Why?

Additionally, because we’re primarily wholesale and have been so for nearly as long as we’ve been in business, we’re suddenly getting an increased number of people inquiring about carrying our products with the intention of hitting the road and selling them.

Again, why?

The answer, sadly, is easy. People need money.

Supplementing

“Mary,” as an example, is a woman who recently started vending her crafts at a recent show we attended. Because our booths were next to each other, our conversation eventually settled on her recent introduction to the local craft fair circuit. She makes a series of clever cloth dolls, custom-dressed in a variety of different outfits, designed to delight the heart of any little girl.

“They’re beautiful,” I said, admiring a ballerina. “What made you start selling them now?”

Mary was silent for a moment. “My husband lost his job,” she finally admitted. “I’m working full-time in hospital administration, but with our income more than cut in half, we need to make some extra money.”

Mary’s story is all too common.

Supplanting

So is “John’s” story. My husband met John at a recent weekend Renaissance festival when John asked about carrying our products at future shows. Although we were delighted to entertain the idea of adding John to our list of wholesalers, my husband asked him why he decided to start vending.

John was a big hearty man of few words. “Laid off,” he said. “Ran out of unemployment. Need work.”

John was looking for a way to replace his income. We didn’t have the heart to tell him it would take quite a while – a few years, at least – of hard work to approach the income he was making before.

Harsh Reality in a Hard Economy

The hard reality is that a lot of people are getting desperate for income. Unemployment is reaching crisis levels, and it’s natural for people to look all across the board when it comes to ways of making money – including selling arts and crafts.

I applaud the efforts of craftspeople turning their hobby into a business. However, a few words of advice are in order so that their endeavors will be as successful as possible.

Be Different

The best way for a craft business to succeed is to find a niche and fill it with something people want. Yes, you’ve heard it before, but it bears repeating. Competing with hundreds or thousands of people making similar or identical products is asking to fail. Try to make your product unique in some way.

“Unique” can mean a number of different things. Perhaps your product truly is different than anyone else’s. Or perhaps your product is similar, but of a much higher quality. Or a much better price. Or a unique fabric/color/construction. As long as you stand out in some way, you have an advantage.

The more common your craft, the thinner the market. Country crafts and jewelry, for instance, are popular items, but there are many people already making them – and many more will be trying, due to the

economy. Your product must be unique enough, cheap enough, or high-quality enough to compete.

On the other hand, there are lots and lots of people who enjoy country crafts and jewelry, so your market is broader to begin with. This gives you an advantage. Target your market according to how pricey your craft is. If you make one-of-a-kind elegant jewelry pieces that sell for hundreds of dollars, you are unlikely to do well at small craft fairs. If your jewelry is produced quickly and sells in the $5 to $50 range, you’ll do much better.

Matching Up

If you sell at events, make sure you match your product to the type of show. Booth fees and travel can be expensive, so there’s no sense wasting your time and money on a show that isn’t a match with your product.

How well would lace doilies sell at a motorcycle rally?

How well would leather bondage items sell at a family event? How well would meat kabobs sell at a vegan hippie festival? This type of marketing – matching your product to the potential customer – also applies to any sort of advertising or promotion. It staggers me how many people mismatch their marketing attempts.

So, look at how well your product fits the target market. Don’t attempt to sell cute country crafts to a sophisticated, Architectural Digest-reading audience. Don’t try to sell heavy metal stuff at a wine tasting. Don’t try to sell sleek modernistic products to farmers or ranchers. It’s not a match.

Remember the Fanaticism Rule

Remember this: People are fanatics about their hobbies and are willing to spend money on them. That’s why you’re making the craft item you’re passionate about, because you’re a fanatic, right? This is a good thing.

Sometimes, being able to change a small feature about your product can turn mediocre sales into great sales. For instance, if you were to laser-engrave or silkscreen a generic motorcycle onto the side of your hand-crafted mailboxes or lavender-velvet frammerjammits, you will probably sell them like gangbusters at a motorcycle rally.

