The benefit of Craft Fairs

After at least a year-long hiatus from craft fairs and vowing I'd never again stand shivering on a city-centre market stall, I finally succumbed. There was a number of reasons for this. Specifically, a friend, fellow artist and colleague, Carla Moss, had booked a stall and wondered if I'd be interested in sharing. I was reticent at first but had some stock left over from other fairs and figured it was more likely gonna get sold on a stall than under my bed.

But the real shift in thinking came when I realised the further marketing potential of meeting my audience face to face. The people who visited were already interested in these kinds of products and being crafty in general. Showing and selling my books also enabled me to gauge interest for private bookbinding workshops, and people who were unable or unwilling to pay for a single book seemed more than happy to commit to learning the skill to create one for themselves. I also picked up a bookbinding commission. And all this while making a decent amount of sales and contacts.