Craft Show Lessons

I was very excited to do this last show this past Saturday, but it turned out to really not be the crowd for me. I learned from the previous show I did and made changes I thought appropriate. But it only really works if you're at the right show. I'm new to this whole show thing and I thought my work would fit in nicely at this show, but I was kinda wrong. I've heard bad stories about craft shows and the customers, but I was lucky that my first show had the right people. I just didn't bring all the right stuff. This time was different. If you actually read this blog, you probably know what I do, but if not here's a reminder. I hand embroider everything. Some things I can knock out no problem. But overall, I take my time. Sometimes I'm just stitching along and I notice a stitch twenty stitches back that looks wrong, so I go back and fix it. This happens a lot. And sometimes I have to redraw my picture, because it looks totally different embroidered than drawn. I put a lot of thought into my work. You may not understand the work and that's okay. Just keep in mind that with any art, there is a lot more unseen work that goes into making a finished product.

So here are two things to not do if you happen to go to a show and you see a vendor who hand makes her/his work:

1. Do not tell your friend/daughter/sister/whoever that they could make that. Yes, they probably could, but will they? And can they do it exactly the same way? Embroidery is not difficult, but it takes time. And each embroiderer is different in their work. I try my best to make my work original to me and if I see something similar, I either forget the whole idea or turn it into something different.

2. Leave the price alone. Don't haggle. Don't say something is overpriced. If you don't like the price, that's fine. Don't buy it. You have no idea how long it takes to make something. I know the value of my work. In fact, I under-price sometimes. Now, I'm talking about handmade stuff only here.

There are probably more, but these are the two things that really hit me the other day. I know some of the people didn't even realize that their words and actions were offensive, but they were.

So remember, be respectful.

And if you are a seller, make sure you go to a market where your work is appreciated. No matter what you make, there is a market for everything. This was kind of a hard lesson to learn, but at least I broke even plus a little bit more. I understand my target market better now. If you realize you need to make a few changes, do it! Listen to the target market you feel your work speaks to.  If this is your passion, don't give up on it. Learn from it.