By making a product that can be modified to fit an appropriate market, you gain an enormous amount of flexibility. You also gain the ability to cross-market (or cross-target) your product.

There are literally thousands of groups of fanatics out there who like to spend their money on their passion. If you can modify your product to cater to peoples’ hobbies, your business will increase.

If you take your selection of hand-crafted candles to a candle show, for instance, then you’re surrounded by nothing but other candle makers. However, if you take your specialty Elvis/tractor/airplane/cat/speedboat/whatever candles to events that cater to people who love Elvis, tractors, airplanes, cats, speedboats, or whatever, people will buy them.

Hate Elvis or tractors or airplanes or cats or speedboats? It doesn’t matter. Remember, if you can’t tap into your own passions, tap into someone else’s. That’s how to succeed in a home craft business, by tapping into what people like to spend money on.

Time and Money

One mistake new craftspeople sometimes make is assuming their business will be an instant success.

The fact is it takes time to get a craft business up and running. If you’re depending on your fledgling business to pay all your bills, cover the mortgage, keep your kid in college, and pay for all the goodies people like to buy in a sound economy, well, you’re in for a cruel surprise.

The best option (if you’re not already doing this) is to scale back your household expenses and live as frugally as possible while you get your business started. Be patient and study sound management tactics, and your chances of success will be increased. But, those sound management tactics should not include spending money on frivolous things.

When it comes to spending money on business expenses, make sure you’re getting the best bang for your buck. Utilize whatever free advertising options are available (blogs, free websites, Twitter, etc.), or consider trading advertising space in exchange for either product samples or other commodities (perhaps you could write an article!).

Consider what business-related expenses you can do without. Do you really need to rent an outside shop or studio, or can you make do with your garage, basement, or spare bedroom? Do you really need an industrial machine just now, or can you make do with the craftsman’s version? Although it might be fun to outfit your shop with Geppetto-like perfection, the fact is it’s probably not necessary in order to start producing your craft in industrial quantities.

Skip the Custom Work

Obviously, every craft is different, but in order to make and sell your products as quickly and efficiently as possible, you’re going to have to develop some sort of assembly- line technique to maximize your efficiency. For many craftspeople, this streamlining comes naturally as their craft evolves.

But things can come to a screeching halt the moment someone asks you to make them a custom piece. Someone will want to purchase your product if you can make it in oak instead of walnut, stain it mahogany instead of cherry, or use blue fabric instead of green. Oh, and he doesn’t want to pay more than $5 for the changes.

With the exception of crafts that must be made one at a time anyway, custom orders almost always require special materials, special skills, special knowledge, and even special tools. Customers often have the touchingly naïve belief that just because you work in a particular medium (say, glass), then it’s just as easy to make a truck windshield as it is to make a glass vase. And, to make it worse, the finished piece is never quiiiiite what the customer envisions, and often he decides he doesn’t want it after all.

Remember, your craft business is presumably in a stage where you’re trying to strongly supplement or even replace your income from a standard job. Taking on custom orders that go against the grain of your craft is asking for trouble.

But if you do choose to take on a custom order, be sure to think carefully through the process of making the piece, and charge the customer accordingly. Chances are high the customer will change his mind when you quote the price to him anyway. But, if he does place the order, at least you’ll be making money.

As a side recommendation, always ask for payment up front for custom orders. That should separate the buyers from the dreamers.

Sometimes, a home craft business is nothing but custom orders, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

If you make quilts or gun stocks or kitchen cabinets or anything else that’s specialized, then your production techniques are already geared toward custom work.

Also, if you are able to charge the customer a price that covers not only your time, materials cost, and possible aggravation factor, then custom work can be a profitable aspect of a home business.

Be Realistic

In the end, the chances of success with a fledgling craft business improve dramatically if you approach the enterprise with business acumen and common sense. Keep a lid on the lofty and rose-colored dreams until you can demonstrate your business can be profitable.

If you have, or wish to have, a home craft business, sooner or later you will want to do a craft show. Craft shows can range from the tiny (small-town celebration, six booths, outdoors) to the enormous (large city, 500 booths, convention center).

