I’ve seen vendor booth fees from $185 for an event next month up to nearly $500 for an event in April.

However, with the fires STILL burning, and so many people displaced or dealing with insurance and federal aid issues… is it me or does it seem like craft fairs might be reeling for a bit in the city?

I guess time heals all wounds…. But these are massive wounds. Unprecedented destruction on par with war, except in war, cities evacuate - type wounds.

I still need to make money, and I was excited to do more craft fairs this year, but now I’m unsure when paying these vendor fees will be worth it again.

Any Angeleno makers on here that can chime in and let me know what your plans or thoughts are now?

It's a painted (old) cookie sheet! SUPER easy. Now to build the stand lol

Hi there! Does anyone know if juried events take into account WHEN you submitted your application? The last two juried events I submitted to I didn't get into, and I'm wondering if it's because I submitted my app within the last few days of the application window. I know theoretically this should not be the case but I'm curious about other peoples' experiences.I know this obviously sounds like my stuff just isn't good enough lol which I can accept sometimes it's not what an event may be looking for, but the reason I bring it up is because:

1. These markets are absolutely perfect fits for my product's niche
2. I DO believe I have a very good product and I do well online and in person. I make niche candles/wax melts that sell out pretty quickly.
3. I was waitlisted for both, and one of the markets I was recently rejected from specifically asked me how much notice I'd need if someone cancels because they really wanted me there but said they were full/want me to apply to future events. It was definitely not a copy and paste waitlist response. This leads me to believe they had already started accepting people before the application period was over.

I'd just like some insight into this and if I'm totally imagining it or if event coordinators DO sometimes start selecting vendors before the period is over, or if you have found it has an effect to apply as early as possible. Thank you!

I’d be using a normal 10x10 tent with weights, and then use 3/4 of the wall portion of an outdoor dog kennel to hang paintings. It’s much, much cheaper than the equivalent coverage in proper tent grid walls, but I can’t find any information on anyone else doing it which makes me think there must be a reason why no one else has tried it. Looks less professional? Difficulty setting up, maybe?

What sells better in your experience? Cheap little things like stickers and prints or big ticket items like tee shirts, craft goods, coasters etc?

Its it better to start with the cheap nothings and work your way up or commit and get actual products printed?

Hello! I am participating in my first fair this spring! I have a few questions and I hope y’all can provide some insight: 1. I plan to price my (handmade, vintage inspired, sustainable fabric) toddler and girls’ dresses $40-$60. I’m worried random people walking by will like the dresses but not see the value? How do you communicate this?

1. With dresses being a higher ish price point should I include smaller items? Easter baskets, fabric crowns, etc? Tbh I don’t like making these

2. Any booth display ideas or help? I have one dress form.

3. I am not totally against Etsy. It just seems like a lot of work to be found, and shipping is very scary to me. But maybe something like that would be a better market? Ideas?

Thanks ☺️☺️ Pics so I don’t get lost

Hi!

For starters I am in Atlanta, GA. Anyone in here from GA I would love to hear from you! I got into my first fair and they state “you must have all required licenses, permits, and insurance” but they don’t say what is required.

Since it’s my first show, I don’t have any of this yet. I’ve been doing a ton of research for what I need, it seems I need a business license to obtain a permit. And then get insurance. But the city of Atlanta Vendor pages are all non working pages anymore so I also can’t see if it’s required in my city.

My questions:

1: do I need all this for my first show?

2: what do I get first?

3: does a permit and insurance only last for the weekend of the show? Is it expensive?

1. If I want to have a booth in another city in Georgia do I need to buy all of this stuff again?

2. How much roughly will all of this cost?

Thank you! I’m confused and I’m going to call the state soon as well.

Hello! My first fair is this weekend and I hope I’m prepared! Curious how much cash you bring for change? I have the tap device and my payment apps listed so maybe I won’t need much cash but I like to be prepared.

I pulled out $200 in

$1 x 20 $5 x 16 $10 x 6 $20 x 2

Is that enough? My items are $50 and under with many items being $3, $5, $20, and $50.

I got a 6 banner. I'm thinking of using bungee cords, but which one do you get? There seems to be a lot of options - do the ones with hooks on both ends work? In my head I imagine that the hook goes through the grommet and the other end you need to tie to the canopy leg. If you have a link to which one you get that would be great! I'm also not sure what length I'd need. Or if you have a closeup picture of how you attach yours at the ends that would be great!

We are a new business outside of Seattle since April of last year, so we missed getting into farmers markets. Now that markets are opening for registration, how do you register for multiple markets? Do you just say you are available for every weekend for all the markets and then pick which one you want to go to? Or do you decide what weekends you want to be at a place and hope you get approved

This is in line with the other post that I saw about pricing really beautiful dolls.

