Craft Fairs and Events - Lessons Learned

My 1st Event Table (note the flimsy gazebo legs)

I've regularly done events for a few years now, organised by a variety of people and organisations.  During that time I have learnt a lot.  Some good, some bad, some rather bizarre!

The same event, a year later -
Just as well, because it rained!

When I first started out, I found very little information available to give me many hints or tips on how to prepare for attending events as a baker.  Most information I could found was for handicrafts such as jewellery making, cards or sewing.  Whilst some of this information was valuable to me, I really could have done with it being a little more specific.

So, what have I learnt?

An indoor display, maximising area with a shelf unit



My standard display for an outdoor event

• Invest in the best equipment you can afford, or upgrade when you can.  I quickly learnt to invest in a better quality gazebo, designed to be used again and again, that was easy to put up and take down.
• Have a plan written down of what you want to bake to take along.  Don't leave it all to the day before, because that will more than likely end up with you working into the small hours of the day you're doing the event.
• Try to be unique.  Don't copy what other people are doing, you want to stand out, not blend in.
• If you're unsure of an event's attendance figures, take along some spare cakes, maybe undecorated, with the decoration separate.  That way if you need to use them, you can quickly assemble, but if not, they can then be wrapped and frozen for another time.  I have frequently had a spare carrot or chocolate cake to hand, assembled it, and sold out again within 20 minutes.
• Get packaging/storage that is durable for your equipment, and pack it in an order.  I use good quality plastic crates to store and transport all my crockery, packaging, table cloths, staging, etc.
• Plan, and be creative with your stall presentation and staging.
• You have to try out different events, venues and organisers to get a feel for what is right for YOU, and what you sell.  No two crafts people seem to have the same experience at the same event.
• Event organisers vary in both their approach, effort and commitment.  You need to try out different ones, to know who is working for that booking fee/table pitch.
• You have to take on some responsibility for advertising events you're attending.  Unfortunately some organisers do not prioritise it as much as getting their payment fees.
• Give an organiser feedback, good or bad, after an event, particularly if you're aware of comments from customers who have attended.  I do not necessarily mean in regard to your products, but about the event in general.
• A high pitch fee is no guarantee of high sales.  Work out what's right for you first.  A good rule of thumb is how many units will you have to sell in order to cover the pitch, fuel costs, expenses, and ingredients/item costs, before you begin to make a profit?  Too much and it could be unviable.
• If you attend events in the same venue, or with the same organiser that definitely do not seem to work for you, find another instead.  It can be soul destroying flogging a dead horse.
• Outside events require stamina, determination, and a certain amount of Dunkirk spirit.  The weather can have a massive effect, and even cause the cancellation.  That said, they have a unique atmosphere, and generally speaking seem to have a larger footfall attendance.
• You need a flexible, can-do attitude.  Floorplans change, some stallholders can have diva tendencies and demand moving.  In my experience your location on a floorplan in a venue has little bearing on the success you can have.  Chances are the diva will not be invited to attend again, whereas those who kept their cool, and were accommodating to changes will be.
• Learn to spot an organiser who sees stallholders as cash cows, and not as people trying to earn a living from their hard work.  They invariably do not stand the test of time.
• Create a conversation with people passing your stall.  You don't have to be needy and desperate for a sale, but you and the passing customers will tend to enjoy the day more if you do.
• Use events as an opportunity to network with other crafts people and trades, pick up business cards, and connect afterwards on social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, etc.
• When an event is really quiet, often when the weather has slowed footfall, use it as an opportunity to get to know your fellow stallholders better.  The crafts world can be a small one, so it helps to be a part of it.
• Stay connected to your sense of humour, you'll need it!  Events can be immense fun, you've just got to look for the opportunity to have it, and embrace the giddiness.  

They're the main points for guidance I can think of right now.  I'm sure I'll think of more to add in the future.

Events and Craft Fairs - In at the deep end!

In the very early days, I was trying to think of ways to develop my fledgling business.  Whilst I was very appreciative of the support offered by my friends, who recommended me to people they knew, it was obvious that I needed to find other means to advertise.  All good businesses rely on advertising and P.R., it's only natural that if you've got something to offer, you need to get the message out to potential customers.

 I did a bit of research into various ways to advertise; local magazines, newspapers, or having some leaflets printed.  However, all of those options needed a fair degree of cash investment, which I felt wasn't either wise, or appropriate so early on - that's business speak for cash-flow issues, or basically not wanting to spend all the business' money on adverts.

