Great suggestions! I have been on both sides of the table on this idea. I sell Pampered Chef and I have organized vendor sales. A flat fee and a donation for a raffle is definately the way to go. If the weather and/or crowds are not good, you have still made a profit. Most first time events such as craft shows are not well attended so publicity is key when you present your date for crafters. I organized an event years ago for a Kids Dream playground fundraiser. I went to craft shows and personally invited different crafters that I liked. I printed flyers that went out to all the schools in our district and put notices in two local papers.
I also invited direct sales people (Pampered Chef, Tupperware, etc). If you invite these people and they want to take orders (I do not have an inventory), a pick up date for all companies is an option.
As another poster said, by this time popular crafters are getting booked up so if you want to do this before Christmas, you need to work fast. Good luck!
1) Charging the flat fee is best; keeping track of commissions can be time consuming.
2) Buy and take removes the possibility of someone not receiving what they purchased when they ordered it. Any orders that take place between the vendor and the customer are between them, but I wouldn't advertise the order thing.
3)A Saturday would be better in order to get more of the regular crafters/vendors. Also, you better hurry and get it advertised, as many of the better crafters are either already booked, or are nearly booked through the end of the year.
Also, perhaps you can coordinate with a local bakery, store or fave coffee shop to help with the cost of your coffee shop in exchange for publicity. Every little bit helps!
I used to host an annual craft show for a church women's group and they were great money makers. First, charge a set fee...$25 is reasonable. We also charged for table or chair rental, but you could include one table and two chairs in your fee. We had to rent ours which explains the additional expense. Draw out a diagram and measure it out. You'll need this when they start reserving space. Be sure and mark where the electrical outlets are and plan for extension cords...most vendors have electrical cash machines or may need electricity for displays. The actual day of setup, tape out the spaces with masking tape and number them so there will be no arguing. When you plan the spaces, make sure you split up "like" vendors. (For example: don't put two jewelry vendors side by side. They will not be happy!") As for times, Saturday mornings are probably better than Friday nights. The vendors can come set up Friday night (if it's a secure place) otherwise they'll need to come early on Sat. If you are serving food, it needs to be kept in a designated spot. Most craft shows don't allow people to wander with food because of the chance of accidents to merchandise. Simple food would work well with maybe a light lunch as the vendors will get hungry too. Sometimes a vendor works alone and will need a volunteer to watch their space for a potty break or food.
Have I forgotten anything?? Good luck. These are fun. :cool:
HI Skimom,
We are hosting our first Craft Fair this November. We are a public school on a major north/sourth thoroughfare and thought we would get a good response.
Well, we sold out all of our spots for a flat fee of $25 PLUS a donation of their craft (equal to about $10) for our auction in the spring.
We talked to a lot of vendors at fairs and produce markets during the summer, and gave out flyers.
We plan on also making money from breakfast and lunch. Our only expense, except for some copying, is cost of our school janitor to come in on a Saturday.
Oh, we also gave a discounted rate to our school groups and several took us up on it: girl/boy scouts and Campfire.
Our PTO wants to host a "Vendor Fair" before the holidays. This is the first time we have held one and I have a few questions I was hoping to get answered:
1) What is better--charging the vendor a "flat: fee (say $25) for table space or take a percentage (and what is the percentage)
2) taking orders or only have "buy and take"
3) What is better -a Fridaynight or a Sat. morning/afternoon.
Any other helpful suggestions would be appreciated. We are also planning on a "coffee shop" for before and after shopping.
