I've gotten more questions about what to expect being a vendor at renaissance festivals and I thought I would add on a little more info that I may have left off on an earlier video.
Just a quick talk about the "little things" one might need while being a vendor at a ren fest! Enjoy!
I've gotten more questions about what to expect being a vendor at renaissance festivals and I thought I would add on a little more info that I may have left off on an earlier video.
Just a quick talk about the "little things" one might need while being a vendor at a ren fest! Enjoy!
As an ex-Fair vendor, I'd offer a bigger, more foundational thought....
"Which would you rather be: Walmart or Disneyland?"
Are the visitors to your booth going to compare the products you sell and the experience in your booth to conventional retail.....or an entertainment venue?
In Walmart, its all about efficiency and low price....and you are competing with the cheapest products out there and miniscule profit margins, because customers are bargain shopping.
At Disney, you are paying for the experience.....and rarely does the visitor pinch pennies, they are out for fun, and willing to spend a little more to get it.
Their employees are not in t-shirt "uniforms," they wear carefully chosen costumes, that support the theme of the environment. And they are not "sales associates" but cast members, and expected to support the entertainment experience. In a renaissance show, that means looking more like the performers than a hippy-dippy swap meet vendor. Yeah, it costs a pretty penny to look like a part of the show.....but if you are selling high-quality goods, do you want to look like a vagrant....or an artist and voice of authority?
Can you support the show through your speech and behavior? It doesn't cost you or your employees anything to address your customers as "my lord," "good knight," "fair lady," or "young princess." But it transports your customer into some special place of imagination and play....where they are much more likely to induce themselves to spend.....and benefit your bottom line. Give your customer a bow or curtsy. Learn to sing a period song during downtimes....or hawk your goods with clever phrases and rhymes. The more you inject showmanship in the way your booth works, the more you make this Disney (where everyone spends too much), rather than Walmart.