Why I Love Selling at Craft Fairs

As we head into the Spring and Summer Craft Fair season, I can feel my excitement rising and a wee bit of positive pressure to create something new and exciting in the colours of Scotland.

I am a self-confessed ‘craft fair’ groupie. It started over 6 years ago at Crathes Castle in Scotland where I sold my first cushion with a lot of guidance from Isobel at Exclusively Highlands. I remember being so excited and honoured that someone would buy one of my handmade cushions. Since that first sale, I have sold cushions and throws all over Scotland and I still get the same buzz I got the first time. My husband told me I was shaking while completing the sale. I only remember being so excited and honoured that someone would buy one of my handmade cushions.

The joy of being amongst my customers, chatting to fellow crafters, catching up on all the news and showing off all our beautiful handmade products, is why I love it so much.

Getting Ready

There is a little magic about selling at craft fairs and a lot of hard work in the build-up that goes with each event I attend. The car is packed full, my husband has read out and ticked off ‘the list’ before we leave. Lots of questions are streaming through my mind. Where is my stall situated? How easy will it be to off-load and set-up? Who else is exhibiting? Am I close to the people I have met before at other Craft Fairs? Will the weather be kind to us? Will I have a connection for my payment terminal? Where can we get a coffee and the ‘all important’ bacon roll to start my day?

The position of my cushions and throws on my allocated stand is important as the colours should flow together. They have to look amazing, attractive, and inviting. Lighting is important too so that customers can see the cushions & throws at their best.

I enjoy improving and tweaking my display as it rolls towards opening time. The mood is intense as the anticipation grows amongst us crafters. We all want to have a good fair with lots of regular customers and new admirers of our handmade goods.

My customers

Once the doors open and the public arrive, it is great to start chatting to my customers about the fabrics, colours, my design process and have a good laugh. At one fair near Inverness a local farmer asked me “So what is so luxurious about that cushion then?” we had a long chat about sheep, the price of wool and highland cows. He did buy one of my Trossachs cushions for his granddaughter as it reminded him of his favourite highland cow!

I really like talking to people about anything and everything, as well as about my cushions and throws. Most of my fabrics and products have a wee story behind them, which I love to pass on. If my husband covers my stall at break time, he tells my customers that he “locks me up in the attic and this is what she creates!”, it usually get a laugh!

Returning customers come to chat and show me photos of where they have placed their Baigali Designs cushion or throw. This feedback is fantastic and it is so good to see my designs in their new homes. This gives me a real sense of purpose. It is an incredible feeling to have someone buy something I have designed and made. If I was footballer, this would probably be like scoring a goal! I feel delighted but also humbled, as it I do put a lot of thought into placing each piece of fabric together and to have someone appreciate it, is wonderful.

A day at a craft fair goes by very fast when you are busy selling and chatting. If the Fair is staged over a few days, the opening excitement is there each morning.

As the Fair comes to a close

When the Fair comes to a close, I always feel a little sad but soon get stuck into the hustle and bustle of the ‘pack down and head for home phase’ of the weekend. I pack everything away, load the car, (hopefully with a few less cushions) and say goodbye to my crafting family. I do usually feel exhausted. If my husband is with me, he kindly drives me home, where a nice hot bath awaits.

It is hard work at times, but so rewarding in lots of ways.

Lesley