If you are considering exhibiting at a local craft show or market but have never done it before, you may not know where to begin. How does one go about finding local shows that will help you sell your crafted treasures? At first, the task may seem daunting to the newbie craft vendor. With a few easy tips, you can be on your way to selling your crafted goods at your local shows.
The Internet is a great resource for searching for local craft shows and fairs. A simple search for “local area craft shows” and your city will return surprisingly good results. Websites like festivalnet.com offer free memberships for those looking for information on local area festivals and shows. When running a search in your browser, you may have to weed through some of the older search results. But with a little investigative work, finding a show that fits your needs is actually pretty easy.
Local newsletters and publications are also great ways to keep abreast of upcoming events where you might be able to sell your goods. Neighborhood newsletters, local magazines and newspapers often have sections dedicated to local events including festivals and craft markets. Many times you will get the name of the event, where it is happening and date and time of the event. You may not get any contact information if you are looking to be a vendor at the event. However, a quick search for the event online will usually give you some contact information like a phone number or email address where you can get more information about selling at the show.
If you have already sold at a craft show before but are looking for future shows you can attend, one of your best resources is your fellow show vendors. Talk to other vendors at the event and ask them where they sell. If they know of any upcoming shows in the area they will usually be more than willing to share information. This is a great way of getting information you can use to research your next show while also setting up a business relationship with other vendors that could result in future sales of your merchandise.
For the newbie craft show vendor, a little hands-on investigative work can go a long way toward helping you line up a list of potential shows. From there, you can be well on your way to being a show regular!