The Crafts Report: Public Opinion

How Do You Choose Which Shows
Are Right for You?

What’s your opinion?

Each month, The Crafts Report invites readers to respond to the Public Opinion question. Responses are published in the magazine.

This month’s question is: What price range has been selling best at your shows?

Please respond by Feb. 8. Responses to this question will appear in the April 2004 issue.

E-mail: publicopinion@craftsreport.com; or answer online here.

Send responses to: “Public Opinion,” The Crafts Report, Box 1992, Wilmington, DE 19899; fax: (302) 656-4894.

Anonymous responses will not be published.

I use word of mouth by getting the previous year’s list of exhibitors and calling a bunch of them. Also, visit the show if possible.

I evaluate the kind of customer likely to go to the show. Gate numbers alone don’t help me if they aren’t the kind of customer likely to buy my craft. The number of years the show has been put on also is a factor. The reputation of the promoter means a lot. They have to do good advertising. One promoter relies heavily on the crafter’s sending notices to his or her own mailing lists! This is not nearly enough.

Greenville, N.C.I rely on many years of trial and error. I’ve learned to shortcut the process by talking to other artists who might have a similar customer base. If someone with comparable work recommends a show, I’ll give it more consideration.

I pick towns and shows that I think will attract out-of-state buyers and educated consumers. University towns are usually teeming with people in both categories. I stay away from those towns whose principal income derives from agriculture, especially cattle.

I ask other vendors for their opinions and am slowly learning which kinds of arts/crafts sell well at the shows I think are successful for me. I generally pick established shows because in my state the distances are so vast and the population so small that little, unadvertised shows don’t attract many buyers.

But it’s really a guessing game, so my best way of deciding which shows to apply to is based on careful record-keeping from the previous year, knowing which products sell best, making notes on the public’s response. If the majority of people cruising through the show have never heard of fused glass, I make an attempt to educate them (until their eyes glaze over), but usually I won’t return a second year.

I go to a show before I make a decision. If that’s not possible, I will seek information and advice from other artists (in my medium, mostly). There are a few nationally known and well-regarded shows that I apply to based on their reputations. I won’t do a first-time show — way too risky.

Rule 1: I have found there are few quality buyers at most church shows. I never do them.

Rule 2: Never do a show where the people in that area can’t afford your work. Check the demographic first — household income, education level, etc.

I always go by the recommendations of my fellow craft artists. If others in my medium have found success at a show, I know that there’s a chance that I can as well. But I also make sure that the show can support my price points.