As always, things could have been worse. At least we weren't at the show north of Chicago in Evanston - ten people were injured due to a sudden storm that blew through and left a path of crafter destruction. Read the article here.
a crafter's nightmareIn addition to the crappy weather, there were just not very many customers. I had terrible sales - I'm not even sure if I covered my expenses! I learned during the show that we were competing with some other major events in Chicago that weekend (a Cubs/Sox game, Taste of Chicago including a free Stevie Wonder concert) so that could explain where all the people were.
On the brighter side, two awesome things happened during the show! A bride came to the market only to visit my booth and she ordered jewelry for her bridesmaids, which saved my sales, not to mention was flattering. The other awesome thing about the show was that I got to meet Cindy Tomczyk and a couple of her friends! I have one of her paintings, so it was nice to meet the face behind the creativity!
Okay bitching over. The end.
3 comments:
Hey Beth...I did this same show in May, it was my first show and I did okay but it seemed like there weren't that many people who were actually buying (and there were a TON of jewelry sellers-especially in the Indie Chicago section)!! I'm doing it again in August but after hearing your report...I'm not so sure it's even worth it! I thought maybe I just had a bad day but it sounds like the show isn't really that great (maybe just for crafters-the anitiques people may be doing better). Sorry to hear you didn't do so well and the weather was crappy...at least in the afternoon both days! Are you doing Renegade Chicago this year?
Did you at least get to do something fun while you were here?
Another friend of mine did the show in May and signed up to do it again. He said his sales were pretty good. I think I picked a bad weekend to do it but it's too expensive to risk it again! It cost me at least $700 just to be there (gas, hotel, show fee, etc).
AND I understand that it's an antique market/flea market mentality but I got so irritated at all of the people asking me for discounts. It's not like my jewelry is expensive, you know?
It was good meeting you too! :D Are you doing Renegade, Chicago?
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