Of those who do the craft shows. what sells?

[zimmerstutzen]

I have been to four craft shows in the last year.  Just looking at three of them and set up my lathe and made holiday figurines and decorations at one in last November.

 

What I saw of scroll work, actually was kind of depressing.  The amount of work involved and the low prices and few sales left me wondering.  (I am not into scrolling to make sales, so much as just for me.    OTOH, at the sale where I set up my lathe, I used free pieces of wood from a saw mill and made extremely simplistic holiday ornaments and sold them almost as fast as I could make them with sales in the one day over $300.  (All proceeds went to charity anyway)   

 

It seems scroll work is just too labor intensive for the dollar competition at the shows.  

[orangeman]

I have been to four craft shows in the last year.  Just looking at three of them and set up my lathe and made holiday figurines and decorations at one in last November.

 

What I saw of scroll work, actually was kind of depressing.  The amount of work involved and the low prices and few sales left me wondering.  (I am not into scrolling to make sales, so much as just for me.    OTOH, at the sale where I set up my lathe, I used free pieces of wood from a saw mill and made extremely simplistic holiday ornaments and sold them almost as fast as I could make them with sales in the one day over $300.  (All proceeds went to charity anyway)   

 

It seems scroll work is just too labor intensive for the dollar competition at the shows.  

Try puzzles. Young and old like them!

 

First show this Spring was fantastic! Best ever.

 

Check out my website. The best seller is the Snail puzzle followed by the clock puzzle.

 

bb

[Lucky2]

Perry, there is no perfect answer to your question, if we knew what would sell we all would be selling at craft fairs and other types of sales. It's hard to figure out what will be a good seller, there's times when almost everything will sell, then there's times when you won't sell a thing. It's a roller coaster ride, there's lots of ups and downs. One thing to try, is to try to stay up to current affairs and things that people like. What's popular and what's not, right now puzzles are a popular item and they seem to be selling fairly well. Other good sellers are things that are popular in your area, try to find or make patterns that depict those items. Bottom line is, it's a crap shoot, you never know what will sell.

Len

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

I believe Len summed it up very nicely. If you figure it out please let us all know. 

[tuner]

I don't sell my work for me it's a hobby. I think the problem is John Q PUBLIC Just has no idea the work and time that goes into what he is looking at, and does he go to a craft show to buy art I don't think so. All the work I see here is art. An idea on apiece of paper (a pattern) is turned into a work of art, sure the artist wants to get paid but a believe he does it out of love for the craft

If selling our work was outlawed would we all sell our saws and quit NO , so what you called depressing while on the one hand is right on the other it's not.

I may very well be wrong, any of our members set up to make money that's the idea of the show but at the end of the day is the profit and loss the only criteria for a successful day , maybe it is but there's a lot of pride in just showing what you can do.

Anyway That's my 2 1/2 cents worth 😊😂

[SCROLLSAW703]

tuner & Len laid it out in about as simple terms as you can get. Whether it's your lathe work, our scroll work, puzzles, whatever it is, if the public ain't interested, they won't buy. Regardless of the price. Economy has alot to do with the mood of the buyers, & how many of your class are in the show as venders. If there are several wood workers in the show selling their products, you can bet your sales are going to suck! You have to get to the customers' intellect, & let them know you aren't a "wanna be" wood worker. Start conversations with them about their day, & how they like the show. Ask them if they are looking for a certain item made from something imparticular. Ask if they are interested in any of your offerings. Let them know you are willing to make that project in some other species of wood, if that interest them. 
 

 

I've found that folks are more willing to buy from you if you're more sociable with them, instead of just sittin' there in your booth with your thumb in your ear, lookin' like you don't want to be there. Regardless of the price of your offerings. And shows that charge admission are more apt to draw better buyers, too.

[WayneMahler]

Glad you did well. Most "Live" demonstrations do so. Just happy to hear your success. 

[blights69]

I prefer to give mine to people the smile is worth more than the £  I would get , I think if you want to make a living from this then it would take the pleasure out of cutting the pieces yes it is nice to have someone say can you cut me this I will pay you this as that helps with blades materials etc but for me I just flow along cutting and making dust if someone buys they buy if they do not they do not .    Frank

[lawson56]

A Lot of Great advise up there Perry.I just did my 1st Flea Market yesterday.I sold a Lot of my Portrait.few smalls.did real well.sold some car plaques,and some people plaques.and animal plaques,so you really just don't know from sell to sell.