Juried versus Non-Juried Shows

There are many different categories of crafts shows, but it all boils down to two types: juried and non-juried shows.

What’s the difference? Very simply, juried shows are pickier about the quality of the crafts they allow in than non-juried shows.

There’s certainly nothing wrong with non-juried shows. In fact, they can be nicer, because they’re less expensive and often more local. The diversity of products offered for sale can be wider than in a juried show. (This can be a good thing or a bad thing.)

For a juried show, you will be asked to send in a craft application along with photos of your product. Send photos and descriptions of all the different types of items that you sell. The craft coordinator will determine who is accepted to the show based on the quality of the product, the professionalism of the booth, and the compatibility of the product with the theme of the show. He may also limit the number of vendors with similar products – for example, too many jewelry applicants.

Booth Fees and What They Get You

Let’s say that you wish to do a small, local, non-juried craft show. The booth fee is $100. Is this reasonable? Probably not.

Booth fees are – or should be – based on show quality. A small show that is not juried, that will attract fewer customers, and has a limited number of booths should not be charging such a high booth fee.

What makes a high booth fee worth it? Look for high-quality vendors with most or all of their products hand-crafted; look for excellent and broad advertising; and find out the anticipated attendance. If a show attracts 70,000 people, a $1,000 booth fee may be worth it. If a show is expected to attract a maximum of 500 people, make sure the booth fee is low.

How Far in Advance Do You Apply?

It depends on the show. Some shows are so popular that you need to apply literally years in advance and get on a waiting list. Others are so relaxed that you can call the craft coordinator a week ahead and get it, though this tells you something about the show’s quality and money-making potential.

The only advice is to contact the show producers and ask. Most juried shows have application deadlines a few months in advance so that they can jury the applicants. Have a selection of photos handy so that you can apply with ease. Always make copies of any applications or other paperwork, including checks, to keep for your records. Always bring acceptance letters and copies of cashed checks with you to the show. Sometimes, paperwork glitches occur, and you may need to prove you were accepted and have paid for your booth space.

Follow the Rules

It seems obvious, but you need to follow the rules of the show.

Some shows are themed. If a costume is required, wear a costume. If plastic pop-up booths are not permitted, don’t think you can get away with using one.

Whatever the rules of the craft show may be, it is your duty and responsibility to follow them.The rules should be clearly laid out in the paperwork. Be aware that the shows themselves often must follow rules and laws (such as requiring booths to be treated with a flame retardant), laws that you also must obey. If you don’t comply, the craft coordinator must shut you down or risk shutting down the entire venue. These laws include fire safety codes, health department codes, guy wires, public safety, etc. Be sensible and comply.

Other rules to follow: Be on time. Sell only what was juried in. Don’t set up late or tear down early. Get your vehicle off the show site as soon as possible.

Make sure you understand that the published opening time of the event is not when you show up, ready to construct your booth. The opening time means you are ready to open for business: your vehicle is parked off-site, your hand truck is put away, your stock is displayed neatly and professionally, you are dressed appropriately, and you have a big smile on your face for the early browsers.

Sales Psychology

Okay, you’re at the show. Now what? How do you bring customers into your booth?

It goes without saying that your booth is attractive and not sloppy. You are wearing appropriate clothing that is neat and professional. You have a nice, friendly smile.

Selling takes a certain psychology, as any good salesperson will tell you. When customers are browsing, the last thing they want is to feel pressured. Don’t act like the stereotypical used car salesman, talking constantly and trying to force a sale.

Offer a browser a friendly, but neutral, greeting (“Good morning!”). You’ve acknowledged the customer’s presence without making any additional demands. Don’t start peppering them with unwanted or unasked-for information. If you do that, I can almost guarantee that the customer will back-peddle out of your booth with a mumbled excuse about meeting Cousin Bob somewhere else.

Naturally, you’ll be available to answer specific questions about your product, but answer in such a way that does not imply that you now expect them to buy something (“That knick-knack is made out of solid walnut… so, can I wrap it up for you?”). A little humor sprinkled in makes the customer feel more comfortable. But don’t talk too much; customers generally want to be left alone to make up their minds.

