I’m still fairly new to the craft fair world. Just about a year into it and I’ve been sticking mostly to the indoor shows. I’m not ready yet to commit to the outdoor ones. I don’t do well in the heat! I also don’t want to commit yet to a tent/canopy and everything that goes with it.

There is one outdoor show I was thinking about doing before the indoor shows start. I was wondering if anybody ever had any experience with using a patio umbrella with a weighted stand?

There has been a lot of discourse on this topic of late, and not unwarrantedly so. As a merriment haver at my local faire for many a year, I wanted to reflect the sentiment of my fellow constabularies and provide a guide to the art for all who may be new to this wonderful hobby. Below is a set of rules/guidelines to follow that may help shift this meaningful tradition back to its roots of promoting positive social interaction and away from the commodification it’s headed toward. Even the original name of this act, “giving favor,” has changed to reflect the current sentiment.

By no means is this a hard-and-fast guide that is exhaustive. If I’ve missed something others feel is important or you disagree with any of these rules, please comment below and help make this a resource for all. I will add rules to the main post if they are favorable to the masses, credit will also be given to those that contribute.

**Rules to Follow:**

**1. Follow all of your local faire’s rules on this topic.**

**Some locations prohibit the act in its entirety.**

**2. The favors you give out should not be of significant, or even moderate, monetary value.**

They should mean something to you, your character, or the person you give them to. The crafters at these events spend their lives honing their craft to make it to these faires and sell to you. Giving away free stuff can take business away from them.

**3. The giving of a favor is about the act, not the item.**

The connection you make with the person you give your favor to is what’s important and what makes the experience memorable and meaningful. If, three years from now, that person finds your favor and can remember who gifted it to them, you’ve done it right.

**4. Thematic and handcrafted favors are king, and remember, this is the time of kings, so they carry power.**

Again, if your favor has some tie back to you or the moment it was given, it will mean more to those who receive it. *(Bonus points if your favor can be worn in any way!)*

**5. If you possess no skill in a craft but would still like to take part in the tradition, do not fret. You have two equally good options:**

A. Compliments are currency of the heart, and trading in kindness is equally, if not more, valuable than items. Compliment someone’s costume and watch them light up. There is nothing better!

B. Purchase something to gift to others. Be intentional with this and do your best to be thematic. *Remember Rule #2 when choosing this option.*

**6.** **Never expect to be rewarded for giving someone favor, or for getting one in return.**

This interaction is not a transaction, nor should it be done to gain clout of any variety.

**7. Scarcity fosters value. If everyone receives your favor, then no one truly possesses it.**

Only bring a few items to gift as favors. Your pocket full of tiny plastic ducks is cute, but unless you’re a duck necromancer, a duck druid, or Queen Duck herself, your minions are likely to end up in the ocean or a landfill with no memory attached to them. That is the antithesis of the act as a whole.

**8. Respect others.**

If you wish to give favor to someone and they refuse, do not force it on them or take it personally. Pocket space is often limited.

**9. You cannot give someone else’s favor, nor should you ask someone to give another’s.**

If you have run out of your own to give, *remember Rule 5B.* Kindness is free and almost always welcome by all.

**10. Favors are never asked for, only willfully given.**

*(This is not entirely true in the historical sense, but hear me out.)* If you see someone gifting favor to another, do not ask for one yourself.

I’ve never concentrated on ornaments so much before. Should I just pack out the ornament tree like this or just put much fewer out and replace as they sell?? I’ve got more than this but this is what will fit. It’s love and money I love carving these but also need the cash lol

My college kid and I are sharing a booth at an upcoming craft fair. What's the best way to set up the Square app so we can track who sold what? Should I make my kid a "vendor"? And do I need to worry about cost per item or just enter the sales price? I'm new to this so any advice would be helpful.

