It has taken me this long to recover from the craft show at the Markham Fair. This is the third year that I have been at the fair. I knew what I was getting into. I knew it was in an outdoor picnic shelter that has four open doors, I knew that it was the end of September, I knew it would be cold. I have done fairly well there in the past, and had hopes that I would do better this year. In a way I did do better this year, there was just very low attendance at the fair. It was so cold and so windy, one person didn't return the next day as her displays kept blowing over in the wind. I didn't put out a lot of my stock as it would just blow away. We spent a lot of time straightening things on the table.

There was someone there who was prepared. She had weights on her table cloth and nothing blew away. Her stock was also heavy enough that it didn't blow away. I will go looking for weights for the table covers.

One of the good things about the lack of attendance was getting to know the other crafters and getting tips and suggestions. One crafter gave me a great idea for increasing web presence and another told me about a great packaging place where I could get what I needed for a few of my sets at a reasonable price. I even had time to check out the website on my Blackberry. We also exchanged information about craft shows and made suggestions about ones to go to and warned against others. I got some very good suggestions. We got talking about transporting out merchandise and where to get some good totes on wheels.

I did decide not to go back to the show next year. There was no sign on the building and none of the listings on Facebook mentioned the craft building. Fair patrons would come in to get warm and leave immediately as there was no relief. Given the cold and the length of time we had to be there, we all felt that they could have done a bit more for us to get people in. However, with a windchill of -1 on Sunday morning, I think I will pass next year. There are enough shows inside at this time of the year that I don't need to be chilled to the bone.

I did sell some of my new bookmarks, they were quite a hit, and as always, my felt ornaments did well, even if it was only the first of October. Hopefully the flyers I handed out will net me some interest closer to Christmas.

As with anything, the more often you do things, the better they get. I tried out new display ideas that worked well, although one did not. I will have to check out a Grid Wall distributor to see if I can get the size I want. I really want to display my product up, not just flat on the table on hanging from the unusual items I have found at the thrift store. More about craft show displays later.

Happy Crafting

CraftyLadyLiz