Market Local Craft Fairs and How Vendors Sell Products

Selling your handmade crafts or interested in visiting a local jewelry or craft show? It's amazing to see the diversity of craft fairs and items for sale when you're in a local town compared to a large city. Jewelry, purses, cosmetics, glassware,  woodworking and art booths are commonly displayed at craft fairs. Keep in mind that both buyers and sellers each have a goal in mind that needs to be fulfilled. Buyers, how can sellers attract your interest? Sellers, how can you get buyers interested in your product? Event Coordinators, what is the best way to market a craft show?

EVENT COORDINATORS: 

Keep in mind several factors when preparing for a craft fair: traffic, customers, quality products, booth display and interest. Traffic and customers are dependent upon advertising and marketing. Unfortunately, this means you have to rely on Event Coordinators (those who plan the craft show) to promote the craft fair and hope they have the knowledge to do so. Here's a list of ways to advertise. Often these places will have free advertising since it's for the public:

1. Craigslist
2. Submit a listing to websites that post craft show events.                               Ex. ArtFairCalendar.com, EventLister.com, NationalCraftShows.com
3. Post info to your city's website (if possible)
4. Social Media - post info to Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, Pinterest. Or, post it to your town's Facebook page.
5. Newspapers (local or college)
6. Radio stations
7. PBS or local news TV stations
8. Place signs around town, local shops, or at the college campus 
9. Bulletin Boards  - put flyers up in shops or restaurants  
10. Chamber of Commerce 
11. Word of Mouth to coworkers, clients, neighbors, friends or family

VENDORS:

Once the Event Coordinators market the craft event, it's now up to you to sell your product. Craft fairs may seem intimidating for introverts (and extroverts) because there's lots of face time and direct interaction with potential customers. In an essence, you're a salesman/saleswoman whose goal is to make money and break even after the booth fee. 

But selling isn't the only way to grab customers. You need to have quality products and a colorful booth display. Forget the dark tablecloth and black jewelry stands from Joann's and Michael's. Use bright and cheery colors (not neon or dark) for the tablecloth, stands, or holders. If you choose to use dark stands/holders/shelves, than hang colorful beads, short curtain shades or lights around the booth to make it stand out and colorful. Make sure you have enough products on your table so it looks busy, but not overcrowded. If it looks too bare, customers will be turned off and may think you don't have anything to sell. Most importantly, keep your table organized. Necklaces on one side and rings on the other. Buyers are attracted to your booth, not just the product you're selling. In fact, customers might not be interested in your product, but they may like the look or 'appeal' of your booth and decide to walk over and take a look. Now you've caught their attention and you have a chance to sell your item!

Is Jewelry Gendered?

Is Jewelry 'gender specific'? What Type of Men Wear Jewelry? For What Purpose? 

Men and women both wore jewelry in prehistoric times for symbolic reasons. Men, especially rulers and wealthy folk, wore jewelry to emphasize control, money, power, and honor. Handcrafted pieces were constructed differently for each gender and crafted from multiple fabrics, metals, and ornaments (charms, pendants). 

Wearing certain pieces of jewelry reflected an individual's social rank and class status. In this case, warriors and rulers wore head dresses, special garments, and jewelry to emphasize 'male honor.' 

 

Currently, there are many native societies around the world where both men and women wear jewelry to reflect their traditional rituals (puberty, passage into adulthood).  Warriors within the Naga culture of India wear large necklaces to symbolize honor in killing, or 'headhunting'. Necklaces are constructed of animal skulls, fur, brass rings, and feathers. Other native cultures in Indonesia and the Philippines dress themselves with rings and large 'red hornbill' earrings.

In this modern era, is hyper-masculinity causing men to rethink about wearing large hoops, earrings, and bracelets?

Further Reading:

"Jewelry and Gender," Thesis Paper by Rebecca Ross Russell

How to Avoid Paypal Scams

Be weary of snail mail you might have received from IC System. They will claim you have a delinquent account through Paypal that's been given to a collection agency. At first glance this may seem fraudulent but not always. Then they provide you with your updated balance amount that is due.

The scam started back in May 2014 when Ebay passwords were compromised by hackers in China. Individuals who used the same passwords for Ebay as they did Paypal were hacked.

Here's How the Scam works: 
Many unsuspecting people forgot they had old Ebay accounts and so did not change their password in May after it was announced in the news that Ebay passwords had been comprised. The hackers then took those passwords and attempted to log into as many Paypal amounts as they could, knowing that many people simply use the same password for both accounts. The hackers who are also Ebay sellers were then able to access these individuals' Paypal accounts and began charging their Ebay fees and charge backs to these Paypal accounts.

If you think you might have an old Ebay and Paypal account that you abandoned, or if you haven't recently logged in to change your password, than you need to call Paypal at 1-888-221-1161.

DIY Crafts

Do you enjoy DIY projects? I was browsing online and found a great website which has many articles on handmade crafts that you can do yourself. It's called Makezine and features new creative projects every day.

I was really impressed with the Jam Jar Lantern project. There is a locally owned restaurant in town that uses jam jars as lanterns which strings together along the bar area. This seems like a creative and less expensive way to go rather than using bright lights. They use battery operated votive lights which are placed inside the jars. Here's the link to the project:

DIY: Jam Jar Lantern Project

Are you a Jewelry Designer?

As a Jewelry Designer, there are so many opportunities to handcraft earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. You can choose several different colors of wire and beads. It's a very artsy craft that caters to so many ideas.  I've been working on creating unique designs for my jewelry for over 7 years.

QUESTIONS FOR YOU:

1. Are you a Jewelry Designer?
2. What do you make?
3. How did you get started?
4. Why is jewelry making appealing for you?

Now I think of jewelry making as a relaxing and calming hobby that helps to take the stress away. When I get home from work after a long day, I enjoyed going into my 'craft area' to sort colors, organize my bead drawers, and bend my wire to make designs.

Now it's your turn to share about yourself!

Jewelry Humor Quotes

Special post for fashion and jewelry lovers. You might enjoy these humor quotes:

Intro - Who Am I?

WHAT IS ICKYNICKS?

Ickynicks is an online jewelry shop that specializes in Ultra Thin Jewelry. 

WHAT DO YOU CREATE?

We handcraft unique hoops, earrings, gauge earrings, ear cuffs, and bracelets. We make jewelry in gold, sterling silver, and stainless steel. 

IS ICKYNICKS JEWELRY MADE IN THE USA?

All of our jewelry items are handcrafted in the United States. We do not design anything that we would not wear ourselves. In fact, we typically make the first design or prototype and test it out on family, friends and co-workers.

WHAT IS THE STORY BEHIND 'ICKYNICKS'?

"The Ickynicks website is named in honor of the many wonderful women who have influenced my life. My Aunt Nancy was my first and only aunt to go to college. She graduated with a Master's Degree in Languages and then taught high school Spanish. While my Aunt Nancy was attending Kent State University, she and her three girlfriends tried to join on-campus girls' clubs and sororities, but were rejected by all of them. Feeling isolated and shunned, these four young women fought back by creating their own club and called themselves, the Ickynicks. The purpose of their club was to travel outside the United States. These four adventurous young women traveled to South America, Europe and Canada during their college years."

               - CEO and Founder, Ickynicks Jewelry