Any craft/church or school fairs coming up in NI?

SuperMum2008

Artytarty wrote: »

oh yes, I'm still going, Wondering now if I should have taken the chance to pull out though. I dont think my stuff will sell:(
SuperMum, any chance of you bringing one of those felted ball bags along?
I regret not buying one from you the other day but I was only helping Bev out. I made no money, in fact I spent £2 on raffle tickets and another £5 on a ticket for the Brian Ballard painting! Duh!

We'll have all the usual bags there hopefully (if we havent sold out!!) - was it the one covered in the balls? I can keep one over for you if you like! Having not done RS before, I dont know about your stuff selling, but surely it would be good advertising for you either way? And you might get asked to do something else from a contact you might get? What sort of paintings is it that you do anyway - I cant wait to see them! Do you exhibit anywhere? Don't lose faith - I'm learning quickly that the ones I least expect anything from are the ones which take me by surprise so fingers crossed! (and legs and toes too!)

Artytarty

Yes it was the furry coloured balls bag! Please keep me one.
My paintings are rather loose watercolours,trees, coastal scenes etc. mostly properly framed but some small ones in cheapo clippit frames.
I'm putting 4 into an exhibition at Ballygilbert church next weekend so fingers crossed for that one!

SuperMum2008

Good luck with the exhibition Arty - will hold you a bag! Anyone doing Elmgrove this week??

Report on recent fairs:
1. We got a last minute table at Ashfield girls school onSaturday and can report that it was a great fair - fantastic atmosphere, they really took care of us and we did really well. Might be worth contacting them to request a stall at the next one if you are that organised!
2. Loughview Integrated school - again recommend for next year - fab children (!) and good business, a really nice atmosphere - get your names down!

Cherryscone

What do you ladies sell at the craft fairs and is there much profit to be made at it?

SuperMum2008

madmam wrote: »

What do you ladies sell at the craft fairs and is there much profit to be made at it?

We all sell different things! I sell fair trade goods, hair accessories and childrens fancy dress clothing although what we take to each fair depends on the information we have been given about the fair and what other stalls we think will be there - we are still on that very steep learning curve! It has taken us a while to fine tune what we sell and every fair is different - we are always taken by surprise at the things that will sell like hot cakes at one, and not at all at another!
Im sure others here will chip in on their goodies too - although having met some of our fellow NI Crafty Folk I can report that they are selling candles, knitted goods, paintings, recycled glassware, and baked goodies, woodworked items and all of them are totally gorgeous - so its a mixture of items they have made themselves, items they have imported themselves and other things that have just proven to be popular.
What are you thinking of doing??

Artytarty

Hi there, Bev will be doing Elmgrove and as usual I said I'd help!
See you there SuperMum.
Profit Madmam? whats that then:)
When you take off outgoings there isnt much left( for me but not perhaps for others)
I just love the thrill of someone wanting to spend their hard earned cash on something that I have made. its such a thrill.

Cherryscone

Artytarty wrote: »

Hi there, Bev will be doing Elmgrove and as usual I said I'd help!
See you there SuperMum.
Profit Madmam? whats that then:)
When you take off outgoings there isnt much left( for me but not perhaps for others)
I just love the thrill of someone wanting to spend their hard earned cash on something that I have made. its such a thrill.

I make cards but apart from friends asking me to make some i havent sold them i would presume from going to craft fairs and the likes its a hard market thats why i asked about what you were doing i thought this being a money saving site that
you were posting about trying to make money ,i myself couldnt't afford to go to fairs without making a profit if i didnt make a profit i couldn;t buy the things i need to craft ,i know one lady who makes gorgeous cards and sells them for £1.50 each she has been told they are too expensive ,it is something i would like to learn and perhaps buy the right tools but is it really worth it.

SuperMum2008

madmam wrote: »

I make cards but apart from friends asking me to make some i havent sold them i would presume from going to craft fairs and the likes its a hard market thats why i asked about what you were doing i thought this being a money saving site that
you were posting about trying to make money ,i myself couldnt't afford to go to fairs without making a profit if i didnt make a profit i couldn;t buy the things i need to craft ,i know one lady who makes gorgeous cards and sells them for £1.50 each she has been told they are too expensive ,it is something i would like to learn and perhaps buy the right tools but is it really worth it.

Madmam - personally I think the card market is really tough. Whenever Ive done a fair, there are always at least 2 or 3 others who are selling cards and they are all beautiful and individual, but at the end of the day, you can get a beautiful card in M&S fo £1 these days so how can you justify spending £3.50+ on one at a craft fair...it depends how totally unique the cards are, but personally its the kind of thing I try to go budget-style on and would rather spend the money on the gift. There must be a niche for cards that say things most other cards don't, like for civil partnerships, for divorce, or even in these sad times "sorry to hear you've lost your job" etc, which some might find sad and pessimistic, but I think to make a go of it you would either need to be selling cheap or making them really quirky. If you're looking to make a big profit, you might need to think about something else - could you make advent calendars for example?

SuperMum2008

PS - Bev and Arty - see you at Elmgrove! We'll be racing there straight from work so will probably arrive looking like walking haystacks draped in handbags, so try not to laugh!

itsmylife_2

madmam wrote: »

I make cards but apart from friends asking me to make some i havent sold them i would presume from going to craft fairs and the likes its a hard market thats why i asked about what you were doing i thought this being a money saving site that
you were posting about trying to make money ,i myself couldnt't afford to go to fairs without making a profit if i didnt make a profit i couldn;t buy the things i need to craft ,i know one lady who makes gorgeous cards and sells them for £1.50 each she has been told they are too expensive ,it is something i would like to learn and perhaps buy the right tools but is it really worth it.

The problem with handmade stuff is that a lot of people don't appreciate the time, effort and money that goes into making them. I make cards, jewelery and scrapbook, but cheaper alternatives are always available for these, and so if you were to charge what it cost to make plus time then no one would ever buy it. Thankfully though there are people who do appreciate handmade stuff for what it is... but I would think that for selling at craft fairs you would have to offer something that really stood out from the rest. I find that most people who craft do it for themselves to give to friends and family, quality craft supplies are just so expensive.