Flemington Craft Show- Fall

Setting up Friday was not fun at all. I was hoping that C was going to get out of a meeting early enough to join me and help me set up. The day was cold and windy, gray skies, muddy field. I immediately got a bad feeling about the show. It stuck with me while I struggled to get set up and by the time I left I really thought that if the weather continued, I would be lucky to make my booth fee back. Not a great way to start a new show.

Saturday the weather was cold, the type of humid cold that just sets in your bones, with enough wind to just push the chill through any layers of clothing that you have put on in an attempt to shield yourself from it. Luckily I learned that I was as the end of a row of spots, near some tables set up for people to eat at. So C and I rearranged the booth for a corner display and took advantage of the two sides being open for people to be able to see the display. With weather being as bad as it was I was pretty surprised, bringing home just about 2/3 of the show fee. At least as I left I thought that I wouldn’t be loosing any money by the end of the weekend, and it seemed that the weather was going to get better as well.

I got a chance to walk around; there are some really nice crafts at this show, and LOTS of consumables. Mixes, dips, candy, oils, jelly and jams, you name it. The show was just packed with them. That is sometimes good for me because people are in that consumable state of mind, which soap is surely a consumable. I got a glimpse of a woman who used to make soap, who is now doing something else. I was going to go talk to her but she seemed occupied with someone else and I didn’t want to interrupt. I used to think of her as one of my biggest competitors, so I have to say from a business standpoint I am not sorry to see her leave the business, but I am curious and she is a nice person, so I wish I had the chance to stop by and say hello. Part of me didn’t want to talk to her because I didn’t want to seem rude if she went out of business due to lack of sales. I just don’t know.

Sunday however was a beautiful day- the exact opposite of Saturday. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and hardly any breeze. I made ¾ of the show sales on Sunday and was very happy with the results. Now this show is expensive for me to get a booth at, and overall I didn’t make that much profit. But the day was good enough to give me an idea that this show has some serious potential. The next one is in the spring at the end of April and I think that will be a good show for me to participate in. Maybe it will actually be a decent spring show. It would be nice.