Whilst looking at the local publications, and doing some online research, I discovered some local events taking place.  That's when I realised the most cost-effective means to advertise what I did was to actually get 'out there' and be a visible presence.  So a few emails and phone calls later, I was booked into 3 local events.  The first of which was a 2-day local festival, so a bit in-at-the-deep-end, but that does seem to be my modus operandi.

I had no idea how much to prepare, what to charge, how to package, or even how to display.  Then there was the small issue of the first event being outdoor, and not having a gazebo or even a table suitable to put things on.  A hasty visit to a local DIY store got me a cheap and cheerful gazebo, and I invested in a good quality folding table.  I used some cake stands I already had, and some large serving platters to present the cakes on, and also bought some cute little display items from a local independent store.  The cupcake revolution was in full swing at about this time, but I decided to steer away from them, favouring more traditional larger cakes.

The weekend of the event came, and the weather was typically British for a bank holiday; overcast, cool and windy.  We did surprisingly well, but it was thoroughly tiring, and my poor partner spent most of the 2 days sat holding on to the back of the gazebo, and putting the guy ropes back into the ground when they were pulled out by the force of the wind.  We effectively became a galleon in full sail at certain points during the day.

What the first weekend taught me was that it enabled me to create an opportunity to advertise by effectively being a living advertisement for my work.  It gave me a chance to speak to potential customers, and for them to see for themselves what I did, whilst opening up the opportunity to have a conversation with me about their ideas, or future needs.

All in all it was a resounding success.

The Surprise Email

A few weeks after the Ceramic Art London exhibition, I received an email from the Editor of Homes & Gardens magazine.  She had been a guest at the CAL exhibition, and had taken a photo of my cakes, and had contacted another business thinking my designs might suit their brand, and wanted to ask my permission to pass on my contact details to them.

Talk about out of the blue.  This I had never anticipated, at least not so early on in the business.  I know I've been baking for absolutely years, and making cakes for other people, but to do it for a business takes it to a whole new level.

So I received a lovely email from a lady at a high end soft furnishings and perfume store, who was interested in commissioning some of my 'gilded' cupcakes for a press launch they were holding in May, at their flagship store in Marylebone, London. to launch the updated packaging of one of their classic fragrances.

I suggested that I make them some samples, to have a look at what I did, and to give them a chance to tweak my designs.  I delivered these the following week, by hand, to their HQ in the W. Midlands.

They were delighted with the cakes, and asked me to provide packaging too.

The individual packaging they wanted was in the style of a transparent cube, with a pink base and holder.  The cakes were going to be on display for the launch, and then put in each cube, to be sent out in goodie bags for each member of the invited press.

The hardest part of this commission was finding the packaging.  You have no idea how hard it is to find such a simple package.  I was able to find the cubes, but the pink base was frankly impossible to track down in the UK, and the overseas stockists weren't prepared to ship it to me.

In times like this, you need to get creative, and it occurred to me that we could just try to make the inserts, instead of buying them readymade.

A trip to a local hobby store secured some sheets of thick grade, pink card stock, and a clever cutting tool like this one by EK Success

I designed a template, and we (dear boyfriend and I) made the box inserts.  A resounding success story, to a problem that had kept me awake for too many nights.

We delivered them, on time, to London, and treated ourselves to a well-earned coffee in a cute little Italian  cafe  just down the road from the store on Wigmore St.

Here's a picture the organiser of the launch sent me of their evening's soiree, and I got a hand written letter from their director saying how perfect the cakes had been a week later.

Don't the bottles and cakes just go perfectly together?

The First Commission

I have a very close friend who is a ceramic artist, and one of her professional friends asked if I could produce some cupcakes for her upcoming exhibition at the Ceramic Art London at the Royal College of Art.  So no pressure!

The brief was rococo design, rich colours, and 24 of them.  It took hours to ice them, but I was really pleased with how they turned out.

And here they are on display at the exhibition

And I found out only last month that the artist who commissioned them has kept a few in a box, because she loved them so much.

There was another chapter to this story though, so read on to the next post.....

The Flood from Heaven, and Happy Valentines!

Well, really it came from the bottom of our road, where the water treatment plant is for the local water authority. We awoke in late January to a completely flooded garden, and the water still rising.

Thankfully not too much damage was done, but I lost the entire contents of my greenhouse, and so I got a small payout from the water company.  I used part of the money to buy all of us new passports, which cost a small fortune, I might add, and the rest of the money bought this baby, who arrived on Valentines Day <3 :

I have to admit I did squeal when the delivery driver arrived with this one, and OMG! it's SO heavy.