It’s a fine balance. Being friendly with your customers improves your chances of making a sale, but trying to make them your best friend by nagging them will damage sales.

And, of course, most people will walk into a booth, and then walk out again. Most won’t buy anything – at least, not yet. It’s up to you to make their brief browsing experience so pleasant and unpressured that they’ll feel free to come back later and buy.

Booth Layout

Booth layout is difficult to discuss, because every product is different. Some items need to be behind glass with bright lights shining on them (such as jewelry). Some items need to be dangled from above. Some items need to be displayed on tables.

But, in every case, the key ingredient is visibility. It may seem obvious, but if the customer doesn’t see the product, and see it quickly, then it doesn’t exist.

Consider the power of a vertical display. Items that are displayed where the eye can sweep over them at a glance – and see the entire selection – are far more likely to result in higher sales.

Keep your shelves full. It’s a strange element of show psychology, but customers who see half-empty shelves are not impressed by how well your product has been selling. Instead, they will glance at your nearly vacant display, and walk on. It doesn’t matter how many pieces you still have on display. Half-empty shelves equal “no selection” in the eyes of a potential customer.

So, if you sell one piece, replace it with another piece. If you run out of replacement stock, then either reduce the number of shelving or display units you have available, or have something on hand to act as “fillers” for empty displays (silk flowers, driftwood, roadkill; anything is better than nothing).

Miscellaneous Tips

• Bring a friend. Always try to work a booth with another person. Not only is this helpful during bathroom breaks, but it’s important to help deter shoplifting.

• Do a dress rehearsal. If you are going to an event with your own booth, make sure you have assembled it at least once, in advance, at home, preferably blindfolded and standing on one leg in a rainstorm in the dead of night, to reproduce all the difficulties you’ll no doubt encounter at one time or another. It’s called a dress rehearsal, and theater or dance companies do them for good reason.

• Keep a sense of humor. Cultivate a sense of humor. Display a sense of humor. Humor relaxes people, it makes you seem less “predatory,” and it creates an instant bond.

• Sometimes you’ll get a person in your booth who looks and looks and looks, and then leaves without buying anything. This person is valuable to you. To a passing browser, there is safety in numbers.

People are more likely to enter a booth when someone else is there ahead of them. So don’t lose patience with the person who spends a lot of time looking and then leaves without buying; they’ve provided you with a service by attracting other customers to your booth.

• Know in advance what the show producers will provide. Some shows supply booth, tables, skirting, and signage (these are usually the more expensive shows). Others provide nothing but a square of grass. Be clear in advance what you’ll need to bring so you won’t be caught with your pants (metaphorically) down.

• Never, ever leave a vacant chair available in your booth. A vacant chair means you’re a captive audience to anyone who wants to sit down and relate Great Aunt Martha’s gall bladder surgery.

Love the Life

Selling at craft fairs should be – and often is – fun. You’ll meet new people, see new places, and hopefully make some money.

But, craft shows can be frustrating, as well. Despite the best preparation, you never know how much – or if – you’ll make enough money to make it worthwhile. It’s important to understand that a show could be a bomb. That’s why, hopefully, the information in this article will help steer you in the right direction.

If you fantasize about starting your own home craft business, I’m willing to bet a lot of your dream revolves around such things as giving up the commute, being able to call your own shots, setting your own hours, and spending more time with your family.

Usually, a person’s dreams and plans like these come after a person looks at someone who already has an established and successful home craft business. “Look at these people! Aren’t they lucky! They don’t have to drive through the snow to get to an office! All they have to do is walk across the driveway, and they’re at work!”

The trouble with this vision is that the wanna-be entrepreneur is only seeing a snapshot of the business owner’s current success, and they assume it sprang – boing! – effortlessly into being, sort of like those nifty mushrooms that grow overnight on your lawn. No preparation, no planning, just boing.

Not.

Rather than comparing an established home craft business to those rapid mushrooms, you should compare it to an oak tree. It’s slow to get started, but sturdy and strong once it’s established.

