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Working With Craft Festival Organizations

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Having only done a few shows, I’ve been spoiled with the level of organization of some events and the disorganization of others.

I’ve worked with the Creativ Festival in Toronto Ontario. It would be the first show I ever worked with back in October 2010. I couldn’t believe the level of organization it takes to get that show from seed to full blown 1000’s of guests per hour walking through the show. An estimated 30,000 – 40,000 guests tromping on through. Remarkably, they have an 80 page brochure on what courses are available. All this strategical planning is simply mind boggling but they do it and do it extremely well.

Starting off with a show that is super organized, I figured all shows are like this. I’ve already seen dishonesty from show organizers from over stating their attendance and even the value of being with their show.

One show in the USA, I have emailed them 3 times requesting what their expected attendance is and have waiting 6 weeks to get some responses. I have seen where show organizers are contacting me within a week of finally acknowledging my email and still and still expecting me to be available.

How to pick a good one:

  • Google it?
  • What are people saying about this event?
  • Is the location where the event is making sense for the organizer’s claim?
  • Is the dollar value of the booth worth the traffic or what you hope to achieve?
  • When you request info, do they get back to you or leave you hanging?
  • Are they more concerned to sell than educate you about the show?
  • Consumer’s expected at the show, remember that a show of 40,000 guests may be just as good as a 5,000 guests. The 5,000 may be more dedicated to the crafting where the larger show may be a great rainy day event. Your sales could be better with smaller events!
  • I have yet to make money at doing an event as I am doing it to gain exposure. Eventually though, it is the hope that my own popularity and consumer interest will drive my booth costs down and increase my value to be part of the organization.
  • Sometimes you want to take a chance as you could meet consumers that may make a difference in your future.

Essentially, do your homework! Make sure you read critiques from a non bias point of view. Someone selling knitting machines may have sucked really bad but the sew machine vendor totally kicked some serious cash in the same show. Understand the consumer draw for the show.

Being Honest To Your Customers / Audience – Tips

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A personal failure I had was experienced at a show in the Spring of 2011. I was caught not being authentic, or honest about a product. There were reasons for this that the public didn’t know. I was given a product to showcase at a festival. The product was brand new to the market, not even available yet. I was asked to showcase this product and introduce it to the public for the very first time ever. It all came down to timing.

The products arrived at the Festival directly from the manufacturer during the day of settting up. As I was putting it up for display, it would be the first time I have ever seen the product. I didn’t know what it was made of. I didn’t really know how to hold the product. I didn’t know what yarn could be used on it. I didn’t know the equivalent guages. There were so many unknowns about this product that questions being asked of me were vague answers on my behalf because I really didn’t know.

Finally… a lady set me straight. She said… “How do you know it’s that great of a product if you have never seen a project created on it?” Great question. She’s right. I don’t know for sure and I levelled with her.

Usually at shows, I have finished and unfinished products. What’s the point of the unfinished products? Because people can still see what the project looks like and how it’s forming on the equipment. That tells a really big story without having to say much. It lures curiousity but it also answers questions. For many, it’s a deciding factor on “WANT” or “PASS”.

At shows, be honest… if you don’t know… don’t guess… It will only come back to haunt you, especially with a viewers / consumer that likes to challenge people.

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