Jacquie and Lori...you really have a lot of right-on ideas! I've also been doing craft fairs for about 18 years. It can be the most frustrating, waste-of-time days, not making your table money and schlepping all the stuff to your booth (doing it alone.) It takes weeks/months to sew all the items necessary to fill the space and represent yourself fully. The next day you wonder why your back and shoulders hurt. ANYWAY, I absolutely love it! I love meeting people, both buyers and fellow crafters. I agree that picking the right fairs is important, but the funny thing is that NO ONE can predict what will sell in a given show or given year. I schlep around things for a couple of years and get so fed up at looking at them and ready to give them away, when someone just loves the item! It's too funny.
After all my banter here, and to get to the point, is that I do hospital craft fairs and find them the most successful. It's a win-win situation; there are no fees to go, you simply donate 20 percent back of your sales. I'm the only one in the lobby with no competition, and the volunteer office sends out emails notifying all employees of when I'm coming. They meet me before I can get the goods set up and many come in even when it's their day off! The reputation I'm building is really rewarding. Aprons are my biggest seller (thus my name here,) but my perfectionist thought process always leads me to what else I should make because how many aprons can a person buy? Potato bags are another latest and greatest product.

I think that the crafting market has been oversaturated and with tougher economic times, people are just not willing to spend a lot even on wonderful crafted items. They are browsing and commenting but are just not buying. The time and money you would spend to produce quality items would not be returned with $ you need for a home income. I also think that having to sew a certain item and make it over and over would definately take the thrill out of any stitching hobby. You'd make more money running an in home day care or doggy pet sitting than you would sewing craft items.

Apronlady, I have been wanting to try doing a show at one of our local hospitals but I haven't. I don't make the potato bags but I do make tortilla warmers (my own pattern) and I sell out every year (I do maybe 5 shows total). People are always looking for me at my usual shows and they buy more. Another thing that I have come up with a pattern to is a walker caddie. They have the pattern for the large one that I make but I also make a smaller one that I just scaled down the larger one. You can use these on either type of walkers. Here is a few pictures of both sizes.

apronlady, you are so right...like I said, I have done this ALL of my life...I can not imagine life without crafting for shows/bazaars!

as for NEVER doing a NEW show..that is bunk...find out who is hosting it...I picked up 2 new shows this year...both did very well....if the host knows the biz and picks the right date and location even a NEW show can do well! Mostly because it is NEW!

This holiday season was hard...mostly older people out for a day of browsing! None spent any money!
and it was not just ME that noticed, my largest show has 150 vendors not all hand crafted, and most the regulars I spoke with during the day said the same thing..when you can look down the aisles you know things are light!

but the following week I did another regular show with about 80 vendors, ALL hand crafted items only, and at closing time, we were still selling!

both of these shows have been going on for over 25 years, same weekend, same places, so you just never know....

BUT I will NEVER stop doing it....
I just got a vendor contract to do a small quilt show in Anthony, KS....of course for that I will be bringing my OTHER biz....quilting/sewing/fiber art supplies!

OH MY...those are GREAT! The hospital's contact person uses a walker and I'd love to give her one of those bags. She's a sassy 85-year old and loves the NY Yankees...not that I can get any of that fabric...but I have a storeroom full! Is the pattern available in stores (Simplicity or whatever) or did you download it somewhere?

Wow, what a wealth of information I'm getting here. THANK YOU for all of your responses! At this time, I'm in the brainstorming phase. We'd always planned that I would go back to work when our youngest was in 1st grade. That's 1 1/2 years from now so I'm beginning to think about what I might do. We don't have school bus service so I need to be available for transportation to and from school each day. I also want to be able to continue volunteering in the classrooms and leading Cub Scouts. I'm looking to generate supplemental income that will allow me the flexibility I need.

Etsy and ebay have been suggested by friends, but I'd rather not increase my computer time. I may keep that in mind for the future, but for now I'd like to enjoy the personal interaction that shows would provide.

If I do this, I'm thinking about focusing on baby things: quilts, bibs, burp cloths, etc. I could also do diaper bags, travel kits, onesies, and maybe venture into mother/daughter aprons and a few things for the toddler age like cloth books, dolls, etc. I think with baby quilts I could prepare more in less time. I could offer a wide variety of colors/styles. I could appeal to a wide price range by doing some that are tied, some machine quilted, and some handquilted.

I will begin researching shows locally and find out what I can about the market. I appreciate all of the tips on this.

A couple of questions:
Is a business license typically required?
Do you insure your inventory? Details on how to do that?
If my designs are originals, do I need to protect my ideas? How do I do that without copyrighting, or is copyrighting a necessary step?

Again, thank you all for your input. This is very helpful.

I AM GOING TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS IN ALL CAPS, I AM NOT "YELLING" JUST MAKING IT SO YOU CAN SEE THE ANSWERS BETTER!

Is a business license typically required? THIS WOULD DEPEND ON YOUR STATE LAWS. SOME SHOWS WILL REQUIRE YOU TO FILL OUT A TAX SHEET AT THE SHOW AND PAY TAXES TO THEM. THIS IS FOR SMALL TIME SELLERS WHO ONLY DO LIKE 3 SHOWS A YEAR!

Do you insure your inventory? MOST INSURANCE COMPANIES WILL "NOT" INSURE YOUR ITEMS UNLESS YOU BUY A RIDER! EVEN AS A COMPANY WITH A $100k INVENTORY IN MY HOUSE MY INSURANCE WILL NOT INSURE IT!

Details on how to do that? ASK YOUR INSURANCE PERSON!

If my designs are originals, do I need to protect my ideas? How do I do that without copyrighting, or is copyrighting a necessary step? IF THEY ARE TRULY ORIGINAL AND NOT MODIFIED FROM A PATTERN YOU BOUGHT YOU SHOULD COPYRIGHT THEM. BUT THAT IS REALLY ONLY GOOD IF YOU ARE GOING TO PRINT AND SELL THE PATTERNS TO MAKE THEM! IF NOT, THEN DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THE COPYRIGHT, IF SOMEONE BUYS YOUR TOTE BAG AND USES IT AS A PATTERN TO MAKE THEIR OWN, THERE IS NOT MUCH YOU CAN DO ABOUT THAT!
IF IT IS A GADGET THAT IN UNIQUE AND TRULY YOUR OWN DESIGN/INVENTION THEN YOU SHOULD SEEK A PATENT FOR IT!

Just my 2 cents, but it's more likely that someone will copy, having seen your item online, than at a local show. Though the copying did happen to me, locally. (It was a stuffed cat.)

And... unless you have a lawyer in the family that will work for free, Jacquie is right... there is not much you can practically do about copying.

It has happened to me, too...at a local show. I have one person that is always checking out my booth...then I see her version on my original idea in her booth a week or so later.
I have even had people stand looking into my booth and sketching. I usually walk up to them and tell them to at least have the courtesy to purchase one before they duplicate my item...a couple have stomped away...rather redfaced...

It is happening more with the use of cell phone camera's. I found one person taking many photo's , they stopped when I told them the designs they were photographing were copyrighted, and my brother is a Lawyer. ( I don't even have a brother), but they were/are indeed copyrighted.
I wouldn't mind if someone is going the duplicate for a one time or personal use ... but if they intend to sell my design, now that is another issue. Many times I can tell a quilter or sewer looking really closely , and I ask if they sew , if they say yes , I will gladly tell them how I did it . Many times they end up buying because they say ... "you know I will get home and figure out I would never really get it done... too many other things".