Saturday, February 18, 2012

Our First Festival Booth

And we didn't sell a damn thing. Not one. And it's not like everything wasn't beautiful. It was, but the cousin I was sharing a booth with barely sold anything either, just to friends. I, of course, felt totally discouraged at closing time. I wanted to cry, but Doug told me something really important. "At least you tried" he said. And I did, that's true. i did try. But it just wasn't our crowd. I haven't a doubt in my mind that when we open up shop in Chattanooga, everything single item will fly off the selves, but here in Steinhatchee,

However, I did have time to take a lot of photos of our first booth and I took plenty of breaks to get lunch with Doug while he wasn't filming the races, and wander around. I'm a bad shop-keep, but we shared a booth so I had someone to watch over everything the few times I left.
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After an early morning and a long, long day, I am so ready for a nap. Have you set up a booth before? What were your experiences? Even though I have owned an entire store front, I realized today I don't like having a booth, but maybe I will need to give it another shot.

xo,
Beca

19 comments:

  1. Your booth looks beautiful! I've done 2 festivals and didn't sell a damn thing at either. It's all about the right audience. You guys should totally take a trip to Brooklyn or Chicago for Renegade, you stuff would FLY off your table!

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    1. which is stupid because all of your stuff is amazing...

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  2. I would like to do renegade Chicago next year. <3

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  3. I did a craft fair once, barely anyone showed up and I didn't sell anything either. It was so boring, there weren't even people looking. I think Crystal is right, you guys would kill it at Renegade.

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  4. Maybe Steinhatchee just isn't ready for the coolness that we're bringing them. Selling things, in a group or show type setting as well as an online outfit, always surprises me and lets me down in ways that I never expect. I've had give aways that no one entered, sponsorships that were so poorly received I've actually considered just not doing it anymore, and people who stop by my booth/table just to ask me invasive questions/argue with me. But I've also had grumpy teenagers think I'm cool, words of encouragement from reality tv celebrities, and people recognize me on the street (!!?)

    At the last show I did, I felt that, more valuable than the small amount of money that I made, was being in a space that encouraged discussion between vendors about selling/marketing/disappointment/what works or doesn't/etc. Making things can be really lonely and the internet is often so false that being able to talk face-to-face about things can make hauling all of your shit across town feel worthwhile.

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    1. I always look forward to your comments, Liz. It is so comforting to know how parallel our journeys are.
      The longer I have your wares, the longer I want to own all of them myself.
      <3

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    2. Thanks, lady.
      You're in luck. I have a lot of opinions!

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  5. Aww I'm sorry! You stuff is so gorgeous! I can't believe things weren't selling! Tough crowd apparently!
    xo Heather
    http://ahopelessnotebook.blogspot.com/

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  6. oh man, i feel that. i used to have a craft club with my friends and we tried to sell stuff at sales and it was always a total disaster. we did lots of church sales and the parents wouldn't let their kids come over to see us. haha.

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    1. oh no! I kind of felt like that, that the people wouldn't come all the way in the booth to look at the table....

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  7. I shared a booth at a Christmas Craft Show last November. The lady I shared the booth with was selling handmade purses and guitar straps so I figured either their daughters would check out the jewelry next to it or they would buy it for their daughters as gifts for Christmas. My prices weren't outrageous so it wasn't that they were too cheap or too expensive. I only sold about 12 things during the whole 5 hours. I was a bit disappoint but then again the booth next to me had expensive bead jewelry with all proceeds going to somewhere because they had already broke even long long ago apparently. At least you tried is very inspiring and it help me figure out what I want to do with my shop but like you I don't think I'll be doing another booth soon.

    xo Amber P.
    http://theowlsden.blogspot.com

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    1. It can be super frustrating, but I think as long as we stick with it and make sure to go to the right kind of festival for our brand, we'll be okay. <3

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  8. I love the things you had on sale. I'm sorry you didn't sell anything but I agree, it depends on the crowd. I hope you do try again. Everything looks beautiful, I just adore what you have on the table <3

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  9. what kind of festival did you do? cause if it was a music festival i would say its because most people that go are young and broke and don't wanna buy anything . i did a craft fair last summer i spent so much to do and and made so many cookies in different prices i even had samples and i only made $36 and that was only from the people i made friends with lol i agree you would make alot of money in the right area

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    1. it was a community festival. music, booths, food, games, etc. people were looking to spend a fortune on just about anything, so I'm not too discouraged.
      xo

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  10. a booth is kind of awkward yeah? I mean they come up ...look at your stuff with you watching them, and if they walk off you think "They hated our stuff" right? hahahaha! i feel awkward as a customer too going up to booths because I feel pressure to buy. Maybe thats just me. But it looks good!

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