Setting up a Craft Fair

I dread a decision I recently made to set up a wee Craft Fair in our Senior mobile home community. The last few years that we tried it, we had very, very poor attendance. In our park, most of the 400+ households do not join in anything - they are very private.

Back in 2005, we had a great sale with great attendance. But we coupled it with a Bake Sale. I think most people came to eat and buy cake sale stuff because we crafters had a lot of lookie-loo's, a lot of crumbs and sticky fingers, but very few sales. This time, it will be a Craft Fair solely.

I do think I can get a free mention in our local paper, in a special weekly section because this year, we have a charity group going. Some of the table rental fees will go for supplies for this group. This gives us the look of a non-profit group and worthy of their printing our notice.

I also know more this year than I did the past few years about craigslist. I plan to put a notice in there and in one or two similar local online places.

The most difficult part of a Craft Fair these days is getting the right folks in to see our wares. Many folks think of a Craft Fair as being in the same league with a Yard Sale and they want to bargain down the prices. That's one big hurdle to get past.

Another is just getting enough local crafters to buy a table so that when folks come into the Clubhouse, they will get into that wonderful buying frenzy that lots of merchandise and a wide variety seems to generate.

All we can do is try.