Enter Shannon.
'Hayley, you want to co-host a craft fair with me?'
'As long as you take the lead and tell me what to do, sure. I need some goals to work towards.'
And that's how Dows Market on Main came to be.
All the while, she was basically coaching me (for free) on how to build a website and blog of my own, neither of which I knew much about. I'm sure the last thing she wanted to add to her plate was to respond to my long winded text messages about how to fix something I was hung up on, technically speaking. But, she did it. I've learned so much from her from business building to market planning, and I now have skills in those areas I never thought I'd have as well as a drive to do all the things I never thought I'd do. She has been blessed with the gift of leading, and I am reaping the benefits of that. Thank you, Shannon!
As the Market drew closer, we were grateful to have picked a facility where we were able to come in several different times beforehand to measure, plan, and pinpoint how to place all the booths. One of the perks of living in a small town is everyone knows everyone and you can just come and go as you please, which was very helpful as first time co-organizers in preparing for an event of this size.
I don't think there was really any rhyme or reason to the date we picked, except to say that it seemed to be about the time of year where the weather would be nice (wrong-ish..it was so cold after a week of fantastic weather) and we thought people would be wanting to get out of the house after a long winter lull (bingo, they did).
Being a farmer's wife, I didn't factor in the reality of my husband not being around to help load and unload things into the facility for me. But I had a lot of help from other family members. The date we picked received positive feedback overall, and we were pleased to hear that. There were a couple other events going on that same day including a Dance Recital and Prom in neighboring towns, but I don't think that would deter us going forward.
*Registration Fee of $10 was, as we learned, a very reasonable booth fee. With the amount of time that went into planning, posting, and featuring the vendors, it's fair to say for future events, the registration fee will have to reflect all those things.
*We didn't want to turn interested parties away, but quickly learned that there really must be a limit on the amount of vendors to accept as space allows. It was a tight squeeze, and we had to open an overflow room as well. Some vendors suggested using that room instead as a seating area where customers can sit and visit while eating what they purchase from food vendors. I thought that was a great idea and it will be something to consider for future markets.
*Along those lines, we will have to be very specific on different booth spaces offered, whether that be a full booth space, a table booth space, or an outdoor space. Knowing these things in advance will help when mapping out placement and give us a better understanding of how many to accept while still providing enough space for those participating. It was also worth noting that as traffic slowed toward the end of the day, we were especially thankful for those vendors who kept their displays up for the duration.
*More options for outdoor vendors, especially food options. The lines were incredibly long.
Shannon and I shared a single booth space at this Market. Essentially, we were both working with a 6x5 foot space, which made for some tight quarters. I had an L shaped setup with a 6 foot and 4 foot table, along with a small check-out stand. It worked for me, though I did notice that when it was busy, many customers would congregate in the walkways, blocking others from accessing certain booths. Did it lead to missed sales? Maybe. But these are the things we need to think about for future events, making sure we leave ample room in the walkways for people to visit.
It took me 3 different trips over on 3 different days to complete my setup. Not ideal, but it helped me to be less stressed the day of. I definitely need to be more efficient at booth setup, especially with events that only give you an hour prior to do that. I think bundling smaller items together will help with that.
My favorite display pieces were my grid walls with baskets and my checkout stand. The checkout stand was new for me, and I loved it. I was able to have my packaging, cash box, notebook, sales orders for custom orders, and everything right there. I will definitely be doing that again in the future.
This was not my first vendor show, but it had been at least 10 years since my last one, so I was basically starting over.
I focused on gift sets, using glass cups and pairing those with a coordinating tote bag and coaster. I only sold one of those sets, but brought around 10 options.
The glass cups and coasters individually sold really well.
Stickers, buttons and bookmarks were not big sellers, which is a problem considering I started this small biz with stickers and buttons in mind. After all, my catch line is 'gifts that stick with you.'
Magnets and smaller gift bundles also did well.
Overall, I am really wanting to focus more on gift sets/bundles rather than individual smaller items which alone don't have a high enough price point to make a profit on anyway.
This is the best market I have ever had with right around $340 in sales. For selling lower priced items, this was a very good day for me.
I will be doing more markets throughout the year, so be sure to follow me on Instagram and Facebook for announcements and product drops. Top priority for me going forward is to up my game in the content sharing department. I spend time creating all the things, but don't take the time to post all the things. I need to fix that.
Thank you to all who came out to support our Market! We wouldn't have been able to call it a success without you! Keep an eye on the Dows Market on Main website for announcements and other Markets coming up that you will most definitely want to check out.
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| Cedardale Farm Dahlias |
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| Cedardale Farm Dahlias |
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| LovelyCo Candles |
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| hayleyco designs |
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| Hippie Stitches by Shannon |
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