arts and crafts fairs

scott.livesey

scott.livesey

Dealer - Purveyor
hi, after thinking about for a long time, I am going the Arts and Crafts sale this weekend in Boone, NC. i plan two more by sep 30. if ok, i will update with results and such.
A&C fairs? about the only place to sell other than online for me. I searched most every where and found no Knife shows between now and sep 30 within 200 miles. Same timeframe, over 200 A&C show/sale. I picked locations that had reasonable traffic(>5000), reasonable fees, and a place I have never been.

Boone, NC
located at the eastern edge of smokey mountains, college town, winter resort. Sale in Kmart parking lot which is the middle of the shopping/motels strip. found motel about 1/4 mile away. the brewery is 1/2 mile away.

will update monday.
 
did you look for gun / sporting shows. I have done pretty good at them and usually there are not many knife makers there so you stand out. I tried the craft fairs but locally they are set up to go on the cheap side so pretty hard to sell a 125.00 blade. even harder to sell a 300.00 folder.

Erik
 
gun/sporting was in the search. have been to couple gun/knife shows where you are competing with the folks with hundreds of knives, most under $25. dont pricing points, although it is a juried show and all items must be made by the seller. more on monday.
 
It's all about the audience, and what they anticipate....... Generally speaking, in my experience, those who attend "Arts/Crafts" type shows tend to lean towards the liberal types, many of which show "gasp and horror" when they run across someone selling "weapons" (knives). It's a starting point, but don't let the attitude of some people discourage you. Gun/Sporting shows, unless they are large, regional affairs tend to lean in the "looking for a bargain" direction, meaning that whatever you are offer "isn't worth that much" (yes I heard that a number of times way back when).

Honestly, the best "bang for the buck" these days is a good website, which is both informative, and offers your wares. Over the last several years, many of the faces I would normally see at the major knife shows are no longer there......they are saving the travel/lodging costs, and spending that money on internet knife purchases. The other aspect of the web is that you have to keep your name out there.....meaning that you need to seek out, and become known in as many places as possible....not just knife forums....some of my best sales have come from sites/forums that have nothing to do with custom knives.......simply by putting my email/webstie URL in my signature block.

Of course ultimately, you're going to want to attend "Custom Knife" shows.......yes there is travel involved, and it can be rather expensive, but it's where you need to go IF you want to sell custom knives. It's also the place(s) where educated knife buyers will be, who know the value of a custom knife. It's all a matter of evolution..... as your wares become better, and your name more known, you will move into new "levels" of shows. The best thing you can do along the way is be an ambassador for custom knives....even if it means answering the same question(s) 500 times in a day.......if you educate folks, it can only be a good thing for you, and the entire custom knife world.
 
Yes, The geriatric Liberal hippies are the folks at the High end Arts & Crafts shows here in S. Cal.

There are always a few Oh my's! From a few ladies when some see my table loaded with knives but I have done very well selling my weapons at them over the years.

I mostly make culinary for killing meats & Veggies but i've also sold a good number of Large "Camp" knives and I sell my B & T knife in a sheath
that I refer to as a "lite backpacking/Trail knife". As you can tell I use polite political correct speak! No Fighters or Hunters words until I have conversed with the prospective customer for a few minutes and get a feel for the customers wishes. Many times the lady is the VEGAN anti-everything of the couple and she has dragged her "closet hunter" Partner with her.

I dress the knives up with stabilized dyed woods and Purple handles on the Veggie knives seems to sell well at these shows for some reason?:3:

By a High End A & C show I mean a Juried show. Meaning that I must submit pictures of my work along with descriptions etc and they decide if my work is up to their exacting standards. So it's not county fair level of craftsmanship. The knives must look as good as they work or better. Some Sculptures & jewelry etc pieces are in the $5000.00 Plus range. These shows try to draw people in the $100.000.00 plus range of income. Look for ones with wine tasting & food in very affluent areas.

These shows were doing great until 2008 when they and everything else took a big hit. They are picking up again as newer money shows up along with older folks that enjoy and can afford fine things.
 
well, weekend was a bust sales wise. low traffic, no one buying from any of the vendors. oh well. yawl have to understand where i am and was, rural north carolina, the eastern edge of the Great Smokey Mountains. tree huggers? yes because that is their lively hood. hunting up here is big business in the fall, so no one was freaking out over knives. the area has an moneyed crowd who come there June to September to escape the heat of a typical southern summer.
made two good contacts, one a web site designer, the other a maker of custom furniture who wants several pieces for his showroom.
might go to a Custom Knife show if one is near to visit, however "Custom Knife Sale" is an oxymoron. "Custom" is when i sit down with a customer and review his requirements before first piece of steel is cut. We review progress until knife is completed. What i brought to that show and future ones are "Hand Made Knives," word games.

lessons learned:
get a good canopy, the one i brought had a hundred pieces, replaced it with one that collapses. have to figure out hold downs to use on concrete.
have packing containers that are large enough for biggest items but small enough you can lift and carry without giving yourself a hernia.
have a "Try before you Buy" set-up. went to a produce seller near by and had cucumbers, squash, and peaches for show and tell.
have an item "In-Work", people came and watched who were not directly attracted by display
have large signs
thanks to all for comments
 
Scott it sounds like you had a good weekend even if you didn't sell anything. sometimes knowledge is more valuable than money in the beginning. you also need to accept that it is a game of averages. some shows you will light it up and do really good and some not so much. key is to get the average overall up and that's what the top makers like Ed have done with lots of trial and error and time.

keep it up
Erik
 
cnccutter said:
Scott it sounds like you had a good weekend even if you didn't sell anything. sometimes knowledge is more valuable than money in the beginning. you also need to accept that it is a game of averages. some shows you will light it up and do really good and some not so much. key is to get the average overall up and that's what the top makers like Ed have done with lots of trial and error and time.

keep it up
Erik
Click to expand...

thanks for encouragement. been selling local for the last year, the monthly hand made craft sale in my town and one close by. sold enough to get more steel and some new equipment. my real job has me working every other weekend, so i haven't been doing as many as i would like.
the boone show had low traffic although the town was packed, freshman weekend at the campus near by.
 
Hey Laurence,
Maybe we should take a tour, check things out back there. We could stop off in New Mexico to sell the rest of your purple handled knives and then off to The Great Smokey Mountains where knives are knives and hunting is actually a good thing.
 
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