As I get ready to
sell some of my creations at a local craft show, I thought about this post I
published last year. I thought I’d post
it again for those of you getting ready to shop at local craft or holiday
sales.
If the craft sale is big and you will be doing a lot of
walking, forget fashion. Dress
comfortably. And if the sale is in the
summer, dress cool. Remember to wear
shoes meant for walking.
If you are going to be there a while especially in the
summer, bring something to drink. Make
sure it has a cover on it, so it doesn’t spill on anyone. And ask before you put a drink on a vendor
table. The last thing you want to do is
have your sticky sweet drink spill all over a vendor’s product, especially
product that cannot easily be cleaned like fiber or fabric. Remember this
product is the livelihood of the artist.
Know that not all vendors will have credit card capacity, so
if you are planning on buying something expensive or a lot of items, bring
enough cash and maybe your checkbook (many vendors will accept checks if they
cannot do credit or debit cards.). And remember to bring small bills. Most vendors will have enough cash on hand to
make change but if you hand them a $100 bill and you are purchasing something for
$5 or $10 that could wipe out their available cash.
If you have children with you, watch out for little
fingers. Lots of things craft vendors
sell are bright, shiny and colorful; so tempting for little eyes to see and
little fingers to grab. And this is too
where you want to watch for sticky fingers.
One little boy at my craft booth thought the fleece fish toys (for cats)
were nice. So nice, he took every one of
them out of the basket they were displayed in.
When his mother asked what he was doing, his answer: “Going
fishing”. His response was cute, even to
me the vendor, but not if he had chocolate
ice cream all over his fishing fingers.
The same idea goes if you bring your dog to the market,
watch them as well. Small shiny colorful
items can look like food to them. One
gulp and you are on your way to the emergency vet. And don’t blame the vendor;
it is not their fault they are selling something attractive to your pet. Also remember that not everyone loves your
pet as much as you do. You will find
people, including vendors, who will avoid your dog’s friendliness. Maybe they have had a bad encounter with a
dog so they are afraid or maybe, and most importantly, they are allergic. I like dogs and cats but get me near one and
I start sneezing and wheezing.
Remember if buying at a craft market that you are not just
buying the material in the craft or art work but the labor as well. Yes, artists and craftspeople enjoy, even
love, what they do but they are also trying to pay the bills. You might be able to buy a similar item in a
store but it will be machine manufactured not hand crafted. I will admit I am biased when I say; hand
crafted is much more valuable.
If you know how to do a particular craft, know that not all
people do things the same way. Don’t consider a knitted shawl, for example, is
inferior just because an artist uses a different stitch or yarn than what you
would use. So in other words, don’t criticize the artist’s work.
Selling at a market isn’t easy for the vendor but it makes
it worth it when you, the buyer, want something hand crafted and one of a kind.
So if you get a chance, go shop at a market. And thank them for the work they
do.
©2017 , 2018 Cheryl Fillion
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