I love sewing bags, purses, tote bags, etc. I've sold items on Facebook and such, but I really wanted to try a market. I like talking to people, talking about what I do and how I do it. So, I bit the bullet and signed up for an event in the town plaza in three weeks

My issue is that I'm disabled. Three zipper bags could be a whole day of work. A purse might be two. I cant ammas a huge amount of my goods. I'm not expecting to make any profit, but I just want to start a little fund to maybe get an industrial Juki some day.

Would having a smal setup and limited amount of items curse me from the get go? I have, currently done, 8 zipper bags and boxy bags in various sizes, 6 tote bags, 2 crossbody purses and 20 or so scrunchies.

Hi all,

I‘d love to hear your biggest market wins so newer artists/vendors can hear some success stories and also learn from this! 😊

Saw some solutions that cost $3000/ year but I think they are mostly for trade shows not smaller fairs.

I’m doing my first holiday fair this Dec. I usually do pacifier clips and baby crinkle toys (via sewing). I’m wondering, do I need a liability sign? I’m just testing the waters so I don’t have an LLC but curious on what other sewist do.

Went to my first Ren Faire today, and I was really excited to see what kind of vendors would be there. There were so many booths I saw with neat things I mentally made a note to come back later for after I did my first lap around the faire. But then I noticed a few different vendors around the faire had the same items and I started questioning everything at the faire.

One booth had journals that had really cool covers with scales and big eyes emerging from the front. Another one had some hair pins shaped like swords and wands which I also wanted to check out later. Then I went to a handmade costume booth and saw the exact same journals and hairpins…so now I’m questioning how much of a markup these vendors are trying to fleece us for, and wondering if everything else in their booth is dropshipped too. It totally sucks the wind out of the vendors market, especially when you’d think a ren faire of all places would be somewhere you’d expect to see actual craftspeople and handmade goods :(

I’m an (actual original & homemade) vendor myself and I find it so disheartening to see this happening. It makes me kind of angry that people are putting out the front of being local and handmade, but also flipping premade imported goods. There’s been a huge “buy local” push here the last few years and I find it so dishonest that people are selling dropshipped stuff next to Canadian flags asking you to support local. I know you can only control what you can control, but gah!

I also found the journals and the hairpins pretty quickly on Aliexpress 😤

*edit*

by the way if you think I'm an idiot or that my question is dumb, Noone is forcing you to respond. yes "just ask" obv seems like the obv easy answer. I get that everyone and their mom claims to have anxiety and is chronically online, maybe I am too. The fact is that no matter how logical or rationally I can think about a situation , I get sick, I get shaky, I cant speak when I get really anxious. Think what you like about it. For me getting some valuable insights about what goes on at shows, what makes people buy or not buy, how likely it is to sell at your first event, helps me to stop the loop and realize that being duped is highly unlikely so I can go into the conversation without thinking the worst and feeling like I'm going to throw up. if that makes no sense to you, congratulations. please move on

I've never sold at a show before, and previously had only sold a couple pieces to people I know personally. Recently I bought a printer and have been experimenting with making my own prints. They aren't the best quality but they look nice enough to sell for just a little money I thought. I had some coworkers buy them and one sold at a coffee shop

Recently I've been using them to tip my nail tech and tattoo artist and they both loved them and encouraged me to keep at it. My nail tech said when they get the shop more organized she'd love to display them for sale. My tattoo artist offered to take my prints with her this last weekend to a tattoo convention/art fair. So I spent a month editing, printing, cutting, signing, making signs and buisness cards. Since this is my first event, I just put my venmo code and offered cash sales. I brought all my prints and signage and dropped it off with my artist before the weekend.

Well, I got one single venmo, before she even got to the convention (one of the other artists at her studio bought a couple). The weekend has now passed and I didn't recieve a single venmo after that first one.

Here's the problem, this whole time, my boyfriend has been telling me about how much drama there is in tattoo groups, and how untrustworthy and toxic tattoo artists can be. He keeps questioning my judgement on this whole thing, telling my I probably shouldn't have trusted my artist. He said she might have scammed me.