This should be the pattern for your home craft business.

Boinging into Business

Go back to those dreams of working at home, of making your income from your own labor, of avoiding the commute, of spending more time with your family, etc. These are sweet dreams, and in no way do I want to discourage them. I just want to make you see them realistically.

Spurred by these wonderful fantasies, some people decide on a product to make (boing!), quit their jobs (big boing!), use their credit card to purchase the necessary raw materials and tools (boing!), pay rent on a shop space instead of using their garage (boing!), and begin production.

Then comes reality. Most home craft businesses don’t start out with a bang (or a boing). They grow slowly, like those oak trees.

The folks who “boing” into business are in for a nasty financial shock if things don’t go exactly as they fantasized.

Start-Up Costs

So, if you can’t (or shouldn’t) start a home craft business with a boing, where do you get the money to start? What about the nitty-gritty of financing a home craft business?

First, I can say, from experience, don’t quit your day job. Trust me on this. Eighteen years ago, my husband and I did just that – and regretted it.

Now, for the bright side. Getting the tools and raw materials for starting a home business may be easier than you think. Most people don’t just pluck a successful home craft business idea out of thin air. They start the business by expanding an existing hobby, talent, skill, or trade. That means that many times they already have the basic tools or materials or knowledge needed to make the product.

What kind of tools do you need? Will you need a sewing machine, a quilting machine, a band saw? If you already know how to sew or quilt or do woodworking, chances are you’ve learned your techniques on your own tools and equipment. Now is your chance to utilize these existing tools to start your home craft business.

Or, alternatively, think of a home craft product that is compatible with the tools you already own. Tools such as a sewing machine or a band saw are versatile and easily adaptable to any number of crafts.

Do you have space on your property to run a business? If you have close neighbors, they may object to loud power tools. Do you have a shop or a garage or a spare bedroom you can devote to your business? Do you have a computer for billing and internet purposes? Are you prepared for shipping?

Sacrificing for a Reason

Finding the money for a start-up small business is not easy. It’s not supposed to be easy. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it. Like anything worth doing, it usually requires a complete philosophical change from immediate gratification to deferred rewards.

So how do you raise the cash for all the tools and supplies you might need? How about for the advertising, display or show fees, raw materials, etc.? How can you do this without going into debt?

You use the principles of deferred rewards. If you had plans to buy a new (pick one) computer/car/dress/kitchen appliance/vacation trip/restaurant dinner/lawn mower/iPod /whatever, don’t. But do take the amount of money you saved and apply it to the business instead. Your thinking should be: The old refrigerator is dying. Do I spend $1,200 and get a new fridge with the ice cube maker and water dispenser in the door? Or do I spend $100 at the used appliance store and make do for another couple of years?

Deferred Gratification

Even if you’re as thrifty as can be and apply all your spare money toward funding the business, life can get in the way.

When we started our home woodcraft business, our workshop consisted of a 10-foot x 10-foot chicken coop. Much of the time, shop work either spilled outside (in good weather) or into the house (in bad weather). Or, to put it another way, we frequently lived in our shop. It took five years for us to pull together enough money to build a comparatively palatial 20-foot x 20-foot shop building.

However, the five years we spent working in cramped quarters didn’t stop us from expanding our business. Despite the adverse circumstances, our home craft business was still our primary source of income. It just took creativity and a willingness to accept deferred gratification. We didn’t go into debt and build a shop at a time we couldn’t afford it.

The Debt Trap

Coupled with the desire to work at home is the frequent wish for instant business success (boing!), which is, let’s face it, an irrational desire to have everything go perfectly from the beginning and to have your business become a rousing success without much effort.

Yeah, that would be nice. I’d like to win the lottery, too.

However, this little boing fantasy is a dangerous trap, because sometimes it translates into a spending spree. You whip out your handy credit card and purchase all the tools, equipment, supplies, and raw materials to make your product. You set your workshop up with Geppetto-like beauty and precision. Then you stand back and think, “Okay, finally! Now I can go into business.” Bad idea.

