I'm gearing up to share a booth with my friend Dana for the Pacifica Fog Fest. So I decided to do some recon at the Renegade craft fair. Not only did I get some great photos, but I learned a few lessons about what to do and what NOT to do with our booth if Dana and I get accepted to Fog Fest.
(Side note: my comments on each of these booths gets a little critical because I'm using
this as a learning experience. I have nothing but respect for people who
put their work out there for the world to judge.)
Willow Ship had a great booth with lovely products and the woman was nice enough. However, her husband or boyfriend was sitting behind the tables looking bored. When I walked up I felt like I was intruding, not something you want your customers to feel.
The Love Stitch was a simple and well put together booth, but the woman running it was not friendly at all. She didn't smile at anyone who walked up, and she really didn't like me taking photos of her booth.
A couple of great take-aways from this booth: she used big clear vases full of balls of yarn to decorate her table, and she had a mirror for people to use when they were trying on hats and headbands. I think Dana and I should have a couple of mirrors.
I also learned--here and at a couple other booths--that I'm underpricing my hats. The Love Stitch was charging $40 for basic, acrylic fiber beanies. They were well made, but $40 seemed like a lot to me.
Mama's Little Babies had so much great stuff and the layout was great, but there was one major drawback: not one price tag in the whole booth. And when I asked the lady running the booth the price of a pair of earrings, her response was "I don't know, everything is priced differently. Let me check my price sheet. [checks her sheet] Prices range from $25 to $40." She never gave me a direct answer and I left wondering if she expected me to name a price and haggle with her. No thanks.
Usagi Team and Tina Produce shared a booth, and while the use of space made sense the booth design wasn't cohesive. Which I guess is fine, but I'd rather Dana and I had a more "partnered" look to our booth.
Anna Todaro worked on a painting in her art booth while the fair was going on. I think this was a good attention-getter, but it would have worked better if she had someone helping her with the booth. As it was, no one wanted to interrupt her painting to make purchases. Maybe she made some online sales later.
The Souldier booth from Chicago was utilitarian, while the goods did the selling: Belts, headbands and guitar straps made from recycled seat belts. I only made a couple purchases that day, and my belt from Souldier was one of them. One downfall: no mirror. Although the proprietor knew that was an issue, but he said it was difficult to travel from Chicago with fragile objects.
To Be Continued in Part 2...
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