In case you haven’t noticed, it is September. To be more exact, it is mid-September, and this means that the fall and holiday craft show season is happening now, and will only get busier in the coming weeks.
If you haven’t booked any tables at shows, the time to be lazy is over. It’s time to make it happen. And with a quickness!
You can find shows by talking to other local crafters at local events, going online to forums and asking if anyone knows of any shows in your local area (Etsy has some very busy forums!), and don’t forget about the power of social media! Ask around on Twitter, Facebook, etc.
Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. There was a women’s expo in my town this past weekend, and it drew a crowd of about 7,000 people. The tables for a craft business were priced at $200 – but, if you got your business in front of 7,000 new people, that price isn’t that bad.
And if all else fails, you can always hold your own show! Get together with a couple of other local crafters and hold a show in one of your homes. Everyone should invite their friends and family. This is how my friends at Handmade Detroit got started holding shows, and now Detroit Urban Craft Fair is one of the biggest annual craft shows in the Midwest!
Now is a little late to put together a big craft show before the holidays. There’s nothing wrong with little shows though (in a gallery or similar sized space, with 15-20 vendors versus 200). Honestly, I started filling up my fall weekends with shows starting in April or May, but I’m still on the lookout for potential opportunities for days I haven’t booked yet.
These sites are good places to check for possible shows to do:
https://www.craftlister.com/
https://indiecraftshows.com/
Well, I wasn’t suggesting that people try to put together a large show themselves. If you read the post, I said that they could get together w/ friends and hold it in someone’s home.
And there are winter shows that are taking applications right now (or in the near future), such as Detroit Urban Craft Fair, and the Renegade Craft holiday shows…