[Nfb-krafters-korner] Holiday Market Marketing
River Woman
riverwoman at zoominternet.net
Wed Nov 7 01:47:48 UTC 2012
The show is in my friend's garage. It was her husbands wood working shop -
he has Alzheimers and does not use in now - but when we started the show 12
years ago, it was an active wood working shop. They cleaned it up and put
up a screen along one wall to make a space to put all the equipment behind
that, so we could use the space of the shop.
She hosts the show and does not charge anyone anything at all for being in
it. It is free to each of us. It is set up boutique style, but each
artisans things are in one place together. She just assigns a space to each
person and we go in and set up our own spaces.
All sales are done from one table. There is a person who writes up the
cash/checks sales, and one who does the charges. Another person does the
wrapping and bagging of the things that are purchased. It is very
efficient.
And, my friend prepares a lunch, and the artists take turns going over to
her home together to have lunch. My daughter and I made a nice soup for the
first day, and we brought in fresh breads to go with it. On the next day,
my friend made a large salad and we had the left over soup from the day
before, too.
It is such a nice time together - and we have so much fun. I think it is so
successful because it is in such a personal place, and not a formal place
like a firehall. It has a hominess and a good feeling to it - and as I said
it is out in the country and no one would ever find it by accident.
It does not have to be anything fancy or expensive to host such a show. It
could be done in a room or two in a home or in a garage, or on an enclosed
porch.
I always give my friend a gift before I leave when I am tearing down the
show. She asks for nothing from any of us, and I like to just give her
something I have made that I think she would love - like a necklace, or a
scarf I knitted, or some kitchen towels and wash cloths, etc. I do not know
if anyone else gives her a gift or not - but I think maybe some others might
do it, too.
This is something we all wait for all year long. We get so excited to be
doing it.
OH, if anyone is on facebook, you can find our page for this show by
searching for the page - it is called _Art and Things Nice Holiday Market _.
You can read about it there, and we post lots of photos of the show in
progress so that others can see them and hopefully come out to the show.
Lynda
Lynda Lambert
River Road Studio, Since 1976
Village of Wurtemburg, PA 16117
Visit my Web Site at: http://lyndalambert.com
Visit my Blog at: http://www.walkingbyinnervision.blogspot.com
www.lyndalambert.com
www.walkingbyinnervision.blogspot.com
----- Original Message -----
From: <Blindhands at aol.com>
To: <nfb-krafters-korner at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2012 7:30 PM
Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] Holiday Market Marketing
> Lynda,
>
> Where do you have this show? Do you rent the pace?
>
> Joyce Kane
> _www.KraftersKorner.org_ (http://www.krafterskorner.org/)
> Blindhands at AOL.com
>
>
> In a message dated 11/6/2012 3:55:22 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
> riverwoman at zoominternet.net writes:
>
> Hi Jill,
> Wouldn't that be wonderful to begin a project like that!
> We are a group of only 12-14 artists who do this together. It is so
> much
>
> fun for us. We always have it on the first weekend of November - so people
> come to expect to do it and to shop with us that weekend. We see the
> same
> people every year, plus new ones who hear about it through word of mouth
> or
> see our ad in the newspaper or on Face Book. We all share the cost of
> the
> newspaper ad - it is only about 10. each - and of course FB is free for
> us
> all.
>
> We set the show up on Friday, and then we are open for business on
> Saturday
> and Sunday. We are talking about the possibility of having a wine and
> cheese gala opening for it on Friday night next year. We thought it
> might
> attract people who would enjoy coming after work on Friday, or have a
> little
> night out at our event. The wine and cheese cost would be shared among
> us
> all - so it would be very reasonable to do.
>
> Oh, I forgot one other thing we do when the show is open to the public.
> We
> have a refreshment area where we put out cookies and punch - all brought
> in
> by the artists. Each of us brings something for this holiday treat table
> and
> people just love it. It gives them a place to linger awhile and visit
> with
> each other and then to shop some more. We do not provide any chairs for
> sitting down on - that would encourage people to come in and eat and
> drink.