[David Lehner]

Perry, there is no perfect answer to your question, if we knew what would sell we all would be selling at craft fairs and other types of sales. It's hard to figure out what will be a good seller, there's times when almost everything will sell, then there's times when you won't sell a thing. It's a roller coaster ride, there's lots of ups and downs. One thing to try, is to try to stay up to current affairs and things that people like. What's popular and what's not, right now puzzles are a popular item and they seem to be selling fairly well. Other good sellers are things that are popular in your area, try to find or make patterns that depict those items. Bottom line is, it's a crap shoot, you never know what will sell.

Len

 

This statement from Len is pretty accurate for my experiences in doing craft shows. What sells at one show may not sell at the next. I make a lot of clocks in various styles and price ranges. One show about all I sell is wall clocks and the net it will be desk clocks. When it comes to framed scenes.... my go to best sellers are horses, wolves, eagles and prairie scenes ....It is, for the most part, a crap shoot ...

I always figure if I sell enough to pay for the booths (I use 5 on a full set up), and have enough money left over to take the wife and helpers (usually granddaughters) out for supper and then buy a new tool (which I don't really need) or some more wood ... the show was a success.

[Iguanadon]

Personally, I just kind of stumbled into this less than a year ago. I work full time and scroll as a hobby.  I started making simple dinosaur puzzles for my grand-daughter, then made and donated about 50 of them to the local elementary school and when I ran out of people and places to give them to I happened to come across the Harvey Byler puzzles that spell out the breed/animal within the body of the puzzles and I was able to start selling them at the local farmers market that runs during the summer months.  I'm fortunate in that I live in a tourist town so I have a fresh batch of customers every Saturday.  I'm signing up for more events as I learn about them and I'm having decent luck with them so far.

 

As someone mentioned, puzzles are loved by many.  I have 2 banners on my booth that both state "INDIVIDUALLY HAND CUT", one of which has a picture of my saw.  Yet I still get asked all the time "What computer program or laser do you use to make these?"  I tend to be chatty and social and enjoy telling folks about the cutting process and I even show them the #3 blades I use at which point they become more appreciative of the work that goes into making them.  Of course that doesn't guarantee a sale, but they leave with a bit of amazement.

 

Here are some snapshots of my setup if interested.  Good luck with whatever you choose to do.  Simply do what you enjoy.

 

Iggy

Edited April 3, 2017 by Iguanadon

[Paladin]

Personally, I just kind of stumbled into this less than a year ago. I work full time and scroll as a hobby.  I started making simple dinosaur puzzles for my grand-daughter, then made and donated about 50 of them to the local elementary school and when I ran out of people and places to give them to I happened to come across the Harvey Byler puzzles that spell out the breed/animal within the body of the puzzles and I was able to start selling them at the local farmers market that runs during the summer months.  I'm fortunate in that I live in a tourist town so I have a fresh batch of customers every Saturday.  I'm signing up for more events as I learn about them and I'm having decent luck with them so far.

 

As someone mentioned, puzzles are loved by many.  I have 2 banners on my booth that both state "INDIVIDUALLY HAND CUT", one of which has a picture of my saw.  Yet I still get asked all the time "What computer program or laser do you use to make these?"  I tend to be chatty and social and enjoy telling folks about the cutting process and I even show them the #3 blades I use at which point they become more appreciative of the work that goes into making them.  Of course that doesn't guarantee a sale, but they leave with a bit of amazement.

 

Here are some snapshots of my setup if interested.  Good luck with whatever you choose to do.  Simply do what you enjoy.

 

Iggy

Iggy, 

 

What are you using to color your dinosaur puzzles?  I love the look of them.

 

Steve

[Iguanadon]

Iggy, 

 

What are you using to color your dinosaur puzzles?  I love the look of them.

 

Steve

 

 

Hi Steve,

 

I use watered down food coloring.  I can tell the shoppers that it's completely safe for kids.  I also like the look and it's kind of a whitewash look to it.  The only minor downside is one that someone recently mentioned to me... wet fingers will cause a bit of coloring on the hands (and potentially furniture).  However, in the 9 months I've been selling them nobody has contacted me with any complaints.

 

A sealant was recommended to me last week but I haven't tried it yet.

 

FYI, I started selling them unpainted for the first time this past weekend and it was very successful.  It provides a low price item for those looking to only spend $10 versus $15 for the painted ones or $25 for my main animal puzzles.

 

Let me know if any other questions.

 

Iggy

[rjweb]

Glad to see you doing well, but I can see why, you have put a lot of work into your display and presentation, a real craftsman. Can you tell me where you got the dinosaur patterns, I don't do shows but would like to make for the neighbor kids, thx RJ

[Iguanadon]

Thank you, I've really enjoyed the entire whirlwind process I've gone thru the past 9 months establishing myself and creating my booth setup.

