We did another craft fair yesterday, this time at the old Wade House in a little town called Greenbush. It was a hot day. Super hot and humid. But we were very lucky because we had a nice shady little spot for our booth.
One thing I like about doing craft fairs is just how kind the other vendors are. A very nice man who carved beautiful wooden canes was kind enough to give us some bug spray, because brutha, we needed it! Hello mosquitoes. Since we set up early in the morning they were all over the place. Luckily, they went away while the show was going on.
[easyazon_image align=”right” height=”110″ identifier=”0997227400″ locale=”US” nw=”y” src=”https://cherieburbach.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/61acw2zSIL.SL110.jpg” tag=”wwwthediffere-20″ width=”77″]Do you like that sign at the back of the booth? That’s new! And long overdue. The sign really helped draw people in and instantly told them what I’m all about. My husband suggested I continue the theme that I started with my book [easyazon_link identifier=”0997227400″ locale=”US” nw=”y” tag=”wwwthediffere-20″]Art and Faith[/easyazon_link], and I did.
I added a few more birdcages to the sides as well. These, too, were really key in getting people to notice the booth. It takes trial and error to figure out booth layout. We bought a few birdcage wind chimes and then my husby spray painted them the same color as our magazine racks. (And we cut the wind chimes off.) We got a lot of compliments on those magazine racks, too! Someone even asked if they could buy them. But those weren’t for sale, although we did tell them how we got them. (Thrift store finds we painted.)
All those little details are so necessary when doing something like this. Each piece helps tell the story of who you are and what you’re all about. I offered large prints (8×10) and smaller ones (5×7), cards, and a few smaller pictures in frames. I also had some of my books and a few other small items for sale. The larger prints and cards were a big hit.
The Wade House is an historic location and is just so beautiful. It’s not hard to spend a day there. I took a picture of the cool little view from my booth.
It looks a little dark on my picture but it was cool (cooler anyway!) and had a nice vibe in there. There was a lovely variety of crafty items for sale in other booths, too, so I got to do some browsing. That’s a bonus to having someone there with me.
So thankful for my handsome husby! He was a huge help with setup and take down, and when it comes to talking to people. I’m (still) not always good at that myself. But I’m getting better. 
Plus, he always looks cute and happy on these pics and I look like I just crawled out of bed with no makeup on. Which I did. But still…
Doing shows like this is a good way for me to practice talking about my art and describing what I’m all about. I think it’s important to verbalize what makes your art different from someone else’s, or how you’d like your art to be perceived. Art buyers gravitate to certain pieces for their own reasons, but when they ask you about it you should be able to tell them without hem hawing or stumbling. It is your art, after all! I spend so much time by myself creating that I sometimes forget that. When I have to get out and talk to people it’s a different world than my cozy little creative world, so I have to switch gears and realize that speaking about my art and process is just another part of being an artist (and creative entrepreneur.)