> We figured out very early on that it is never a good idea to have people
> sitting around eating at an art opening - it kills sales to do htat. We
> found that out by experience! lol
>
> Lynda
>
> Lynda Lambert
> River Road Studio, Since 1976
> Village of Wurtemburg, PA 16117
>
> Visit my Web Site at: http://lyndalambert.com
> Visit my Blog at: http://www.walkingbyinnervision.blogspot.com
>
> www.lyndalambert.com
> www.walkingbyinnervision.blogspot.com
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "jill" <jillbilly4 at comcast.net>
> To: "'List for blind crafters and artists'"
> <nfb-krafters-korner at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2012 3:14 PM
> Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] Holiday Market Marketing
>
>
>> Linda,
>> I really appreciate your info. I would love to do a holiday market at
>> some
>> point in conjunction with our Alabama institute for the deaf and blind
>> regional center. I volunteer there during the year. I would love to
> get
>> a
>> number of blind crafters together here locally to showcase their
> abilities
>> and talents. Your information is great for planning purposes! Thanks
> for
>> taking time to write down your thoughts!
>>
>> Jill
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Nfb-krafters-korner
> [mailto:nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org]
>> On
>> Behalf Of River Woman
>> Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2012 10:38 AM
>> To: List for blind crafters and artists
>> Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] Holiday Market Marketing
>>
>> Hi everyone,
>>
>> I thought some of you might like to get some tips on marketing the
> holiday
>> shows you might be doing this year - or have the information you can use
>> for
>> something in the future. I hope this helps someone. Our Christmas
>> artisan
>> market is very successful, and gains momentum each year, even though it
> is
>> out in the country, and has no such thing as a "store front" or
>> "pedestrians" or people just passing by. In other words, it is out in
>> the
>> middle of nowhere, really.
>>
>>
>>
>> Our show went really well this past weekend - lots of people and just
>> about
>> everyone came to buy. I don't think I saw anyone leave without a
>> package -
>> but we have built up that clientelle for the past 12 years.
>>
>> How we built our clientelle:
>>
>> We advertise the local newspaper.
>> We call the show a "market" which immediately make a person think of
>> buying things there.
>> The word, Market, indicates
>> "selling" stuff.
>>
>> We keep records of those who have made purchases each year. They will
> get
>> an invitation by mail and by e-mail each year.
>>
>> We give a wonderful GIFT to one lucky person at the end of the show.
>> The vendors EACH donate one item for the "gift bag" and everyone who
> buys
>> something at our show, gets to fill out a little coupon as they pay for
>> their purchases at the check out desk.
>>
>> The coupons for the drawing are kept till the end of the show.
>>
>> On the coupon, we get their name, address, email, phone, and how they
>> found
>> out about our show. This way we know what is most effective for brining
> in
>> people
>>
>> We have a FaceBook page for the show. It is FREE marketing.
>> On that page, we highlight different members who will be selling there -
>> show photos of their work, and describe it, on the FB page.
>>
>> Each of the vendors "share" that information through our own FB pages,
>> too.
>>
>>
>> Remember this:
>>
>> IT takes a maximum amount of effort by all of us to being out the buyers
>> each year. That is what it takes - you cannot just put out your work and
>> think that people will come and buy - it takes a lot of work all year
>> long.
>>
>> And, one final thing that makes our show work is that there is no
>> duplication of products. In other words, only one sculptor in the show;
>> only one photographer, only one card maker; only one knitwear designer,
>> etc.
>> It is very important to limit the scope of vendors so that they are not
>> competing with each other. Be selective in what vendors you permit into
>> your
>> show - Make sure it is people who respect each other and who get along
>> well
>> as a group. You don't want anyone who tries to undersell anyone else,
>> or
>> who makes duplicate items. This way the show stays FRESH and EXCITING to
>> the
>> people who come to shop each year.
>>
>> I hope this helps anyone here who is intending on putting together a
>> nice
>> holiday market in your area.
>>
>> Remember, it takes time to build it up, so just work on it throughout
> the
>> year and be really selective about what you are putting on display.
>>
>> Lynda Lambert
>> 104 River Road
>> Ellwood City, PA 16117
>>
>> 724 758 4979
>>
>> My Blog: http://www.walkingbyinnervision.blogspot.com
>> My Website: http://lyndalambert.com
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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