weekend craft fair

[Zoe Girl]

It was nice on Saturday, a 5 hour fair with a $35 table fee so that was a decent fee. I made $57 so more than the table fee, and got 4 people who were interested in classes to join my newsletter list. I have only sent 2 newsletters since Maker Faire last fall but I am thinking about doing more with that. The people were super nice, a little churchey of course. I had a work friend who invited me to have a booth so I had some friends there.

I was surprised that no octopus toys were sold, of course I was undersold by a charity. They had smaller octopus toys for $6 and mine were $20. I understand their price, but it is also difficult when you need to make a little bit of money. I would rather do this than a weekend Target job after all, so I need some hustle.

I was very happy at how my booth set up, quickly and professionally. I didn't forget anything! I brought most everything in a large suitcase and that was awesome. My backboard with the educational part (of course I have to have that) was extra. I used some baskets to set up and hold items, I would love some that either are nesting or fold down in some way. That would be perfect. And my camping stool was just right and easy to carry. Also my square device on my tablet was so easy to use. So good fair to have now, next gig is supporting my friend at comic con!

[rosarugosa]

I'm glad it was a success!

[herbgeek]

I would rather do this than a weekend Target job after all, so I need some hustle.

Minimum wage in Colorado is 10.20 per hour so working 5 hours would have had a gross of $51 (minus taxes and stuff).

Your craft show grossed you $22 and that includes 5 hours there, probably an hour of set up and commute, plus the time and materials to make the items. Just to make math easy, let's say it took you 2 hours to make the items, and the materials cost was neglible. So in this scenario, you made about 2.75. You would have made 3 times as much working for minimum wage at Target.

That may all be fine for you if it was just "extra" money but based on what you've said, you need additional money to pay for life's necessities. This may be fun for you, but its not a lucrative side hustle. You need to come up with/find something that is paying you more than minimum wage.

[Zoe Girl]

Yep, not lucrative at all, and a total work in learning process.

Edited to add that I have about 10 adds to my newsletter, 4 strong interests in classes and a custom order worth $60 from the show as well. Still would do better at Target hourly,

The long term money maker with crochet is selling patterns. I just bought one for a custom order, they need to be unique and cute enough that you can't just find a free pattern somewhere else however. My puppets really are that.

[Chicken lady]

Jumping in, hope it’s ok.

sale yesterday - 1.5 hour total commute, hour set up, hour break down, single register sale so no messing with check out, fees, tax, etc, I just get a net check after commission. $20 table fee. Net sales will be about $228, so net take $208. I had to work the door for an hour, but the remaining 6 hours of the sale I was creating work, eating lunch, or socializing voluntarily, so no time cost there (work creation time will be factored into that work when it is sold later, social/lunch is personal.) The work I sold is priced at $5-$8 per hour after material and processing costs. So i’m floating around $5-$7 an hour. I learned something new and useful during my hour at the door, strengthened some contacts, and also picked up some insider information I value by knowing when to be quiet and unobtrusive. Added one name to my mailing list. Worth doing. But only because I enjoy it. Anything under $5/hour really isn’t worth it. YMMV.

[Zoe Girl]

Thank you chicken, i do need to look at the bottom line. This one was a little more social because i went with friends. I need to look at making 2 low price items pretty quickly if i want to do fairs. But i am up to 5 custom orders based on the photos from the craft fair and one facebook post! So I need to evaluate what place craft fairs may have in my overall plan.

[Chicken lady]

Yep. If they are serving as advertising, you can factor the time you spend at the craft fair into the total time spent to make the money from those later sales.

[flowerseverywhere]

Craft fairs are hit or miss. Weather, traffic, or a person selling similar items just to keep busy can sink your booth. Even the location of your booth. You have to like people who at times can be stupid.

For me teaching quilting or pottery wheel throwing is far more sure and lucrative.