Selling at Christmas Bazaar
 

Hi All,

This year I have the opportunity to sell at a Christmas Bazaar. It's mostly a craft thing, and so I'd like to get opinions on items that I should make to take. It's the first week of December, so I have a little time. I do not have a lot of Christmas Fabrics, I'm a little limited in that area. I have a medium sized box full, and am hesitant to make a lot of items with
Christmas Fabrics, because then if they don't sell I have to hold on to them another year.

So, currently items that I can make are:

Potato Bags
Table Runners
Table Toppers
Wall Hangings
Doll Quilts
Lap Quilts
Bed Quilts
Placemats
Potholders

Suggestions of additional items are welcome.
And, with those items, what colors and patterns would you recommend? These people come to this craft show to buy gifts and etc. I want to have a good display, and I'm a little nervous about this, as it's my first "real" show. I want to know what kind of items are most likely to sell, and what would finish out displays, etc.

Thank you for any help, or suggestions.
Emily

My last craft show I went to, I brought it ALL....lol, and it was alot. I brought crayon rolls, quilts(all sizes), purses, mug rugs, corded bowls and coasters, jewelry, and a bunch more. I was very surprised but I couldn't pick one thing that sold the most. I sold a little bit of everything. With craft shows, you just never know what people will want. I always look at it as that I enjoy sewing and do it for the fun of it. What ever doesn't sell, makes good gifts. I wish you the best of luck at your craft show. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

Oh, make sure you bring a few of the potato bags. I thought of it after I sent the last message, but I had people asking about them. I don't do them though. :)

earlier today, someone posted that their purses/bags sold well and she had wished she'd brought more.

Last year as the craft fair all the small items sold quickly, the large ones didn't move much. I noticed with other crafters, too. I think it was part economy and part small town. I wished I had made more quilted pictures holder small wall hangings......20 of them sold in the first 15 minutes.

What about gift card holders. Some of them can be quite cute and gift cards are becoming more popular.

I did a craft show last year and the small things seem to go pretty good - like potholders, potatoe bags, table toppers, etc. I did the same show this year and sold very little - I even lowered all the prices to fabric costs - no labor - I still brought home most of my stuff. Nothing I had was over $20 - most of it was under $ 10.00 - so its hard to say - if you are in a more populated area - you will probably do fine. Good luck and let us know how it went.

The little tissue holders go together very quickly and sell fairly good, at least they did at our senior center's craft sale last year. Good luck

When I go to craft shows I usually buy the small things. I only buy something bigger after leaving & checking my budget. I then try to contact the seller later. My advice is to take a-lot of small items & be sure to take some form of a business card. Good luck!

What are the Quilted Picture Holder small wall hangings? And what are crayon rolls?

Thanks :)

my suggestion is you should have started in JUNE....now you can pick 2-3 items and make 12 of each..that is about all the time you have left.
AND skip the holiday fabrics...most won't buy them if they are holiday themed!

I think if you can make candle mats and table runners and mug rugs. You can make some of Xmas fabric and some in floral colors and also I've seen small wall hangings with the fruit/veg fabric. I've seen a lot of candle mats from Dresden Plate seems pretty popular. Good luck on your sale. It'll be nice to hear what you sell. Sue

I know what the crayon rolls are! They are a peice of fabric that is long enough to sew slots for several crayons and then they roll up with the crayons in them and are tied with a ribbon. Super cute and very easy to make and kids love them and they are a great way to store crayons for trips. You can choose 2 matching fabrics, one for the outside and one for the inside using fun fabric that kids love.

I would bring items in all price ranges...
Like 1 to 3 to 5 dollar items as well as more expensive items...
K

small gift card purse
 

here is what a gift card purse looks like...there very easy to make and are so popular....Trish:)

What do potatoe bags look like?
Trish

Very cute,thank you for sharing

These are awesome! How big are they?

you could try some of these, I've made them all


coffee cup cozy
http://craftystaci.com/2011/01/10/re...e-cup-sleeves/
http://www.favequilts.com/Quilted-Gi...d-Coffee-Cozy#

tissue holders
http://ajpadilla.com/patterns/quick-...tissue-holders

rag and braided wreaths
http://thecottagehome.blogspot.com/2...-tutorial.html

http://candostreet.com/blog-parents/...n-for-ma-n-me/

microwave rice heating bags
http://www.cancerlynx.com/morericebag.html

wine glass coasters
http://vtmountaingal.blogspot.com/20...-tutorial.html

Sorry I don't have any suggestions because I haven't been to a craft sale in ages. Got tired of walking through them, seeing the unbelievable high prices knowing full well that *I* could make the same things...but didn't (my problem).

I agree with lots of lower priced small items and a few larger items WITH cards with your contact info. Pass out those cards when people start to look at something, contemplate buying it, but start to walk away. Give it to them and say 'here's my card in case you change your mind'. If it's a large craft show, write down the booth number or location.

You could even list the item they were looking at on the back of the card. That way when they find the card when they get home they'll see that they were looking at 'xyz' at your booth and ohhhh wasn't that so cute!
Good luck

I have been selling microwave bowl mitts I got the pattern here on the board. They are a big hit, do not take a lot of fabric. something new.

Mug rugs with a mug to demo and microwave bowl warmers with a bowl to demo its use. If you do machine applique on the mug rugs, purses etc. They tend to sell first.

I have never had a craft booth, but do love to attend the local holiday craft shows and find myself drawn to the vendors with hand crafted items. If you are familiar with this bazaar, you may know of items others sell. I would suggest making items exclusive to your booth in a variety of colors and themes, including a few holiday themed for gift giving. The key is to have nicely finished products. Good Luck !!! And please let us know how you do!

