Peddling my Goods

I stepped out into my comfort zone and ventured into a new world of being a craft vendor for a day.

Here is what I learned:

1. There are all sorts of people who do this year round, and it was interesting to see what else people sell. Many of them are just trying to make back the cost of supplies and a little extra to keep things enjoyable.

2. Many who come to craft fairs, will have no intention in buying anything, but to get ideas. Consumers are holding their purse strings tightly this season, and I predict that many will be last minute shoppers.

3. Compliments don't pay the bills. It can be very discouraging to get lots of compliments on your work, but not see the sales reflected.

4. My other fellow crafters are also seeing the trend of mass produced cheap products trumping over personal handcrafted work. Consumers will pay twice as much for the same item in store and not think twice, but hesitate for half the price when buying from someone locally at a fair or bazaar. We are making slave wage when you factor in how much time it really does take to produce our product.

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With using display props from my kitchen and personal collection, many people at first glance, though my gingerbread and snowmen were real cookies.

My day was not a total loss though, and I was grateful to those who did purchase some ornaments. I also made some connections where I can barter my photography services in exchange for selling space in their shop.

So in the mean time, if you do not live locally near me, just know that I do ship orders within the states. So you hear that west coast ;)