sandyo

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.

applique

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.

Moedeenie

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

lynnsim

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?

Honeynga

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.

bearisgray

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.

CarrieC

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!

ontheriver

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.

grann of 6

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.

runninL8

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.