The gift card purses shown are super cute! Love the fabric, design and yo yo embellishment!!!

Here is a picture of a few items I purchased last weekend. The cross stitched jars were $6 and the ornaments were $3-4 each. The cow ornament was made by a young girl. Isn't it adorable!!!

**Picture will not post...will try again

I think all the ideas are excellent. I agree that the smaller items seem to be the best sellers.
Trish88, I love your gift card holders! I have made them before, but never used emblishments. Can I ask how much you sell them for?

Last year I participated in several craft shows with my daughter in MO; she makes and sells pre made mixes for everything from bean soup mix, to cookie/cake/bread mixes, flavored coffees, etc. and she does well.

I on the other hand took a great selection of aprons, some were reversible, all were adjustable so one size fits all, I spent a lot of time carefully crafting them to ensure they didn't look too "homemade", but more "handmade". Just about couldn't give them away ! The prices were fair and comparable to the other items selling. Too, we participated in several so had different geographical areas and different settings, didn't make a difference in my aprons.

SO, since I got into quilting earlier this year I've taken some of the aprons, cut them up and have been making quilts !

I think I'm done with participating in a show, but I still love to go and see what is being offered.

I think the idea of having business cards available is a very good idea - especially with your booth location written in on it! - You might even have a tied down pen or pencil by the cards so people can write down what the item is that caught their attention.

I hate carrying a bunch of stuff around - and have trouble remembering where I saw a particular item - especially at a large show.

Maybe you could also advertise at your booth - "pay now, pick up when you leave" for items.

Advertise if you are willing to ship items later or have people come to your home to shop later.

I would be willing to buy the pattern for some items, even though I'm not willing to buy the item itself.

Examples: casserole totes, mug rugs, potato bags.

I also think it's hard to sell crafted items to other crafters.

I agree with Dublb - as a seller I'd take lots of smaller things and one each of my larger things. I'd make sure I had a ton of business cards etc. I also had a sign up sheet for emails. I'd send out a mass email the following day (or sometime that week) detailing all that I had to sell and prices. It worked okay - I wouldn't be able to support myself or my addictions (FABRIC and YARN) but it helped! let me put it to you this way - I didn't feel I wasted my time.

Good luck!

I participated in a show last month and found table runners and potholders to sell well. I even sold a couple of lap quilts. My mom makes raggedy ann dolls, I had her make some using more modern fabrics and colors for the clothes. She made approx. 25 of them and she sold out. Did not sell any pocket tissue holders or totebags.

My DDIL and I went to several a couple weeks ago around our area. The first one we went to was very nice and had a wide variety of items and prices. But people weren't buying ANYTHING. We were scoping out to see what sells and what doesn't sell (for our future tries at craft shows). As far as we could see NOTHING was selling. One booth had shopping bags for $8 that had a piece of fabric sewed over the store logos to hide them. The other craft shows were in churches and very poorly organized and poorly displayed. Lots of junky jewelry. I have decided to focus on what I love, making quilts for charity and forget about trying to make any money off my projects.

I'm reading your replys with interest as my sister has started to participate in craft shows. She's done about 6 so far this year with mixed response. I don't believe she would rate any of them a great success. She said the lower priced items were best and people mostly just looked. Her best sellers were the small snap purses - made with a metal measuring tape for the closure - and the mugs with the organizer cover ( Simplicity pattern). FYI - we are in Kansas.

The card purses are 3-5"....not hard to make....I added a thin piece of fuseble to the inside so it would give it some stability....you can also make them larger for change purse...or make-up bag...so many choices.....Iam working on some more I will post later.......Trish

Thank you all for your responses. I now have a much better idea of what to make, and have started making things :) I actually do have some items made - 6 potato bags, 3 lap quilts, 1 bed size, and some glasses cases. I didn't know about it in June and only found out a few weeks ago..

Thanks again,

Baby bibs ..... in seasonal fabric, blue or pink fabric, whatever!! They ALWAYS sell!

I have been making Miche bag shells for myself and family:1, could I sell these legally, and 2, WOULD they sell?

Here is one of the crayon rolls I made. They go together pretty quick too.

Potato/corn/tortilla bags sell great - so do holiday pot holders. Good luck!

I hope you will pm me when you post. I like them and think they are worth making, yours are really sweet.

cute I like them

I have been making kindle covers, checkbook covers- which very few people use, photo album covers for small albums, cell phone cases, boarding pass holders - simplicity pattern. I also do baskets, whatever I get requests for or am in the mood for.

I make ornaments and they sell very well at our church fair. Three or four inch mini traditional quilt blocks in any colors, not necessarily red and green or holiday prints, can be made by making a quilt sandwich with a coordinating backing and thin batting. I layer Warm and White batting on the bottom, then the backing right side up and the block on top, wrong side up. (The block and backing are facing each other.) Sew all around, leaving a space for turning, and then turn right side out and edge stitch all around, catching in the unstitched turning place. Sometimes I've done paper pieced trees in 3 or 4 shades of green. They can be embellished and then finished as above. A hanging loop can be placed between the backing and the block before stitching, or it could be added afterwards. The items on your list sound perfect for a craft show. Have fun, and please let us know how it goes.

I would make soup bowl holders and sell them in 4's 19.95 a set.

Bring a bowl and micro wave and heat some apple crisp, so they can smell it, give little pieces in a cup cake paper. This keeps their interest and gets others to come to your booth. Show them, how you can hold the hot bowl and sell them a set. Cost to make is about $1.10 each. Insul=bright and cotton at 10.95 a yard.