other, so these pouches work great for me.
a friend of mine who makes alot of bowls
thinks they take up more room than she'd like.
congratulations on your diving in (shows & clayart)!
all the best,
lauren
p.s. credit to sandi pierantozzi for this
workshop tip! (talk about great workshops
givers! sandi and neil give a terrific workshop!
love those husband and wife teams!!)
--
Mudslingers Pottery, Lauren Bellero
http://mudslingerspottery.net
39 Leroy Place, Red Bank, NJ 07701
732.747.4853
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