On Sun, 11 Jan 2009 20:54:54 -0500, "Ted" wrote:

Long time lurker, first time poster.

With the economy being as bad as it is, I was wondering how you all have
been doing at craft shows. I did pens at a few shows and didn't do bad, but
had to stop due to work hours changing. That was a few years ago and I was
thinking about starting again.

I would do pens and start doing candle holders, oil candles and maybe a few
other items. I found that key chains never sold that well.

How do bottle stoppers and fan pulls sell?

Thanks
Ted

I don't know if any of my experience counts, I'm in Mexico..
My sales are way down, mostly due to lack of tourism.. The economy is stopping
most folks from vacationing..
I should probably break "sales" down into 2 sections, though, maybe "art" and
"Utility"..
There is still a good market for art, and I sell 1 or 2 of the higher end
($200+) a month, but the "utility" or "novelty" stuff is slow..

As bad as the economy is, there are still a lot of folks with money, and those
are the art buyers... I think that with art, they buy what turns them on and
rationalize/justify the price later..

Pens always sell well here, especially during the holidays when a case and
mailer is included.. Easy gift for folks in the States..
Wood type is important for your local, gotta find what they like, though in
general with most turnings, dark colors always sell better than light..
When I was in Central California, exotic hardwoods sold best, in Baja, the
demand is mostly for desert ironwood..

The only key chains that do well for me are the "secret compartment" ones, which
I put 4 or 5 toothpicks in..

When I moved down here, I stocked up on fan pull kits, thinking that since most
homes here had 3 or more ceiling fans, it HAD to be a winner... NOT..

I then bought a dozen wine stopper kits (SS with multiple rings)
Nobody bought them.. 2 reasons that I could determine, not a lot of wine
drinkers and the metal part of those kits stick up out of the bottle and are
UGLY..

I went with low-profile kits like Ruth's:
http://www.torne-lignum.com/stoppers.html
and started calling them "tequila stoppers"
They sell pretty well now and are a good way to use up ironwood scraps..

Hope some of this helps... HAVE FUN!


mac

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