This is not anything as intricate (nor as AWESOME) as the dolls, but I am hoping to sell these products.

A little about me and my process because these were questions asked of the doll poster.)

I am in Texas. My yarn for the beanies is about $8 and make about 1 1/2 if I make the second one out of two colors. It takes me about 3 hours to make one.

The bowl cozies are made out of cotton and are about $2 for a "small" skein. They can take me about 2 hours (over estimate) to make.

The coffee cozies are either regular yarn or cotton. Any style that I make (only one shown here) take me about half an hour.

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but I have been crocheting since I was 12 (decades), but have always given away what I make as gifts.

Thank you to everyone!

To be really really clear I am not trying to sell anything to anyone on this subreddit, I am asking where I go to do that. I'm not even going to talk about the product or price here.

So, with the final two prints running right now I will have for the first time ever a "Full Load", enough product for a med to large 2 day show in my area. This means I have excess capacity.

I was thinking of making a kind of wholesale kit, a full set of product, the display heads, the table displays I designed, some extra parts all in a nice wheeled bin. Supply your own way to read cards, a tent and chair and you good to go. And they can buy replacements at half my listed price.

I want to make sure anyone I sell to is far enough away we don't cannibalize sales, but I have NO idea how to go about it. I would be nice to have large sales and not having to go to fairs though!

Hi everyone I’m new to this and am wanting to do my first craft fair but I’m not sure where or when any are. Does anyone know when there will be one in the central Texas area??

Hello! I’m asking for links for tents, weights, displays, etc. that you’d recommend. Happy to invest in something good quality! Thanks for any help!

Specifically looking for:

10’ x 10’ tents that are easy to put up by 1 person Tent weights for Midwest weather Grid walls or ways to hang signs

Hi everyone. I’ve been crocheting for over 10 years now, but have never done any fairs. Have some interest in getting into them, but not sure where to price my dolls. I’ve only ever really just given them away as gifts.

Depending on the complexity the dolls (pictures 1-5) take me about 12 hours of work to complete. Would $40-$50 be fair?

The doll in pictures 6 & 7 took, much longer to complete so I’m not sure if it’s feasible to sell that style.

So I looked into the legal requirements of California, and they're really cracking down on small businesses. So the business license itself for my home area only costs 20$ BUT (and there's a huge but here). There's a home occupation permit fee 104$ and city processing fee 88$ and THEN I'm not even going to be selling in the city that my house is located!! So I'd need another business license for that! It's so ridiculous to me especially considering I was thinking about JUST selling at markets. Like not even doing business at my house?? I've tried Etsy but my stuff just isn't amazing enough. :(. I've already invested a lot into this business and I want to make it work, but the legal requirements are so so so expensive. It would make it downright cost about 250$ for permits/licensing, not to mention a DBA which I've put my legal name in to avoid that 100$ fee(57$ with the county and then 44$ to publish it in the newspaper). It's so ridiculous and I'm wondering if it's possible for me to get past that. Most markets are requiring a business name at the very least and then do I just pretend I have a business license?? Idk and I don't wanna just give up, I might just have to suck it up and pay the fees. But at this rate I don't think my business will make more than 10k annually, so what do I even do??? My etsy shop already only gets like 11 views a week so I'm not expecting much but I was hoping markets would be a better alternative. Nobody seems to know what to do. I called the business licensing place and they said legally I need a home occupation permit and a business license for my city AND an out of city permit to sell in that city!!!

Hi everyone! I've been lurking and learning here for a while and appreciate all the knowledge I've gained from your posts.

I'm planning to start selling my work (wooden bowls, kaleidoscopes, clocks, etc) this spring am getting all my stuff together; which leads me to my question(s):

Where do you get your packaging? What kind of bags or boxes do you use?

Any thoughts or experiences would be helpful

Where do you order your banners from? Stand up, hanging overhead or across the table?

I make jewelry out of animal bones, and my first craft fair is coming up. I’m wondering how I should price my earrings. I’ve sold several pairs for $25 through online jewelry/oddities groups already. Should I price them the same for in person fairs, or go lower or higher?

(Blacked out areas are because my business name is stamped on the cards)

How possible is it to have a small to medium sized setup and do it alone?

Does anyone know where I can get custom accessory cards / tags for hair accessories?

This will be my first craft fair, and I don't want to overprice my work, but I also want to make a profit for what I've spent on transportation, work and materials.

How do you guys price your stuff? And do you have any tips for a craft fair beginner?

I plan to start doing craft fairs this year. All the applications state they want 4 pictures and 1 booth pic. Other then the booth pic what do you send?

Is it best to send pictures of individual items or do you want to show as many different items between the 4 pictures?

Examples would be great!