Lable All The Things! (The Craft Show Post)

50% Silk and 50% Baby Camel Hand Spun Yarn

The craft show season is upon us!  It is at once my favorite and least favorite time of the crafting year.  Farmers markets are lovely and slow moving in the summer (I'm not a farmer so I can safely say this) but the holiday rush is fast and done in less than a month.  Over the next 3 weeks I have at least 3 shows to attend and sell at, possibly 2 more.  I've posted the schedule below in case you are interested.  

I love spending the time with customers, educating them on my products, and listening to their stories.  The set up beforehand is exhausting in the tiny details.

I sell hand spun yarns, hand dyed yarns (commercially spun), occasionally hand woven goods like scarves and shawls, fibers for hand spinning, and tools for knitting, crochet, & spinning.  These are not your typical craft show items but I do it for two reasons.  The first is that these items always sell better in person than on Etsy (I do have an Etsy shop but its slow).  Yarn really needs to be handled.  The second reason I sell at craft fairs is the kind of customer I am able to reach.  People who go to craft fairs are also, in many cases, those who like to do their own crafting.  They appreciate, and are willing to pay for, handmade items because they understand the amount of time it takes to make things.  Sometimes I reach the spouse of the knitter or crocheter, and these are my favorite customers.   Having a crafter for a spouse is hard because what we really want is supplies to further our hobbies.  And sometimes the spouse is either aware enough or brave enough to give him or her yarn!

• Trumbull Holiday Craft Festival- Saturday Dec 6th at The Grace Episcopal Church Hall, 5958 Main St. Trumbull, CT (10am - 3pm)

• JCC Arts and Crafts Fair - Sunday Dec 7th at the JCC of Grater New Haven 360 Amity Road, Woodbridge, CT (10am - 4pm)

• 2014 Holiday Shopping Fair - December 9th through Dec 11th (Tuesday to Thursday) at Connecticut's Old State House 800 Main Street Hartford, CT (11am to 3pm each day)

Hand Spun Lace Weight Yarn (Wool and Silk)

• AND PERHAPS

• Shelton Holiday Craft Festival- Sat Dec 13th, at Hyatt House Hotel, 830 Bridgeport Ave., Shelton, CT (10am to 3pm)

• Holiday Carousel of Crafts Showcase, Sunday Dec 14th, Trumbull Marriott, 180 Hawley La., Trumbull, CT (11am to 5pm)

EDIT (1/15/2015): Follow up post here (A Tale of Three Craft Shows)