jennifer Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 I've attended a few craft shows in various towns, but the one I would like to do in my own town (the only one we have here actually) was canceled last year because the organizers grew tired of doing it--they are both elderly women. I was considering contacting my CofC and trying to take it over. When I attended as a shopper it seemed great! I often made purchases. So anyway I was wondering what hosting a craft show involves other than the obvious. Any help is welcome!! Here's my list so far, please add anything you can think of!advertising to attract vendorsadvertising to ensure a good customer turnoutrenting the buildingcollecting vendor feesarranging vendors in the buildingbeing at the building for vendor setup the day before & early the day ofcontacting a group to provide or providing a concession area myselfcollecting vendor tax IDs and sales tax for those who do not have thempossibly providing coffee/donuts for vendors before showhand out survey sheets to vendors for likes/dislikes to improve future shows Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicky_CO Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 One thing I know of off hand is you have to have insurance that will run anywhere between $500 to $2500.Decide if this is a juried show or not have a good application that also release you from liability from vendors such as sales, weather, theft..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judy, USMC Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 The first thing is to start off with a budget. Check out newspaper ad charges, the building rental fee, printing charges for flyers, postage to send out applications and confirmations, throw in the cost of your coffee and donuts too, if you want to provide them. Check with the building management, they may have liability insurance - if not add that in. Then figure the size and how many spaces you have available... let's just say 80 for example. Take 75% of the number of spaces (for this example it would be 60) and divide that into the money required to run the show. Don't plan on selling out...that's why I recommend the 75% figure. That way you have enough money to cover all your expenses in case the participation is low. Now you've determined the price per space. Ask yourself if you would participate at that price...if so then you can commit. This is the hardest part. The mechanics of getting everything set up will be a lot easier. Wish you success! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ah-soy Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Can you contact the former organizers and talk/meet with them about it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennifer Posted July 11, 2007 Author Share Posted July 11, 2007 Okay so event insurance unless covered by the building owners insurance already but would probably be a good idea even if its covered and a budget.I'm not sure if I can contact the previous people or not...I wanted to have an idea of what I might be getting into before I even contacted the chamber. I'm sure that they can give me names and maybe even numbers for the previous people. Any more pointers out there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LynnS Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 I agree. Contact former organizers.They should have a list of those who participated last year. Send info and appl to them first and any that drop out advertise limited space. Give a deadline for booth rental. I would stay with the cost. What it was last year unless you see it will cost more. Everything has gone up.For insurance?? I never thought about that but that would be paid with the money you charge for a booth. Charge accordingly but with talking to other ladies you will know what is taken out to pay for the cost to do one. Does it cost to rent the building etc? That is also a consideration. Also remember if people are not making money you MIGHT hear about it. Weather can have a bearing. Cannot plan ahead with that. I did a show and didn't make alot.One of the ladies who was on the Board of the people who planned it was next to me.I asked her to please put me down for next year.I said it didn't matter what I did. Of course no one was selling but the food booths. LynnS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sockmonkey Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 It would also be a good idea if you could find out if there would be any competing events on the day you plan to have yours.I learned it is wise to find out as much as you can by checking out event listings such as craftlister.com to see if there are events nearby that could take away from your event. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShoogieScents Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 Jennifer,Where at in OKlahoma are you located? I am interested in finding out how this goes for you as eventually I will want to be a vendor at some craft shows. Good luck to you Bobbiewww.ShoogieDesignz.comDesigner Websites, Boutiques & More... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissMary Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 Make sure written contracts for each vendor releasing you from liability of their products, and a written contract when they pay about cancellations, (I.E. If you cancel 6 weeks out, you may recieve 50% of your fee back, if you cancel within 4 weeks, no refunds given, no refunds given for weather, etc.) and have it reviewed by a lawyer.Check with your local tax commission, as sometimes shows can be in a different tax bracket than the standard sales percentage.Will the venue have plenty of restrooms? Is it partially outdoors where you may need port-a-potties?Electrical hookups for booths, will you have them? And if so, does the event building provide the cords and such or will you (and possibly secure an electrician).If you do concessions yourself, the proper food license for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennifer Posted July 19, 2007 Author Share Posted July 19, 2007 Jennifer,Where at in OKlahoma are you located? I am interested in finding out how this goes for you as eventually I will want to be a vendor at some craft shows. Good luck to you Bobbiewww.ShoogieDesignz.comDesigner Websites, Boutiques & More...I'm in northwest oklahoma. I haven't had a chance to check with the chamber things keep coming up. Make sure written contracts for each vendor releasing you from liability of their products, and a written contract when they pay about cancellations, (I.E. If you cancel 6 weeks out, you may recieve 50% of your fee back, if you cancel within 4 weeks, no refunds given, no refunds given for weather, etc.) and have it reviewed by a lawyer.Check with your local tax commission, as sometimes shows can be in a different tax bracket than the standard sales percentage.Will the venue have plenty of restrooms? Is it partially outdoors where you may need port-a-potties?Electrical hookups for booths, will you have them? And if so, does the event building provide the cords and such or will you (and possibly secure an electrician).If you do concessions yourself, the proper food license for it.good point about cancellations. my town is way to small to have diff tax brackets I mean the town includes about 2700 people with the surrounding country people included. it would be inside. electric depends on the building to an extent. and an electrician seems a bit inappropriate for my purposes because the buildings aren't very large. as far as concessions I was thinking of contacting a 4-H/FFA type group to see if they wanted to have a 'fundraiser'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissMary Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 You'd be surprised at the taxation on certain things in different places. It also could be county imposed or state imposed. An electrician may seem inappropriate, but if the buildings aren't very large, they may not have a ton of outlets and you definitely don't want to blow fuses DURING the show! Like I said, it's how the building owners handle it, but if they tell you, you are on your own... you can hire for pretty cheap to come help set it up, maybe 2 hours max or so and be charged about $100, but the memory of everything going out, including lights, a/c or heat will last a lifetime for those vendors! ETA: And if you do blow fuses because of too many extension cords or the wrong ones, or too many into an outlet, whatever, you could be responsible for damages! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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