If you’re a first-time hobby-into-business entrepreneur, don’t ever, ever, ever go into debt to finance your home business. Aside from the idea that going into debt is questionable to begin with, there is the very real possibility that your business will fail in this economy, and then you’re left with the bitter regret of a failed business and heavy debt to boot.

When my husband and I started our home craft business in 1993, that’s exactly what we did; we went into debt. That’s why I don’t suggest it. In our case, it took years to dig ourselves out of the debt-laden hole we dug while getting our business on its feet. Had we properly planned things, the debt (and stress) could have been avoided.

Give yourself time to develop your customer base, increase the speed and efficiency in making your product, and develop your marketing knowledge. Don’t sink yourself into debt getting started because of wishful thinking or misplaced optimism. Obviously, you’ll need the raw materials and tools to make the product, but work your way up toward better items as you begin to bring in income.

Reality Check

What are some of the things you’ve heard you’re supposed to do before starting a business?

You must have a business plan. Otherwise, you will fail.

You must incorporate. Otherwise, you will fail.

You must establish credit. Otherwise, you will fail.

You must buy only the best (equipment, supplies, etc.), because quality and façade (how others see you) are what’s important.

Must, must, must. Why must we do things this way?

In part, it’s because most business advice applies to larger enterprises than a home craft business. If you’re renting office space in a fancy high-rise building in the downtown portion of a large city, then it implies that you won’t be churning out handmade quilts or wooden tankards with the aid of one employee (your spouse).

But millions of businesses have started modestly, with used equipment, borrowed spaces, and family labor. There is no better and more satisfying thing than to start this way, because then your successes have been earned by the sweat of your brow.

One of the most successful home businesses we know is that of a couple who started an oil-and-incense business on a card table in their spare bedroom. Fifteen years later, they employ five people, rent a large warehouse, and supply stores all over the country.

Dream big, start small. Don’t do the opposite.

If you fantasize about starting your own home craft business, I’m willing to bet a lot of your dream revolves around such things as giving up the commute, being able to call your own shots, setting your own hours, and spending more time with your family.

Usually, a person’s dreams and plans like these come after a person looks at someone who already has an established and successful home craft business.“Look at these people! Aren’t they lucky! They don’t have to drive through the snow to get to an office! All they have to do is walk across the driveway, and they’re at work!”

The trouble with this vision is that the wanna-be entrepreneur is only seeing a snapshot of the business owner’s current success, and they assume it sprang – boing! – effortlessly into being, sort of like those nifty mushrooms that grow overnight on your lawn. No preparation, no planning, just boing.

Not.

Over the last few years, the credit card processing industry has seen a significant increase in risk, cost, and overhead combined with a simultaneous dramatic decrease in profit margin. Several factors have caused this nearly half-a-billion-dollar swing with the end result being increased fees to you, the merchant.

The current economic situation has compounded a tendency I’ve noticed increasing at trade shows for several years: Buyers who used to write their whole season’s orders at shows now seem to be using shows to gather information for later ordering, or writing small sample orders. This gives them the option of synthesizing everything they’ve seen before committing their dollars, assuring that they bring in the best possible assortment and avoiding Buyer Remorse. It also allows them to try out a new product before investing too much of their limited cash.

What made me notice this trend originally? While my business’s annual sales have risen dramatically over the past five years, our sales written at shows have not: the increase has all come from reorders and orders from other sources. This year, the number of orders actually increased, while the total dollars written at the show decreased!

Lass King, Buyer for the Grasshopper Shop in Ellsworth, Maine, is typical of the buyers I interviewed. I thought maybe people were traveling to fewer shows, but she said she is still going. But, she said, “I’m not leaving any paper. Five or ten years ago, we’d just order whatever we liked, and figured we’d always sell it eventually. Now, we try to be more careful how we spend, so it’s better to bring the papers home to decide how to allocate our dollars.”

Woody Woodruff, of Loon Landing in Minocqua, Wis., also told me he goes to a lot of shows in winter, so he needs to synthesize and look at his inventory before deciding where to bestow his orders.

