Craft Shows, Fairs and Events

Finding Events to Sell Your Crafts At

For years, craft shows have been one of the easiest ways of selling handmade items. Fairs and events that have been around

for awhile bring in thousands of prospective customers.

As an exhibitor, your commitment is brief, your costs are generally known in advance, and most of the attendees are there to have fun.

Of course, craft shows usually also mean being on your feet for 12 hours a day for 2 to 3 days and maintaining a positive, friendly attitude -- not always easy to do.

If you plan to sell your work at local events only, you should always visit the show in advance and get an idea if the event is a good fit for your items.

When you want to expand into other states, you may not be willing to travel thousands of miles just for researching a craft fair.

The solution to finding appropriate shows from a distance is to make use of craft show reviews. One of my favorites for years has been the Sunshine Artist Audit Book.

SA has craft artists 'audit' fairs and grade each event by a number of important elements like sales, crowds, weather, booth layout, contact details and more. This information can save you hundreds of dollars by helping you identify only the best shows and the shows most likely to be a fit for your media.

More Types of Events

Beyond craft shows, there are thousands of other events which provide opportunities for selling crafts. Here's a list of non-craft events where your work may stand out:

• Antique shows
• Apparel:
• Accessories
• Women’s
• Men’s
• Children’s
• Shoes
• Baby / children’s expos
• Bath / kitchen shows
• Boats / yachts shows
• Bridal / wedding shows
• Ethnic events / festivals
• Fashion shows held locally
• Fishing / hunting expos
• Furniture expos
• Gems /jewelry / lapidary shows
• Gift shows
• Heritage events / demonstrations
• Home / garden shows
• Home decor shows
• Horticulture expos
• Hotels / resorts shows
• Interior design shows
• Landscaping shows
• Pet industry trade shows:
• Bird shows
• Cat shows
• Dog shows
• Horse shows
• Photographs shows
• Religious expos
• Textiles shows
• Toy shows
• Travel / tourism shows
• Woodworking expos

For locating events by genre, go to TSNN.com or you can search the web for these terms:
"trade show directory" or
"events directory"

By: James Dillehay
The above material is copyrighted 2004 by James Dillehay and may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the author. All rights reserved.

Mr. Dillehay is the author of many books about the craft business and craft marketing, including at craft shows. Subscribe to his free newsletter.

There is a new book out for craft show beginners, Craft Show Success. If you're just starting out selling at shows, this e-book contains a lot of invaluable information..

For more information about craft shows, please visit, Craft Retailing in the Traditional Way.