I guess my question is, is it pretty common to just not make sales at your first show? Is venmo an unpopular payment option? Could it have been the lack of accepting card sales? Are people super picky about high def looking prints even if they're cheap? Or...is my boyfriend right and I'm an idiot for just handing over all my art to someone and trusting them to take care of it with me not there? I just can't imagine my artist would try pulling something especially seeing as we have tons of messages I could use as proof and I have more tattoo sessions scheduled with her. I have no reason not to trust her. But at the same time, I'm surprised to not recieve a single sale? I haven't heard anything from her, and I haven't messaged to ask about it (its possible people paid in cash) yet because now I feel really anxious and paranoid about it.

Tldr: My tattoo artist offered to take my prints to a convention to sell at her booth, I didn't recieve any venmos over the weekend. Is it common to not make any sales, is venmo unpopular, or is it most likely my tattoo artist scammed me? I'm feeling very dumb about the whole thing now

I’m debating making a move to NYC (or maybe the Hudson Valley area), but I have a small business selling upcycled bags, home goods and accessories that I sew, and I wasn’t sure how easy it would be to continue it there. My main concerns are high vendor fees, and not sure how I would get around the city with all of my inventory and booth setup if I can’t have a car where I end up living. For context, I currently live in the New England area, and have found so many opportunities for craft fairs, and the folks who attend are definitely interested in what I’m selling. I was worried there wouldn’t be the same amount of opportunities and interest in what I sell in NYC. Would love to hear thoughts & experiences running a small business like this in NYC!

I recently went to a market where everything was supposed to be handmade. I went to a booth that had tons of cute colorful jewelry (rings, necklaces, bracelets). I really liked a necklace there but I felt like I had seen it before. I just couldn’t put my finger on it. The more I looked at the jewelry in the booth it just felt off. So I started to google colorful beaded necklace jewelry and half of the stuff she was selling instantly came up for sale on Temu. I even once saw a booth (at a different fair) where they had a stand full of those Temu crochet flowers. It really upset me. I’m so sick of seeing AI at markets and now this too. It makes me not even want to go to these events if I feel like I can’t trust what’s being sold. Maybe I’m being dramatic but it really got to me.

I really need the woman’s touch. I don’t know how I should arrange these pieces for best effect for sale. My
Wife always did this but she’s gone. I just don’t have that gift can you help? I’ve got another set just lacking baby Jesus and the 2 animals. These have sold great before. Probably be my last ones. Too many pieces for the price

Hello again, I'm the person that made the post mentioning my paper mache tiered stand a few months ago. I'm back again with more paper maché antics, this time I made a Victorian inspired sign for my booth with paper maché and paper clay.

Hi! I create handmade jewellery where each piece is unique due to working with natural materials so when selling online I need to list pieces individually.

I am wanting to start selling online alongside my markets but I am unsure who to balance the stock for online vs markets. I am limited in how much I can make and I don’t want to end up selling too much that I don’t have stock left for upcoming markets (as much as that is a nice problem to have)

Please can I get advice on how other business balance their stock especially when each piece is handmade and unique.

Also advice on site builders you like e.g big cartel, square up or Spotify would be super helpful.

Thanks in advance!

I have 2 Cobizi 10x10s and I'm happy with them but when it rains, I have to deal with the middle leaking. Whats your fave 10x20 brand? I really want to focus on staying dry when its bad weather. Sides are a must. Thank you all!

I was accepted to Renegade craft in Seattle for the first time and it’s my second market ever. I’ve had my shop for nine years but I’ve been focused on online sales. The dates are October 10-11. I make colorful hand-dyed velvet and I also make hair bows and other hair accessories with the velvet. So my question is, given the dates, how much, if any, Christmas/holiday inventory should I include? For instance I can do embellished bows, green and red velvet scrunchies, but I also don’t want my booth to give holiday market. Maybe I can have a little section that says “thinking ahead for the holidays” or something like that?

I just booked a weekend to vend at the Williamsburg location. I make crochet and knit clothing (mostly female) but also will have beanies for guys too. Has anyone been a vendor here recently? Was it worth it? Did you make profit? Any details are helpful thank you ☺️

This is my experience talking purely about the Maker's Market event organiser around the Liverpool area. I'm not going to talk too much about sales/footfall at the craft fairs because it is so heavily season and weather dependent. Hopefully this gives a good perspective to anyone thinking of trading with this organiser.