If this is the new reality, how do we adapt? How do we get the initial attention, and, ultimately, the orders and reorders? I break it into three steps:

1.   Get them to actually stop and notice our work: Step away from your booth, and try to see it as a harried, distracted, overwhelmed buyer would. Is it clear exactly what you’re selling? Is there something about your work that differentiates it from all the rest? Can you tell from twenty feet away? If your works are small, or have intricate details not visible from twenty feet, you’ll need large graphics to cause potential buyers to consider stopping. Work needs to be arranged and lighted to emphasize the uniqueness your offering.

2.   Give them a reason to look more closely, and make them feel safe and comfortable doing so: There must be enough different sizes, colors, shapes and prices. Imagine you’re the customer: Do you want to step over the boundary of a vendor’s booth, and commit the time and energy of interacting with the artisan, and possibly establishing a relationship? You’ll want to be able to see, from outside that boundary, that there’s an assortment of items that you’ll potentially purchase. Buyers don’t want to invest valuable show time to get just an item or two. Betsy Lenora, Gallery Manager at Cambridge Artist’s Cooperative in Cambridge, Mass., says, “There must be enough variety to stop us. I go right past if I see it’s all too expensive!”

Work must be organized so it’s visually easy to understand and order. Eileen Smith of the Handcraft House, in Brewster, Massachusetts, told me she only had a few hours to see the show, and appreciated that I respected the value of her time. “You showed me quickly what was new” (I had it all on one wall). She made notes on my catalog to make ordering later easy.

One of my reps told me about a line that he sells well. Buyers tell him they prefer to write orders with him, rather than the designer, because she keeps them in her booth forever, telling them her life story and that of the items they’re ordering. Many vendors think that the longer they keep a buyer in their booth, the more likely that they’ll order. In fact, the reverse is true. You don’t want to make people feel like they have gum on their shoe! They won’t come back next time.

3.   Get them to buy, if not immediately, then later: Give ‘em something to take home! Ideally you want stores to order at the show. I encourage that by offering guaranteed sales, or giving my existing customers the opportunity to rotate stock, and sometimes offering to date their invoices later so they can get the product in earlier and have a bit more time to pay. I often mention other galleries they might know who have had success selling our products.

I use my best skills to differentiate us, so buyers will be motivated to order immediately, or will remember our products and order later. I am careful to tell our story, provide good materials to help the store to tell our story, and give the buyer some small item that will help us stand out in their memory. Last year, for example, I gave them luggage tags with Victorian ladies clutching an Erda bag. I explained that those ladies wouldn’t have looked so sour if they’d had one of our whimsical bags!

Getting an order after the show is easier if the customer has had some positive experience with your products. If they’ve not placed an opening order, how will they remember what attracted them to your wares? You must have stellar materials to enable ordering while not at the show: brochures, catalogs, and price sheets, and a comprehensive website. (I price my bags at triple keystone on the website, so we don’t compete with stores.) By providing these tools, I ensure that what orders I write at shows are only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. Once, a couple years ago, I visited a customer’s gallery when she was struggling to order from my competitor’s catalog. I am humbled to relate what she told me: that although she wanted their handbags, our catalog made it easier to order from us!

Lass King told me she often can’t remember, once she’s home, exactly what the products were that she wanted to order. Without a great color catalog, she often doesn’t follow through and order. Marcia Strenlau Of Handworks Gallery in Blue Hill, Maine, actually told me she finds she doesn’t need to see us at shows at all, because our catalog shows our current fabrics and styles so well (and she’s already familiar with our quality and customer service).

Because our offerings change so quickly, we can’t use a catalog that isn’t equally adjustable. (This freshness is key to keeping buyers interested). Last year, we bought a professional-quality color laser printer (to replace the $500 consumer version we had before), so instead of $2.50, our catalogs cost more like 40 cents. So now I can hand color sheets out with abandon, instead of hoarding them. This has also made it feasible to hire sales reps in new territories, since a few samples and plenty of catalogs works much better for them (less to carry) and for us (less expense).

