Craft Showcase

princesspoppypop

Ive had an idea which I think is quite good

Im currently working on a few projects and once they are finished and Im happy with them, I was thinking of holding a craft showcase in my house and inviting family and friends round to have a look at what I have made and hopefully get some orders.

Im planning on displaying my greetings cards, cushions, scarves, gingerbread crafts etc.

Its just an idea it may totally bomb.

Has anyone ever done anything like this before?

carolbe

Hi there!

What a great idea! I haven't done anything like that before, but I'd love to hear how you get on with it!

Good luck! Hope someone else here can offer some advice

Luna69

I haven't done it, but quite a few years ago when I first started making cards and other bits more seriously, I had contemplated having a christmas open house also to family and friends and putting my cards out and other bits for them to look at, with the hope of selling a few to them. I was going to put on a small buffet.
However I believe that I never did end up getting together what I thought would be enough stock, plus I'd received orders from friends and family along the way, so I never went through with it in the end.

Don't see why it won't work though, if it's organised how you want.

Good luck with it if you decide to go ahead
Yvonne

cassey1

i think its a great idea. I have just got into making crafts and i had thought about inviting friends etc,but i was worried they would think they had to buy.But if you are doing do,i will join you too!! you will probably do it before me as i have got to make more stock. Good luck.

Witsend_2

Hi I hosted an evening a couple of years ago inviting friends. It was a great success so much so that I now have three regular orders for personalised christmas cards and find that I make around three hundred each year.
I had general greeting cards available for purchase on the night alongside samples of special cards made to order, I gave everyone an order form and did a short presentation, I also personalised cards on the evening.
I served wine and mince pies in September to get everyone in the mood thus giving me enough time to make and deliver them for mid November.
I had thought about hosting another evening at this time of year suggesting that people bring their callender for the year so that they know who they are buying for, I just haven't been organised enough:o.
I think that you should give it a go, charge real prices for everything my large cards are £3.50 if they order 25 or more then they reduced to £2.50 each.
Good luck.

princesspoppypop

Witsend wrote: »

Hi I hosted an evening a couple of years ago inviting friends. It was a great success so much so that I now have three regular orders for personalised christmas cards and find that I make around three hundred each year.
I had general greeting cards available for purchase on the night alongside samples of special cards made to order, I gave everyone an order form and did a short presentation, I also personalised cards on the evening.
I served wine and mince pies in September to get everyone in the mood thus giving me enough time to make and deliver them for mid November.
I had thought about hosting another evening at this time of year suggesting that people bring their callender for the year so that they know who they are buying for, I just haven't been organised enough:o.
I think that you should give it a go, charge real prices for everything my large cards are £3.50 if they order 25 or more then they reduced to £2.50 each.
Good luck.

Hi, sounds like a great evening, I was thinking of doing around 4 shows a year, one at Easter, one in Summer, one in September and a last minute Christmas show in late early December...

Still working on my stock though...

bandraoi

Can I be brutally honest?
Actually I'm going to be anyway.

I would be annoyed if one of my friends did this. In that sort of environment there is huge pressure to both praise and purchase which would really put a strain on any of my friendships. Once I might be ok with, but four times a year? It may not be logical, it may not be what you intend but that is how I would end up feeling anyway - awkward and pressured.


I would feel the same way if one of my friends was an avon lady or an ann summers hostess and kept showing me her products and asking if I want them. The whole sort of thing just smacks of the sort of ego-massage and peer pressure that belongs in the school yard and shouldn't form a part of adult friendships.

If you wish to sell your crafts, I recommend you participate in craft fairs or set yourself up on E-Bay, ask your friends for feedback maybe, and if they like them they may voluntarily offer to buy them but to invite them round to your house to sell to them is just a bit crass.

stas4949

bandraoi wrote: »

Can I be brutally honest?
Actually I'm going to be anyway.

I would be annoyed if one of my friends did this. In that sort of environment there is huge pressure to both praise and purchase which would really put a strain on any of my friendships. Once I might be ok with, but four times a year? It may not be logical, it may not be what you intend but that is how I would end up feeling anyway - awkward and pressured.


I would feel the same way if one of my friends was an avon lady or an ann summers hostess and kept showing me her products and asking if I want them. The whole sort of thing just smacks of the sort of ego-massage and peer pressure that belongs in the school yard and shouldn't form a part of adult friendships.

If you wish to sell your crafts, I recommend you participate in craft fairs or set yourself up on E-Bay, ask your friends for feedback maybe, and if they like them they may voluntarily offer to buy them but to invite them round to your house to sell to them is just a bit crass.

oh my god what planet are you on! Seriously!
If one of my friends had a new business/venture I would fully support them. Infact one of my friends makes cakes does floristry etc and I am always brutally honest about her things, but I'm also very proud to count someone so talented as one of my friends! If she had an open evening at her house I know it would be attended by all that could come and none of them would feel they "had" to buy something if they couldn't afford it because it would also be a fun get together. Maybe I am just lucky and have nice friends.

bandraoi

I'm fully happy to support my friends and will offer to buy their products, help out for example by sitting at the stall at the craft fair and selling for them but to be invited to a friends house so they could sell to me would annoy me and I suspect I'm not the only one.

To say
"look at this card I made, I'm thinking of selling them to people, what do you think?"
is one thing
To say
"look at this card I made, how about you come over to my house and I'll show you all the stuff I've made and you can buy some of it"
is quite another.

The first is pleasant conversation, the second is what the OP is proposing to do and no matter how nicely phrased and how much fun it sounds, that's the crux of it. The friends are placed in the position of buying crafts or offering a (usually awkward) excuse not to.

savvy

LMAO I was an Avon REP once, and not one of my friends bought from me, I didn't ask them to as I had my round sorted anyway

They did however ask me to make them birthday cakes when I did that for a while, certainly never felt my ego was being massaged, no chance of that when your mother has always beaten it into the ground anyway :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

They liked what I did, and wanted it so bought it, I felt embarrassed taking money that they forced onto me, so I generally tried to make them as presents for their kids. Basically if people like it, they will buy. If it's not somebody's taste, then they won't, and you just have to accept that - horses for courses

princesspoppypop

I didnt think this thread was somewhere to be openly slated for having an idea.
Thanks to all those offering their support.
I certainly do not want to have my ego massaged and would be inviting family and friends to have a nice cup of tea and look at the things I have made.
It is very wrong to assume that I am going to pressure people into buying stuff and everyone that knows me would never feel like that anyway.
Often my best friend (a lovely single mum) asks to see what I have made and we do a trade off- she chooses some cards I have made or asks me to make some cards and in return she does my nails for me.

Please dont judge people when you dont know them.