Market Season Redux

Oh Autumn... how I love you and wait for you all summer long but still you sneak up on me and cause a fright. Anyone else?

time for sweater weather is near

I find myself spending August clinging to summer sunny days and lightweight cottons while dreaming of sweater weather, layering up and cozy season. That duality always makes it hard to fully get into market prep and hustle mode for busy season. Then all of a sudden, as if to be a complete and utter shock, it is September and I am like... WAIT! WHAT?? HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? I must now make all the things. lol

But the truth is that there is no need for panic and stress. (Maybe just a little) :-) With some planning and organization all will be well and you too can be ready for a thriving market season.

Booth is Up at 2016 One Of A Kind Show Chicago

Part of my own "stress" is because I have made a change this year to my own show schedule. After 4 amazing years, I am sitting out the Chicago One Of A Kind Show. It was a hard decision but sometimes when those tough decisions come easy we know it is right! I am opting for a couple of much smaller area shows and events. I will miss the creative vibe and all my customers from OOAK but I felt this year it is time for something a little different.

But I still have to prep and plan and get ready for a new kind of show vibe. It is exciting. Like starting all over again. What will work and what won't? I ask this daily. Smaller spaces and new and different spaces will mean a new booth set up. Finding new ways to display my work and create an inviting "shop" is so fun. I am really excited for the challenge and creative opportunity to show my work and meet new customers. It all feels new and exciting and that is such a great feeling. I cannot wait to see what it brings.

So as you get ready for craft and market season keep in mind that it should be fun. Make lists. Have coffee and just do your best! And don't forget: visit the Stitch & Hustle Craft Fair & Market Series for all your market prep inspiration. From how to find and apply for the right markets to setting up your display for winning sales to selecting the right POS system, we've got you covered! And don't forget our handy checklist to help you Prep & Pack for Success!

Happy market season y'all!

Feel free to share your market prep tips in the comments as well.

Get Your Craft Fair On! Finding The Right Event

The year is just flying by! I cannot believe summer is almost over. So it is definitely time to kick it in high gear. It's August and you know what that means... September is just around the corner! That means cooler weather, Harvest Festivals, Cool Craft Fairs and Holiday Markets are just around the corner too. NOW is the time to prep. Actually - June is when I personally start prep but August works too :-)

Are you ready to get your Craft Fair & Festival on? Throughout August, we will have a series of posts to help you get Craft Fair Ready. I am by no means an "expert" but can share from my own experiences to help you elevate your Craft Fair game. We will feature posts on:

How To Pick The Right Craft Fair For You (this post)

Which Payment Service Is Best For You?

Setting Up Your Display For Success

Prep & Pack For A Successful Event

Check List Central Because We Love Lists!

I love attending Fairs & Festivals as much as having a booth. As an online store owner, it is a rare and special opportunity to get out and meet customers face to face. It is a chance to talk to other artists and vendors and grow in community. It is an opportunity to introduce new people to my work in a way that you can't online: by showing them the value of cozy handmade up close. But my love of all things Festivals doesn't transcend to just any festival! It is essential to be part of the right one.

So let's start at the beginning with the biggest, and seemingly most daunting, question: how to find and pick the "right" event. If you do not already have some Fairs & Festivals you know you want to apply to, here are some great links to find out about Fairs in your area:

Arts & Crafts Show Yellow Pages
Festival Net

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Stitch & Hustle Market Season Tips

Research. Research. Then research some more. It can be such a sucker punch to have a "bad show" when it was all avoidable by doing just a bit of research as to what show you should apply to. Just because a Fair or Festival has tons of traffic and your target market, there are other factors to consider, such as weather and time of year. I sell cozy handmade accessories, mostly chunky heavy knitwear. So while I love a couple of local Chicago Summer Festivals, I know I have to love them as an attendee. Do people want to think about heavy knitwear in 90 degree temps outdoors? Nope.

Besides seeing if your work will be a good fit for the event, also consider is the Fair a good fit for your brand! Some things to consider and ask:
Do they only sell handmade or will you be up against a variety of small home based businesses (ie Scentsy, Chloe & Isabelle, etc.)? 
It is always good to know who will also be there. You can check previous year's events and vendors to get a feel if you will be a good fit. If your work will fit in well, but also if who already is at the market attracts the same type of customer as you.

What is the typical traffic at the show? What is the last 3 year attendance?
Again -do your research. Event track records speak for themselves. While "First Annual" has lots of hype and fun, it is a much bigger risk. I like to see an event that has grown in attendance. It tells me that they keep adding value and not only do people go back but they also attract new people. Also check the vendors - do they go back? This will tell you if they found it a success or not. I mean, would you go back to a Fair you lost money at and did not sell well at?

Does the event have a strong web presence? Website? Facebook page?
This will be a huge factor when it comes to advertising. It will tell you if they do a lot of the legwork or expect the vendors to do it all. There should be a good balance, but more importantly when you drive your customers to the event site you want them to get excited to go support you there and bring friends.

Be mindful of deadlines. Be ready to get your application filled out the minute you know you want to apply. Here are a few quick tips for the application process:
1. Keep your bio short but lively. Let your personality come through but maintain professionalism. It is a tough balance so write your bio and have it saved and handy to go when you need it. Describe you, your work and what inspires you. And check your spelling! For real tho!

