Craft Show Listings

Hi – This page is not a Craft Show Listing page but rather help on how to find all the craft show listings that you can.

Getting all the information that you can when searching for craft show listings is something that you build up over time.

I was a full time crafter for a long time – somewhere near 16 to 18 years, and I have to say that the quality of the shows that you trade on are absolutely vital to how successful your business is.

So – Here on this page I am going to share with you some of the methods that I used to make sure that I had a very complete list of every possible type of crafter show, trade show school function and festival that you could think of.

Once I had a similar system running that I am going to show you here – I was know as the “most clued up” trader around – and the joke is that it was only true because everybody was phoning me to ask what was up next, and then telling me bits and pieces as they chatted to me, and I built up all my details that way. BUT I still needed to implement this system first so that other traders wanted to call me for the latest show listings.

Craft show listings are not something that you just stumble upon by accident – to find then you do need to do some serious research.

Now I guess that I need to point out to you that I am South African and naturally that would affect how I operated as a trader/ crafter but I suspect that you might be in a country that has even more craft shows and therefore you really need to be sure that you have done your craft show listings research properly.

Let me tell you a Quick story. (sorry – I am chatty by nature )

Back in the early days of my hammock business (I had seen a hammock chair somewhere – made one for myself – and very soon I was developing a range of high quality hammocks and it had become a business) I was a little cocky about how much I knew about marketing. Actually I am even cockier now – but that is another story.

I had decided that the small country towns were not worth the effort and the costs to do a three day show in a small town would outweigh the time I lost traveling etc to those small town shows.

So I tried one or two, and decided to keep on trading at the upmarket Sunday craft markets in the bigger richer cities.

I did well enough. But at one particular upmarket craft market a group of ladies would come past once a year and invite hand picked traders to their big annual art festival.

I had heard that this festival was very hard to get into, and those that did get in made an absolute fortune.

So, being a fool, I told them every year that I was honored that they invited me, and that I was quite happy where I was.

Until one year I decided to apply, got accepted, traded and made an absolute fortune.

Over that week I made more money than I normally do in an entire month.

The lesson that I learned? Listen to your fellow traders – they can give you more information than you can get anywhere else. Believe them too!

Another quick story – LOL

I was trading at a far flung corner of the country (actually very near the Kruger national Game Reserve) and was invited to a brand new show the very next week and said yes without hesitation, as the other option required that I drive 500 K’s home, reload the car – and drive another 500 K’s in the opposite direction. (Or – ha ha – spend a week at the game reserve with friends)

Turns out I only did OK, at that show – but the next year it doubled, and doubled again – by the fourth year it was my second biggest craft/art festival.

Before I go here is a link  – just for fun – to another story about that first weekend.

http://www.squidoo.com/hammock-chairs-1

Go all the way down to the post titled “A Winters Night in the Bush”

OK, Back to the Craft show Listings methods

I will list some of the methods that I used to build up a store of information and contacts that I used to compile lists to help me choose the best craft shows that I could.

I do also want to point out to you to not rest on your laurels if you think you are already an experienced crafter – stay connected – stay tuned to the grapevine, or risk loosing out.

Craft show listings method one

Use the internet.

Naturally that is exactly what you have done already or you would not have arrived at this page of mine.

But I need to point out to you that you must seek out every single resource online. Do not just find the biggest craft listings company and leave it at that – look up trade show listings, flea market listings and any other combination that you can think of. It is only by being 100% sure that you have all your sites found and logged can you go on to step two.

Find other busy crafters online – from your country – and ask them if they still trade at shows. E mail as many craft sites as you can think of or find online.

Go to blogger and look for craft blogs there and ask them. Remember that a crafter that is still using a blogger blog as a website is probably not making a lot of money online and needs to still trade at craft markets regularly to earn money.

Go to Etsy and do the same type of research – find other crafters and share information with them.

Craft show listings method two

Start your own craft network for listings

If you use my methods – and you will find that this does take time to build up a list of crafters and websites that can keep you up to date with the best craft show listings – why not set up a website or blog that these people have to be members of, and they then log in and add what they know, and are allowed to share with the other members entries.

If you need to learn how to do this sort of website without wasting months to learn – I have a course that can teach you how. Contact me.

Craft show listings method Three

Talk to your fellow crafters

Now this is the method that you have probably been using already – but step it up a notch.

By simply chatting to your friends and neighbors at the craft markets that you are already attending you can get the best info, and this from people that you should be able to trust.

