Over the weekend, I did my very first craft show. It was held at a local high school, and honestly, I had no idea what to expect.
The month leading up to the show felt like pure chaos at times. My mind was constantly spinning with questions.
What do I bring?
What should I make?
What if no one likes it?
How much should I sell things for?
Sales tax… how much is it?
How do I even pay sales tax?
How do I keep track of everything?
Something that sounded simple at first slowly turned into a mountain of anxiety… mixed with excitement. Little by little, though, I started piecing the puzzle together. Eventually the day of the craft fair arrived.
That morning I woke up incredibly early, mostly because I was so nervous. Thankfully I had my daughter’s wagon. It made hauling everything from my car into the school so much easier.
Setting up didn’t take too long, and afterward I had time to walk around and meet some of the other vendors. A lot of them were actually students from the high school, which was amazing to see. There were so many young creatives in one place, sharing their work and ideas.
Other vendors had been doing craft shows for years. Many of them were incredibly kind and even pointed me toward other events happening later this year.
When the doors finally opened, though, I was a mess. My hands were sweating. My stomach was tied in knots.
Ten minutes after the doors opened… nothing.
There wasn’t a stampede of people rushing in. No crowds swarming the tables. No chaotic flood of questions.
Instead, shoppers slowly trickled in and casually wandered around the room. Every now and then someone would stop by my table to ask a few questions.
Some people looked at my items and said things like, “Why would I buy this if I could just make it?” before walking away. Others absolutely loved the idea.
The funny thing was that the items I didn’t expect to sell were the ones that went first. The things I thought people would be most excited about… didn’t sell at all.
After hours of standing there presenting myself and talking with shoppers, it was finally time to close up. At some point I realized I had been standing in almost the exact same spot for hours, nervously fidgeting with my sensory globes.
Breaking everything down took much longer than setting it up, and I ended up being the last vendor to leave.
When I finally got home, my eye was twitching and my brain felt completely fried. I couldn’t even think straight. I took a long nap, and only after that was I able to really reflect on the day.
Financially, I made a little bit of money. Not much, but enough to cover the cost of the booth.
I didn’t sell a single one of my sensory kits. Not even one.
At first, I didn’t really know how to feel about that. I had worked so hard preparing, convinced I wouldn’t have enough products to sell… and I came home with almost everything I brought.
But the more I thought about it, the more I realized the day had still been incredibly valuable.
I learned how to set up and break down my booth, and I already have a better plan for doing it next time. I have a much better sense of how much product to bring, what kinds of items might sell at certain events, and what probably won’t.
I also learned about several other events happening in the area, and I met a lot of inspiring young artists along the way.
If I only looked at the numbers, it might seem like I didn’t get much out of the experience. But that wouldn’t be true.
Sometimes the value of something isn’t in the money you make that day. Sometimes it’s in the lessons you learn and the connections you make.
So if you’re thinking about doing your first craft show, try not to stress too much. Go into it thinking of it as a learning experience, no matter what happens.
You might walk away with more than you expected… even if it doesn’t show up in your sales totals.
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