2. Send only high quality clean product photos. This is not your Instagram feed. You want to show your products, and especially if it is a juried show, show the quality of your work. Over stylized photos can take away from your product.

3. Read the full application directions thoroughly. Follow all of the steps, provide all of the requested materials on time, and completed. 

Most shows, fairs & festivals have fees. Fees range from application fees, to booth / stand fees, to tables and chair rental fees. It is essential to look at not just the application and booth fee, but all of your related costs when deciding on a show.  Here is a small checklist of things to consider about fees to get you started when considering if an event is right for you.

Factor in all of your related costs then determine what is your true break even number. Know it. Then ask yourself; Is the fee worth it? Can you make it back? Can you lose it if you don't make it back? Those are hard questions and I cannot stress enough how important they are.

Let me also take a moment to say this: No matter how much you research and prep and plan, sometimes events go wrong or people don't buy. So I suggest to have the mindset of a weekend in Vegas. Have fun. Consider the fees and costs that go into setting up to sell your wares a donation (that is what I call a Vegas gambling allowance). It is an investment into your business. While you hope to make it back, and then some, at the event, I believe the key is to not stress about it so having budgeted and the mindset that it is an investment will set you free from that stress. Because if you are not stressed, you will have fun. And if you have fun, you will likely have sales. And Sales is the ball game!

So with that I say: Happy Craft Fair season everyone.

Amazon - The New Kid On The Handmade Block

Well now isn't this interesting! I was kind of waiting for this… Amazon saw the opening with Etsy woes I bet… and here comes competition. They are launching a Handmade at Amazon. Not much info is available but I am sure it will be competitive. Many Etsy sellers and other handmade artisans already sell on Amazon, but it is not in a specific Handmade Marketplace and you need to follow Amazon's strict rules on return policies, UPC codes and other various requirements.

But in the wake of recent Etsy woes since going public (exposure of their big success story being fake, scrutiny over lax practices when it comes to allowing counterfeit products & copyright infringement and trademark infringing products on the site, a potential lawsuit as a result of this practices and a severe dip in stock price) may have been a signal that the time is right for a major competitor to shake things up.

And Amazon already has systems in place to address IP / trademark / copyright  so that is a bonus. They also require certain things from sellers to maintain integrity and this could be promising. Additionally, it appears from the initial emails that they are trying to be distinctive as to what Artisan and Handmade are defined as. All good things if you ask me.

Truthfully, I will always have some type of loyalty and gratitude towards Etsy. It is where I got my start. It is where I met many other creatives. entrepreneurs and developed some great relationships. I even spoke at an event for them. I will always champion what Etsy used to be.

But in reality, Etsy has known about the "reselling" and counterfeit or copyright infringing for as long as I have been there (which is almost 6 years). Sellers on the site have raised the issue and concerns in the forums and to Etsy directly so many times I can't put a number on it.  Etsy hasn't taken any action unless the copyright / trademark owner files a takedown notice. Their stance was untouchable between safe harbor rules and being a private company. Then they went public and these things can no longer be swept under the rug. It shakes the integrity of the site to it's core in my opinion.

Etsy has a tendency and habit to stay silent. That is their known practice, while they leave sellers and merchants hanging in the throws of speculation. Spend a day in the forums and you will see what I mean. But if you weed through the conspiracy theories and rants, there are some genuine and valid concerns that Etsy just does not address publicly if addressing them at all. This has created a very love/hate and tenuous relationship with sellers toward Etsy. This can be fixed - but Etsy doesn't seem interested in fixing this.

Etsy is the known handmade marketplace powerhouse. They've never had a competitive push. Artifire, Zibbet and the many others are out there but never gained enough traction on the buying side. Sure sellers went there, but buyers didn't and that was Etsy's edge. They had the BUYER. 

Well guess what? So does Amazon! 

And that could be the big wake up call to Etsy as well as create a competitive handmade marketplace

While "Handmade at Amazon" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue since it is known as the place everyone goes for fast shipping and bottom dollar pricing on things, I am excited for the doors an Amazon global marketplace would open. 

More details to come when I have them. I applied to be a beta seller and like Etsy themselves always say.. competition is a GOOD thing.

My biggest hope is that this type of competition forces etsy to take a look in the mirror and make changes.

So maybe ... Just maybe between the public scrutiny since the IPO and quarterly filings coupled with the Amazon handmade platform - etsy will take a minute, take a look and use this as an OPPORTUNITY to be awesome again.

UPDATE:

Shortly after I posted this, I was pointed in the direction of an Etsy forum where a seller suggested this may in fact be part of Etsy's big plan. While I am typically not one to go for conspiracy theories and speculation, this perspective seems both interesting and plausible. Their comments are here:

"As business analysts are saying, Etsy is now a prime target for a buy-out, and there are plenty of HUGE ecommerce players with money to burn who would like to get hold of Etsy.

As they are saying in the business news world, it is way easier for someone else (Amazon???) to buy out Etsy than it is for them to start a whole new venture from scratch. 

The current Amazon presence is not right for selling handmade/artisan goods, so Amazon would have a huge marketing job ahead of them to gain trust and acceptance from consumers in the handmade sector.

It would make a lot of sense for Amazon or Alibaba (or similar ecommerce businesses) to just take over Etsy. Perhaps Etsy *allowed* it's first-quarter financial return to be worse than was expected, because it sure makes Etsy attractive to the really Big Boys on the internet."

This post originally appeared on Crochet By Michele