We Won't Be Back to This Art Fair | Handmade Small Business Market Vlog
Pure Stitch Magic
48,300 views
We went into this art fair really hoping this would be the year it worked for us. Unfortunately...it wasn't.
This was our second year at this market. Last year was just okay, but we'd heard so many great things about the event that we wanted to give it another chance before deciding whether it was the right fit for Pure Stitch Magic.
And it started out pretty promising.
But as the weekend went on, sales slowed down...a lot. We weren't the only ones feeling it either. Some vendors even packed up and left a day early.
So what happened?
Was it our products? Our booth? The hot weather? The crowd? The event itself? Probably some combination of things, and that's what I'm trying to figure out.
In this market vlog, I'm taking you behind the scenes of the entire weekend while also talking through the less glamorous side of running a handmade small business. Sometimes you spend months making inventory, pay the vendor fees, travel, set everything up, work an entire weekend...and the market just doesn't work out.
There were still positives. We met some wonderful people, made great connections, and I think it ended up being a valuable networking weekend. Financially, though, it doesn't make sense for us to return.
And that's okay. It's information.
Now it's back to the drawing board to find art fairs and handmade markets that are a better fit for the business, for me, and for my family.
If you sell at craft shows, art fairs, maker markets, or you're curious about the reality of running a handmade business, come along for a very real market weekend.
In this vlog:
• Behind the scenes of an art fair weekend
• Setting up and running my handmade bag booth
• What happens when market sales are slower than expected
• Trying to understand why an event didn't work for us
• The costs and realities of selling at art fairs
• Deciding whether a market is worth returning to
• Lessons I'm learning while growing my small business
Not every market is going to be a $4K weekend, and I think it's important to share these weekends too. They're part of figuring out what works.
Links:
Website: https://purestitchmagic.com/
Shop my Favorite Sewing Tools, Camera Equipment & More: https://a.co/d/07vm9dnm
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And if you ever need a video editor, I’d be happy to help!
It's hard out here for makers.
We Won't Be Back to This Art Fair | Handmade Small Business Market Vlog
Pure Stitch Magic
48,300 views
We went into this art fair really hoping this would be the year it worked for us. Unfortunately...it wasn't.
This was our second year at this market. Last year was just okay, but we'd heard so many great things about the event that we wanted to give it another chance before deciding whether it was the right fit for Pure Stitch Magic.
And it started out pretty promising.
But as the weekend went on, sales slowed down...a lot. We weren't the only ones feeling it either. Some vendors even packed up and left a day early.
So what happened?
Was it our products? Our booth? The hot weather? The crowd? The event itself? Probably some combination of things, and that's what I'm trying to figure out.
In this market vlog, I'm taking you behind the scenes of the entire weekend while also talking through the less glamorous side of running a handmade small business. Sometimes you spend months making inventory, pay the vendor fees, travel, set everything up, work an entire weekend...and the market just doesn't work out.
There were still positives. We met some wonderful people, made great connections, and I think it ended up being a valuable networking weekend. Financially, though, it doesn't make sense for us to return.
And that's okay. It's information.
Now it's back to the drawing board to find art fairs and handmade markets that are a better fit for the business, for me, and for my family.
If you sell at craft shows, art fairs, maker markets, or you're curious about the reality of running a handmade business, come along for a very real market weekend.
In this vlog:
• Behind the scenes of an art fair weekend
• Setting up and running my handmade bag booth
• What happens when market sales are slower than expected
• Trying to understand why an event didn't work for us
• The costs and realities of selling at art fairs
• Deciding whether a market is worth returning to
• Lessons I'm learning while growing my small business
Not every market is going to be a $4K weekend, and I think it's important to share these weekends too. They're part of figuring out what works.
Links:
Website: https://purestitchmagic.com/
Shop my Favorite Sewing Tools, Camera Equipment & More: https://a.co/d/07vm9dnm