What better to make on Valentines Day, than some cute little celebratory vanilla cupcakes:

Aww, I do like a romantic ending :o)

Catching Up

It's been an incredibly busy few months.

That seed of an idea I mentioned in my post on 1st January this year, has been well and truly planted, nurtured, and is well and truly flourishing.

So, initially I considered taking over the running of a tea room in our local town, but then a few weeks later I discovered that a high street coffee house chain was opening opposite it (they costalot ;-) ).  That made my decision for me, not to pursue that idea.

In the meantime my niece had contacted me about a mum at her school starting her own baking business, had handed out leaflets at the school, and in my niece's words 'is nowhere near as good as you... why aren't you doing this?'

So I did!  I'll make a few more posts to fill in the gaps of the past few months, with pictures to show what I've been doing.

Craving Junk Food & Fighting It... have a Better Than MacDonalds Burger

So here we are, at the back end of the 3rd week of the new year, and you can bet your life that anyone who started a healthy eating regime as of 1st January is probably struggling to resist temptation and cravings right now.

It seems fine to stick to the straight and narrow for the first couple of weeks, and it's quite pleasant to be in a new routine, eating healthy meals.  However, it can get a bit repetitive, especially if you aren't eating a good variety of foods, or making yourself tasty meals.  My cravings aren't so much for the stodge, like bread and cakes, but I do really miss the savoury 'taste fixes', provided by the likes of thick cut crisps, cheesy pastas, and the occasional KFC.

So I've been doing Slimming World since last November, and have managed to achieve my 1 stone award this week, so I don't want to give up while I'm winning.  What I am craving like mad though, is more flavour and variety.  I thought about the kind of food that can give us a real 'fix', and that so many of us seem to give in to, and I thought of MacDonalds Big Macs and Quarterpounders.

I have created a burger that is just as, if not more delicious than a Maccie D's.

Here's my recipe to create this:

Better Than MacDonalds Burgers
Free on Extra Easy

Ingredients:
500g Extra Lean Minced Beef
4 small pickled gherkins (chopped finely)
1 shallot, or small onion (chopped finely)
Salt & pepper
2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp English Mustard
4 x wholemeal rolls   (HeB)
4 x low fat cheese slices (HeA)

Fries: 1kg Medium/Large potatoes

Serve with Mixed Salad of choice

Preheat oven to 220*C

Method:  
1.     Peel the potatoes, and slice into approx. 1cm thick chips.  Place in a pan of water, bring to boil and simmer for 5 minutes.  Place a couple of baking trays in the oven, spray with frylight/light oil to preheat.  Drain the water from the pan thoroughly.  With the lid on the pan, shake the potato chips gently, to 'fluff' the edges.  This helps them to bake better in the oven, with a more even browning.  Place the chips onto the baking trays and spray with a little more Frylight/light oil, and bake for 30 minutes, or until a dark golden brown and crisp.  You may need to turn the chips after 20 minutes, so check on them.

2.    Place the minced beef into a large bowl, breaking up the mince so that it is loose and free moving.  Add the chopped gherkin and onion, along with the Worcestershire sauce, mustard and seasoning, then mix well.  I found using a knife was more effective than a spoon at combining the mix, and then getting your hands in.

3.     Divide the beef mixture into 4.  Form each part into a ball, about the size of a small tennis ball, and then flatten between the palms of your hands.  It may help to place the flat burger shape on a cutting board, and press it flat with the back of a spatula, to get a firmly shaped burger.  The meat should get enough moisture from the seasoning to stick together, but if you find your meat isn't combining properly, use some beaten egg added into the mix, which will do the job.

Preheat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat, then place the burgers in the pan.  Cook on each side for approx. 10 minutes each side, until the burgers are thoroughly cooked through.

While the burgers are cooking, prepare your mixed salad, and if you fancy it, make a Slimming World friendly coleslaw from cabbage, onions, carrots and low fat creme fraiche.

I like to warm my rolls, either by a 20 second blast in the microwave, or by slicing in half, and placing cut side down in the frying pan, once the burgers are removed, which gives them a crispness on one side.

Assemble the burgers in the rolls, with a slice of cheese on top, and a generous side serving of chips.  Accompanied with the mixed salad.  Delicious!

Burger, SW chips, salad, coleslaw & 1 syn for the ketchup!

Mixed Salad