Other current strategies

Speed up delivery! Under current circumstances, stores don’t want to risk ordering too much at a time, so they often find they have sold out and need products right away. Kathy Kaylor of Atlantis Leather in Frankford, West Virginia, told me that she really appreciates that she can order close to her needs. We always have a comprehensive inventory of our best sellers, so she can call, if she has an unexpected rush, and have stock in a day or two. She said she’s stopped ordering from vendors with long delivery times. She’s keeping her on-hand inventory “close to the bone”, she says. Many of my other buyers echoed this reality.

Stay positive! At the shows, and in general, it’s really important to maintain a positive attitude. Understanding that the tally of orders written at the show is not the whole story helps keep me upbeat. I overheard vendors this season saying that the show felt slow, that a lot of people were just looking and taking catalogs, the economy is killing us, and so on. Negative talk doesn’t help! Even if this is accurate, we need to address the issues in a positive fashion! If I heard it, so did buyers, and if they feel negative, they’re not going to place orders.

Should you start your own business? Only you can answer this, and certain indicators can lead you in the right direction. Here are ten questions to answer in as much detail as possible before starting a business. Answer as many of them as you can; those left unanswered will guide you toward any possible weaknesses you may have.

On June 14, 2010, the craft world wept as the news of Carol Sedestrom Ross’ sudden death spread. The grand dame of the American Craft Movement died unexpectedly of a heart attack in the Houston, Texas, airport.If you knew Carol Ross, then chances are pretty good that she touched your life in some way.

Of all the decisions start-up business owners have to make, the decision of how to finance one’s business has to be the thorniest. Do you beg, borrow or steal the money? Who can afford to finance a business these days?

When we had to shoot film for slides of craftwork, framing was a big decision. You set up your art, turned on the lights, carefully framed the work and took your shot. The resulting slide was the final word on the craftwork. Then you made a few dozen copies of the slide, which were often off in contrast and color. Yet these were the slides you submitted to shows and hoped to get them back undamaged.

Finding business insurance that’s “just right” for your art or craft business can make you feel a bit like Goldilocks (of the Three Bears fame). Having too little or the wrong type of coverage could be disastrous for your business; paying too much for your coverage because the insurer lumps you in with bigger businesses can be just as bad. Luckily, your search for the right business insurance can have a happy ending. All it takes is a little understanding of the different types of available coverage and a good assessment of your art/craft business needs.

If the stream you’re in isn’t moving, move to another stream. Bob Silberberg of The Clay Pot in Brooklyn recently used this analogy in reference to the current market situation. With this simple thought and powerful message in mind, I set off for the New York International Gift Fair (NYIGF®). This annual event in January attracts nearly 3,000 wholesale players and 60,000 buyers from around the world who have to keep their boats moving along.

Pema Chodron’s recent book has the prescient title, When Things Fall Apart. She explains how we all experience wanting things to be different than they are, but, if we can stay present, breathe, and really, deeply let ourselves feel the uncomfortable physical impact of fear, “touch the awareness of the experience,” and “the link with all humanity,” then we could really learn something. Even though artists may have always been more sensitive to and connected with people, a little of Chodron’s “abiding compassion” and awareness may help us not just survive but maybe even thrive in these tough times.

Expect Exciting New Resources and Top Quality at Winter Show

Fresh from the jury meeting to select new companies for the Handmade® division of the New York International Gift Fair® (NYIGF®), sales manager Liz Beauregard is excited for the winter 2009 Fair, scheduled for January 25 to 29 in New York City. “This was one of the best groups of applicants we’ve seen,” she says.

An artist begins by taking stone and metal pieces and slowly turns them into a work of art—a necklace that could easily find a home with any woman who appreciates handmade jewelry. It could have been made by an American artist—but it wasn’t.

As the market for handmade craft con­tinues to idle while faced with the current econ­omy, artists are scram­bling to seek any remaining untapped opportunities. Out of this search, a small but growing number of craftspeople are finding new life in the thriving funeral industry.