Your Guide to Selling Arts and Crafts at Vendor Shows and Art Fairs

Having a creative outlet is a wonderful way to express yourself and unwind. According to MindWise, an artistic pastime can even enhance your mental health by easing psychological stress. If you have a creative hobby like sculpting or pottery, you might also consider making money off it by selling your goods at vendor shows and art fairs. Never sold your work before? Don’t stress. The guide below has you covered.

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Do your research into what goods will sell

Take a look at popular craft-sales platforms like Etsy to see what sorts of items are in demand. For example, if you practice pottery, unique vases may be a hot-ticket item. Once you’ve settled on what you want to make, invest in good materials to ensure a top-quality final product.

Take stock of your inventory

Once you’ve created a sufficient amount of goods to sell, take detailed inventory. Artwork Archive provides tips for inventorying your work. For example, they recommend not only writing down a list of your items but also taking a photo of each one. You will later update your inventory list as you sell items, helping you to see when you should make more of certain products. This can also help you monitor demand for certain items.

Decide how to price your goods

When taking inventory, note how much each product is worth. That raises the big question: Just what should you charge for your creations? Craftsy offers guidelines for determining how much to ask for. For instance, you should consider the cost of materials used as well as the hours spent creating the item. Once you have an idea of price, use a homemade label maker to print out price tags to display alongside your items.

Create your marketing materials

Before you set up a sales booth at an art fair or vendor show, get some basic marketing materials. First, choose a formal name for your creative enterprise. Your basic marketing starter kit should include a banner to hang at your stall, business cards, and website. You can use a DIY service like Vistaprint to make the printed materials. You can then use these marketing materials when setting up your online shop on digital marketplaces like Galilee Life. Here, you can implement your business’s message while selling your products in a positive, supportive, faithful setting

Figure out payment methods

Before you open your vendor booth to business, determine what payment options you’ll offer. If you only take cash, you may alienate some shoppers who only carry plastic. AFSCM offers a list of mobile payment terminals you can browse. With these technologies, you can process credit and bank card payments wherever you are.

Set up your shop

Once you have all the preparatory steps above checked off your list, you can get to the fun part: Putting your wares on display for eager consumers! ARCHd offers tips for setting up an attractive vendor stall. For example, if you’ve been given a table to display your wares, hang a plain white tablecloth over the front to make it more aesthetically appealing.

Track your earnings

As you start selling goods, update your inventory list and track your earnings, always keeping receipts. You will need to report all income on your tax return, so this is critical. To simplify tax reporting, consider setting up your craft-sales business as a limited liability company. An LLC will allow you to easily separate personal and business finances while protecting your personal liability. A business formation service like ZenBusiness can help you form an LLC in line with state-specific regulations.

Sharing your creativity with the world by selling your artistic goods is a great feeling. Plus, you might even make some extra money. The above guide shows you how it’s done.