Last year I traded with them several times, mainly in Liverpool.

I will say that on the whole, the events are well-organised and communication beforehand is brilliant, with the information they give you being very detailed. They give detailed instructions on where you can park and how to access the events. They also give you a detailed map of where your stall will be.

They are pretty good with not having allowing too many duplicate stalls, so there is a good variety and you're not placed directly next to someone selling the same items as you.

My experience with the organisers themselves hasn't been completely positive, however. I was often placed out of the way and not in the main sections of the events. I don't have too much of an issue with this, as I figured the "prime" spots were reserved for regular returning traders and I was an outsider so I had to do more events to be moved to better spots, but I think it's worth mentioning.

There were some other things that bothered me, like at my first event with them, I said hello to one of the organisers and they ignored me and took a photo of my stall, before moving to the trader next to me and having a lengthy conversation. This continued in the other events, where I would say hello to them and they would ignore me, take a photo, and move on. It felt quite rude.

At another event, I was stopped at the gate and told I couldn't come in. I explained I was a trader, no biggie, mistakes happen. But, as I was unloading, I walked back to the gate, and found the person who stopped me had locked the gate (despite there still being an hour before the fair opened), so I had to walk all the way around the building to finish unloading, and up several stairs. Not ideal when you're transporting a trolley of large heavy items.

I know the weather can't be controlled, but there was one event where it was pouring with rain, and the trader next to me was provided with a gazebo that had a large hole, so their stock ended up getting soaking wet. I was lucky in that my gazebo was okay, but I don't think it's fair that I had a fully intact one and other trader(s) had to deal with their stock being damaged from faulty equipment.

The cost is also fairly pricey. It has increased this year to £57.50 (more for bigger events like Halloween and Christmas markets), which eats a large chunk of the earnings you make. It's more expensive than other events in the area run by other organisers.

I attended future events as a customer and was sad to see that there is an increasing number of traders being allowed to sell dropshipped items (some crochet items I could find on Temu and Aliexpress, for example) and items with AI images on them. For the cost of the stalls and how difficult it is to book with them, I would expect better.

Overall, I don't think I would trade with them again, purely based on how I've been treated and because they allow AI and dropshipped items to be sold.

Hi, I'm doing a craft fair where the organisers want us all to do demonstrations of what we do during the fair. For those who have done this (or anyone who has suggestions) what would you demonstrate, would it be the whole process or do you cherry pick the most interesting bits and just do them?

For reference I am a milliner so I could make a hat or headpiece start to finish but visually there are definitely parts that are more interesting and striking to look at, like making trims. TIA

That is the question!!? Hello fellow crafters! Im looking for some opinions/experiences on selling mystery boxes.

I make amigurumi and have a pretty large two-day fair coming up in a couple weeks. Last year, I crocheted little balls that have a squishie inside and it "spits" the squishie out of its mouth when squeezed. These were a huge hit with kids and even adults. There was a variety of colors to choose from, both the inside and outside. So that meant that everyone sorted through the container squeezing each ball multiple times. Sometimes I had 2 or 3 people standing there squeezing balls at one time. Ultimately, by the end of the weekend I think this lead to balls breaking because the ones that had made it that long had probably been squeezed hundreds of times!

So for this year I have been toying with the idea of putting them in mystery boxes or bags. I would put out a tester so they could see what was in the box and then just have all the boxes to choose from. Maybe have a chance to win a coupon for my booth or something.

I like this idea because people won't be squeezing all the balls to find their favorite color. However, I think I might sell less because they can't pick their color. Or they will open it and hate their color and want to switch out.

I need opinions from crafters who have done mystery boxes before. Also, if you are for it or have done it before what kind of box or bag did you use? The balls are about 2.5 inches in diameter for reference. Thanks for your thoughts!