chauntelle Posted June 9, 2007 Share Posted June 9, 2007 hey guys have a craft fair today and im soo nervous,im going over everything like 10 times in my head how many things could go wrong????? AARRGH now breathe.Okay so my question is this im worried about height on my table! Something i've learnt all about in the past. What height do you guys go to??? Help would be great!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ah-soy Posted June 9, 2007 Share Posted June 9, 2007 Don't worry about the things that go wrong...concentrate on those that go right. So what if you table height isn't right this time...you will live and learn. Be sure to learn and let us know how it goes. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgia Posted June 9, 2007 Share Posted June 9, 2007 Breathe! You will learn something at every show. It will get easier and better.My tables are 29". I'm considering getting bed risers to increase their height, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.Good luck and be sure and let us know how it goes!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chauntelle Posted June 9, 2007 Author Share Posted June 9, 2007 well the first day is over and i survived,very quiet so hopefully it will pick up soon!! I made half of the table cost so for a quiet day it wasnt too bad,and just as all hope was failling i was aproached by a guy about wholesaling to him for a new shop hes opening and one of his websites!!!! Well i was grining like the cat that got the cream!!! Wont be needing a coat hanger in my mouth to get me too smile in my sleep 2nite!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!So im hoping things will be just as great tomorrow and cross my fingers on opening my first proper wholesale account!! Not bad for a 2nd craft fair and i wasnt even looking for any accounts. I think better things happen to me when im relaxed and not so bothered, Like the last party i did and i got two confermed partys and a better than average takings,Will update you all tomorrow, Thanx guys x:yay: :yay: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NattyCat Posted June 9, 2007 Share Posted June 9, 2007 well done Chauntelle. Hope the wholesale thing works out for you - i get approached all the time at craft fairs about wholesaling - but not one of them ever ever got back to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chauntelle Posted June 10, 2007 Author Share Posted June 10, 2007 Still smiling, Just recieved an email about the wholesale account as he promised he would send which is fantastic not thinking he would get back to me!!!Hes very speccific about what he wants, it worries me slightly because he is basically aiming at the high end market and it sounds like he wants me to make some plain sophisticated pillar candles with a 'luxry' scent- Whatever thats classed as!! Thats the good bit he wants me to leave the candles as they are with no labels so he can do his own and also un packaged so that he can add his own. I know people do do this but it seems unfair if he gets the reputation for my candles when ive done the hard work??? His next request is candles poured into glass beakers/jars,which he wants to find himself and doesnt have a clue what hes looking for! There is no way im going to do that as it will all fall back on me if the container is wrong or unsafe. It will also take me all the testing and retesting which i dont think he understands?So although it would be great to work with this guy as his plans for my candles sound great and its not every day that you land a wholesale account that actually contacts you after showing interest, i think we have a lot of ground work to cover first and ive a feeling that im going to have to set some ground rules in a nice way about my do's and donts!!!I will update you all and thanx for your kindness,Oh and by the way the craft fair was okay,didnt quite make my money back on the table because it was so quiet but made so good contacts for now and the future. :smiley2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinInOR Posted June 10, 2007 Share Posted June 10, 2007 Sounds like you had a good start to fairs. Gets you in the mood, lets you see what others do for their tables. You'll keep changing things around as you do more.Glad to see you want to set ground rules for wholesale - that's a good thing! Most people don't understand safety and testing and what goes into creating something special, so don't undercut yourself. Be a pro and let him know what you will and won't do. If this wholesale doesn't pan out, another will be along eventually that will work even better. Wholesale can be a good way to get your name out, but you also would probably like to make some money at the same time and not go broke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NattyCat Posted June 11, 2007 Share Posted June 11, 2007 Still smiling, Just recieved an email about the wholesale account as he promised he would send which is fantastic not thinking he would get back to me!!!Hes very speccific about what he wants, it worries me slightly because he is basically aiming at the high end market and it sounds like he wants me to make some plain sophisticated pillar candles with a 'luxry' scent- Whatever thats classed as!! Thats the good bit he wants me to leave the candles as they are with no labels so he can do his own and also un packaged so that he can add his own. I know people do do this but it seems unfair if he gets the reputation for my candles when ive done the hard work??? His next request is candles poured into glass beakers/jars,which he wants to find himself and doesnt have a clue what hes looking for! There is no way im going to do that as it will all fall back on me if the container is wrong or unsafe. It will also take me all the testing and retesting which i dont think he understands?So although it would be great to work with this guy as his plans for my candles sound great and its not every day that you land a wholesale account that actually contacts you after showing interest, i think we have a lot of ground work to cover first and ive a feeling that im going to have to set some ground rules in a nice way about my do's and donts!!!I will update you all and thanx for your kindness,Oh and by the way the craft fair was okay,didnt quite make my money back on the table because it was so quiet but made so good contacts for now and the future. :smiley2:Unfortunately that's how wholesale works a lot of the time. All of my wholesale accounts have their stuff unlabelled for labelling themselves. I don't really care if my name is on it - I am certainly not going to turn down a £5,000 order just because they don't want my label on the packaging!Do you have insurance? If you don't have insurance you need to get it now if you want to wholesale to this guy. It won't be "out of your hands" once he gets your candles - any issues, faults or claims will come right back to you so you need to protect yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramaroa Posted June 11, 2007 Share Posted June 11, 2007 I agree you have to make your own rules, you're working for yourself and don't have to do anything you are not comfortable with. Its all good experience though and I'm sure you will go from strength to strength. Often when you stress with these guys that you need to test their desired containers or whatever, they rarely come back, so don't beat yourself up or get too despondent about it all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doris Posted June 11, 2007 Share Posted June 11, 2007 I'm glad it wasn't too, too bad. My first, and BTW, ONLY, big craft fair was a disaster. First of all, the friend that I was sharing the booth with, her husband had a big medical test scheduled for that weekend. He had been waiting for months, but of course it fell on that weekend. So I singlehandedly had to unpack and set up etc. Then we had a huge storm, tons of snow in Halifax in early November. Very unusual. I wear sandals till the snow hits, and in this case I had little warning. I was walking through a foot of snow, endlessly back and forth, in sandals. Then the power went. So in this big arena, they opened all the doors, and we froze as well as stumbled in the dark.In spite of being advertised as a CRAFT fair, they had all this unbelievable junk. The booth opposite us looked like a yard sale. The one next to hers had all these ugly resin santas. Handcrafted?, yeah, right. Sales stank. It was like a flea market, with people wanting bags full of stuff for nothing.Then a friend of mine came up crying. She and her daughter had been doing this fair for years, always had a double booth (about $750), and she had come in that day to find that 2 quilts, total value over $3000, were gone. The security guards had taken them. The people running the show refused to do anything, pointed out that the contract stated that theft was not their problem. I can see that, but when you're hiring some low-life scum as guards because they're cheap and they're stealing like crazy after everyone else had gone, then I would think it would be their problem. A lot of other vendors also lost some stuff, as did we, but nothing like $3000.NEVER. AGAIN. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LynnS Posted June 11, 2007 Share Posted June 11, 2007 OMG a booth fee of $350.00. I never pay more than $125 so far. Have to be a mighty good show for more than that and sounds like the pits. For the wholesale I would go for it. I have no problem with their name(when I get a wholesale account). For the containers that would be fine after I tested them and he furnish. He is buying and must think he can get the money for them. I wonder if he has been checking other candlemakers for wholesale. IMO I would write up something like a contract saying for 6 months to 1 year depending how it goes. You want to be able to get out if things go sour.LynnS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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