moonrise

I've been selling at craft fairs for several years now. It's definitely interesting sometimes!

As far as buying, I actually buy very little for myself, although, if I see someone who isn't selling anything, sometimes I'll buy a little something from them to help them at least make their booth fee back. Sometimes I buy raffle tickets for door prizes or little trinkets that kids come around selling. DH usually spots some yummy food that he wants, so he loads up at the food vendors. My mom, who often helps us, loves to shop. There's no telling what'll follow her home. ha ha

I completely welcome shoppers to check out my workmanship, and if they want to take a photo, that's fine. The vast majority of people have asked for permission first. In most cases, they're sending the photo to a friend to see if the friend is interested in buying the item. A lot of times it results in a sale.

It doesn't bother me if they want to try to copy my stuff, because I have all kinds of little "trade secrets" that I keep to myself. They can probably figure it out eventually, of course, but it'll take some trial and error to figure out the pattern and the techniques. As of yet, I've never seen any of my exact items being copied or sold.

I did have one guy come in and take a number of photos of an item, from different angles, opened and closed, front and back, etc., and he did so without asking. It was pretty obvious what he was doing. I'll admit it annoyed me a little since he didn't ask for permission first, but I had to chuckle to myself because that particular item is one that's especially difficult to replicate. It took months to get the pattern and measurements just right. I still wonder if he ever tried to make the item himself, and if so, how much fabric and time he spent trying to figure it out. I bet it would've been cheaper for him just to buy it from me for $7! LOL!