So. I have had a smart phone for about two years, and it has taken that amount of time to link it to this blog. Now I can be more regular with my posts, spelling errors and all.
I have been giving craft fairs a go since the summer. So far I have been in two venues in Helmsley, Hutton Le Hole, Beck Isle Museum and 1940s weekend in Pickering, York and Castle Howard. It's been a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to trying out new venues this year.
I did have a few challenges that I managed to work my way around. I can't drive, so the fairs I chose were dictated by good public transport, which also meant my entire display had to be portable. Luckily my stock is small, and can be pinned to boards that fit snuggly in a hand luggage size wheely case. My mum gave me 2 black velvet cloths and battery powered LED lights, and I bought 2 old brass picture frames for 50p from a charity shop. Everything is boxed up or on a board, which makes set up and pack up super quick. I got Moo mini business cards, paper bags from ebay, and some photos printed from Lidl, which only cost 5.27p each and look really nice as part of my postal order packaging. Luckily for me, appart from having to buy more silver stock, setting up cost me less than £20.
I want to talk a bit more about this feature box. I am so pleased with it!!! I bought it for £3.50 from a charity shop and donated back the crayons it came with. I gutted it and sanded off the chalk pastel stains from the inside of the lid. I padded it with calico and fleece on board, lasercut my name for it, and the best part, added an LED strip - I felt like a wizard when I successfully soldered it all together!!!
Throughout the season I have been able to tweak my stock and displays a little. What was more difficult was working out how best to talk (or not talk) to customers, and what stall positions work best for different venues.
This year I hope to be a bit more organised and maybe expand on my catchment area a little bit. I'm crossing my fingers for Whitby hopefully!