 

It appears they have come out with a new version of the dinosaur pattern book, here it is...

 

https://www.amazon.com/Making-Wooden-Dinosaur-Toys-Puzzles/dp/1565238907

Edited April 4, 2017 by Iguanadon

[Dave Monk]

Baseball items are number one for me. dave

[Jim Finn]

I make and sell wooden items at about twenty sales a year.  I am usually the only woodworker there except for folks trying to sell pens.  I do not make pens nor any fretwork.  I started selling just unfinished toys nine years ago and they always sell well.  I then started making small boxes and then learned how to inlay images or lettering into the hinged lids.  I have sold about two thousand of the boxes over the past eight years.  I still sell toys also and the sales of the toys always covers my space rent, I make a few of an item and if it sells well I make more.  I keep records, year to year so I know which items to drop and how many to make of others.  I keep my prices low, (Under $35)    I have made and sold some intarsia but in order for that to make sense the price is too high so I no longer do them.  This is another reason I do not do fretwork.

     In answer to the question..."what sells"  I say, toys and boxes.  Here is a photo of one of my displays. 

[amazingkevin]

I have been to four craft shows in the last year.  Just looking at three of them and set up my lathe and made holiday figurines and decorations at one in last November.

 

What I saw of scroll work, actually was kind of depressing.  The amount of work involved and the low prices and few sales left me wondering.  (I am not into scrolling to make sales, so much as just for me.    OTOH, at the sale where I set up my lathe, I used free pieces of wood from a saw mill and made extremely simplistic holiday ornaments and sold them almost as fast as I could make them with sales in the one day over $300.  (All proceeds went to charity anyway)   

 

It seems scroll work is just too labor intensive for the dollar competition at the shows.  

That's the silver bullet we all want to know.Keep in mind it's all fun and games and be happy to make a buck,meet folks and just to get out of the house is worth it.Take note on where the crowds tend to be and buying what.There's always way to much pressed out jewerly that doesn't seem to sell.Have a wide range of items big dollar to small to justifie your prices.Have kid stuff under your table to keep prying little hands of your fragile good stuff.Have free bee's just for looking at your stuff on hand,Trivial things,ornaments you can knock out quick stack cut.if the lathe works for you keep at it!

[ike]

It all depends on having the right stuff to sell. Know your type of customers. i useallly do small church sales and I sell a lot of Nativity scenes the customers are friendly and the food is usually good. One church has coffee and donuts for the crafters. I don't make a whole lot of money maybe $1000 every year. I selll a good quality product at a reasonable price. Some say the price is too cheep but I enjoy myself. I do 5 to 7 showes each year.

IKE

[poupster2]

It all depends on the time of year and how many scroller in your area.  At this time of year in Vermont, Anything that is "Maple" or Vermont sells. I Make Tea lights and Baskets (mother's day is coming). Starting in September, I'll make ornaments, simple and I can stack cut them.  Last year I went to 5 craft fairs and I was averaging $400 to $500 a day with almost all ornaments. Poupster2

[crupiea]

Back inthe day when it was profitable I used to sell stuff on ebay and did ok.  invariably, they stuff you hate to make will be the stuff people want to buy.  So I basically sat at the saw making stuff i did not want to make just so I could sell it.

 

I dont do that anymore, I just make what i want to make and if someone wants it, then good for them.  

[garyo1954]

On 4/4/2017 at 10:33 PM, crupiea said:

Back inthe day when it was profitable I used to sell stuff on ebay and did ok.  invariably, they stuff you hate to make will be the stuff people want to buy.  So I basically sat at the saw making stuff i did not want to make just so I could sell it.

 

I dont do that anymore, I just make what i want to make and if someone wants it, then good for them.  

Truth!

[Jim Finn]

I have been making drink coasters and selling them four for $5.  I stack cut them using 3/8" cedar mostly.  They sell very well.  In the past two years, I have sold over three hundred, sets of four.

[amazingkevin]

On 4/4/2017 at 8:32 AM, ike said:

It all depends on having the right stuff to sell. Know your type of customers. i useallly do small church sales and I sell a lot of Nativity scenes the customers are friendly and the food is usually good. One church has coffee and donuts for the crafters. I don't make a whole lot of money maybe $1000 every year. I selll a good quality product at a reasonable price. Some say the price is too cheep but I enjoy myself. I do 5 to 7 showes each year.

IKE

Go get em IKE !

[amazingkevin]

On 11/7/2017 at 9:21 AM, Jim Finn said:

I have been making drink coasters and selling them four for $5.  I stack cut them using 3/8" cedar mostly.  They sell very well.  In the past two years, I have sold over three hundred, sets of four.

Good original idea Jim !