Let's Plan This Out!

Okay, Christmas is over and the New Year is upon us, so now is the time to start planning for your new venture as a Craft Vendor.  You have worn out the craft magazines, tested your aptitude for craftiness and decided on several crafts you would like to try.  You have enjoyed many wonderful afternoons meandering through craft festivals and seeing what sells and what doesn't.
Now you are ready!  WAIT!
Wait.  Calm down.  Easy does it.
Whew .. That was close.
Let's get a few things straight.  You need to decide whether or not the festival life is right for you, and if so, how much of it is right for you.  My wife and I have taken several years to ease our way into this.  We are planning a full schedule of vendoring (real word?) beginning in March of this coming year. 
By full schedule I mean that we plan on participating in a festival each weekend during spring, summer and fall of 2011.  The only time we intend to take off will be a couple of weeks during the hottest part of the summer.  My wife is not able to stand seriously hot weather.
To determine what amount is right for you, you need to start low and slow.  Think about your church, garden club or local recreation department.  Do any of them sponsor a craft festival?  This would be a great place to start since you probably know people that will be there and this will relieve a bit of the 'newbie' jitters.  Also ask friends and neighbors about other venues in your area.  You will be amazed at the amount of craft shows that exist. 
Several reasons to start local.  With any luck your local festival will be small and relatively inexpensive.  Should the worst happen and you find that what you have crafted for sale, doesn't, you don't want to have sunk a bunch of money into an entry fee or for gas and hotel costs if you are far from home.
So, start small and local.
Let's assume that you have the first couple of venues laid out and you have decided to do about  two  festivals per month.  You need to make sure that you have enough stock (crafts) to supply at least two festivals.  The reason is that if you make just enough for one and then something happens (you get sick or the weather turns bad) and you can't make more before the next festival .. well you'll have nothing to sell!  Plus, on the bright side, if your crafts really catch on and you sell more than you imagined that you would, you won't run out!
Now, are you really excited?  Here is a couple of websites that can help you expand, when you are ready.  http://www.sciway.net/ (if you are in South Carolina) and Southern Festivals are both really great places to find local and regional festivals, but don't forget that some of your best and most profitable are the ones closest to your home.
We will continue to post advice and 'how to's so keep watching this blog and tell your friends!  Hope to see  you on the Festival Circuit!

Jerry and Lisa Springfield
http://www.lisascasacrafts.com/