BUT – If you told them that you have started a website/blog that keeps all these details as a listing town by town – season by season – then you might get then to open up a bit more. Most crafters are friendly people anyway, and all people love to brag about what they know that you might not know.

PS – let them know that you are doing this extensive research thing – and tell them that they are welcome to call you for the latest show listings, and that way your will find that these crafter and traders will eventually be your strongest source of news and listings.

Craft show listings method Four

Magazines

I found that it is not only the craft magazines that you must dig through for all the latest news about the craft shows and craft show listings.

Look in the country magazines, the decorating magazines, the farming magazines. I used to buy a lot of different magazines that often listed markets that I never found anywhere else.

Travel magazines for example often spoke about the markets and festivals at a specific town during “the wine season” or the “harvesting season” etc.

Please remember that a magazine has to be prepared long before the printing and distribution etc, so a lot of their listings are for the bigger or the regular craft shows or weekend markets.

Craft show listings method Five

Newspapers

Here in Johannesburg the local suburbs all have a local paper that is very targeted to the local community. I used to go to their head office once a week- and pick up about 35 newspapers, and then go home and read them all one by one.

But it was great – because I picked up school functions, local fetes and a lot more that sometimes turned out to be very lucrative. Naturally by the time you are trading where you are searching for multiple shows and markets it is because you have more than one stall, or are using agents or staff to run your other booths/stalls.

Craft show listings method six

Radio Stations

Here in South Africa there are a few of the bigger radio stations that offer a “whats on” feature and these days that are featured on their websites. This is another great method to find out whats happening where.

Craft show listings method Seven

Art Organizations. NGO’s

I must confess that very often any form of “organization” tends to be a little clumsy and chunky with how they ruin their systems, and therefore they normally have only one biggish show/ festival or event once a year.

However sometimes you need to know the people in control there or you do not get your foot into the door.

Do not discount all the weird or obscure events from your trading lists, as sometimes big crowd pullers can be a very good place to trade.

I have traded at massive running events, cycling events, kids events, church Easter events and so many more that I have probably forgotten all about now.

I do not say that all these were profitable, but depending upon your product, you can do very well.

When I was selling the toy parachutes that we sewed, we did a kiddies cycling event, and did extremely well in a two hour period, and I was home again long before lunchtime.

Craft show listings method Eight

The trade shows

If you are a crafter – you can sometimes think that you are restricted to only trading at the craft markets or craft shows – then you are severely restricting your potential.

This is true for all types of products that you might sell. Let me give you a really obscure example – (while I am thinking about kiddies cycling) lets say that you import cycling clothing, now you do not need to restrict yourself to only cycling related events. All you need to do is to find the correct combination of crowd VS cost of stall.

I have done a wide variety of different products over the years as a trader, and I learned long ago to simply go where there are people. Seriously – like a very hot day at the beach!, or a free jazz concert, or a, or a…

Craft show listings method Nine

Charities – Schools

There are different levels of charities that all need looking into.

There are the big and obvious ones, like the SPCA (RSPCA?) and societies for the blind etc.

make up a list and then call them one by one.

Here in South Africa there is a small school for cerebral palsy kids that does a market that attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year and they literally raise millions or rands in profits every year. This tiny little school easily beats all the biggest schools in their fundraising.

There are annual events like fireworks and school rugby festivals that are very big here in Johannesburg, but sadly very often the organizers set their fees for corporate traders and hence cut out normal traders. Their stupidity.

Craft show listings method Ten

Listing publications – Show books

Look out for other listing places, We used to have a publication called the “show book” and it was an annual publication, and every single trader bought a copy – simply because it had a lot of shows and markets listed.

Conclusion to this craft show listings page

So that finishes the main methods that I used to keep my business at the top of the news chain and to stay 100% ahead of all the craft show listings, and become an authority in that field.

If you find yourself with a lot of this information and are keen to build a website relating to this – feel free to ask me for details on how to set up a website that crafters could then pay a minimal fee to belong to (like $5 a month) and that way eventually you will be so hooked up that you could have thousands of crafters that belong to your club, and you will have another income source.

I have been doing website development now full time for over 30 months, and sell a training course that can teach you how to develop a website business online.

Please look at all the copies of free reports that I have on offer on this website – If you think that I am giving you great tips and content – then get the free reports and lets go further with developing your business.

Trade show listing, flea market listing and craft show listings help all traders to keep busy with their shows.