Talking to Vendors

When I stepped into Edmonton's craft scene, I learned two things: 1) craft show vendors are rather nice people, and 2) craft show vendors have wisdom to share.

Last week I was at Handmade Mafia. I found it's really worthwhile getting to know other vendors; not only do you meet cool and creative people, but you also learn useful things about the handmade business. While spending time with the Family, I picked up some neato tips and insights on the scene. I'ma share a few of them:

• Research your audience before signing up for a big-bucks craft show; your sculptures or exquisite jewelry may not be a good fit for certain events, like fairs and festivals, where shoppers are mostly there for the mini donuts and not so much the art.
• Check out flyerland.ca and plan your supply shopping trips accordingly for great deals.
• Consider spreading out appearances at a certain venue. If you're in the same place every week for months on end, you'll be exposed to the same group of shoppers who frequent that venue. They'll buy from you once or twice, and then probably won't come back to you for quite a while. Some time apart between visits will keep you fresh and interesting.
• Try a Twitter account or Facebook fan page to market your stuff, and follow the 50/50 rule: 50% content about your business, 50% content about other people/things.
• Bring snacks to a craft show and save your dollars.

All for now! Thanks much to these super vendors for making the Handmade Mafia show a good time: Paz Y Flamenco, Crystal Cradle, Urban Goddess, and BFlirty.