Turn Your Craftiness Into a Profit at Craft Shows

Make Your Hobby Pay for Itself

Two years ago, my friend Dawn and I came up with a brilliant plan to make extra money: We should do craft shows! 

Dawn had recently taught herself to crochet and was adept at counted cross-stitch and making bizarrely fashionable outfits on her sewing machine. I had experience with craft shows, having spent a year on the local circuit selling ceramics for my husband’s aunt. I could paint and beaded jewelry looked like fun. 

Besides, I come from a long-line of crafters. My grandmother and aunt make everything from hand-knitted baby afghans to Christmas tree decorations. My mother is a quilter. 

How hard could it be to turn our hobbies into cash? 

Right. Now, you have the picture. We were way too overconfident. 

We were certain people would want to pay top dollar for our creations. All we had to do was find a craft show, throw our stuff on a table and people would be anxious to give us their hard-earned cash. 

So, our first craft show was a bit of a disappointment. 

It was supposed to be one of the best craft shows around, an annual Christmas holiday event at the local college. The crafts I made, some beaded earrings, Christmas pins and jingle bell necklaces had all been stellar sellers for my grandmother, just a year ago at a show in Michigan. Dawn’s hats were adorable. 

I think, by the end of the weekend, we may have made enough to pay for the table. Maybe. We certainly didn’t make any extra money. No reimbursement for the food we ate, money we spent on other crafts or even the supplies we used to make our crafts, much less our time. 

One lovely lady, an experienced professional crafter, suggested it was our display and that perhaps our prices were too low. People, especially at this event, she said, weren’t looking for a bargain. They assumed the price reflected the quality.