THE EXPERIENCE OF A CASE OF FAIRNESS : CAN YOU MAKE A PROFIT AT CRAFT FAIRS?

We never really believe in craft fairs. But we did participate in one last Sunday and sold, one thing? Our crafty friend wanted to help us to sell some of our crocheted bits and so she did. She took some of our bits and displayed the at her stand. It was supposed to be a big and important fair. Everyone is there with their wallets ready to spend for Christmas.

We did not have too much of an expectation. We were not even expecting to sell anything. Mr Washy was probably more excited than us. Anyway, we love to crochet. It is a form of meditation for us. We do have a stash of crocheted bits at home and we like to call this our stash of potential gifts for friends. There is nothing more special than to make your own gifts. It is really a gesture of giving. Parting with money and buying something expensive (or not) is not quite the way to go, we think. If you are a good friend of ours, you know that somewhere in your wardrobe, there is something crocheted by us.

OK, so, can you earn at a craft fair? Considering the whole scheme of it, we would say no. We didn't stay the fair yesterday. We simply dropped our stuff and went on to run our errands. The idea of staying at the fair and dealing with haggling customers really isn't our thing. We have little patience for crowd.

So, our goof friend was there handling the stall with the other bits she was selling. She said sales was slow because there were many vendors and people were comparing prices. We did price out bits a bit high because we are not bothered if they sell or not. If someone can find a suit in our stash, then great, if not the stash is still ours to give away. We didn't make those bits for the purpose of sales so there was no disappointment involved. Considering the man hours put in them and deducting the commission and cost of the raw materials, how are we suppose to price them? We need to price them in such a way that our hours actually mean something. We love ourselves alright, and pricing our hours like some sweatshop workers just isn't going to make the mark for ourselves.

People are going to craft fairs like these and having in mind what they can possibly get at shops and then comparing what is uniquely handmade. There is no way of comparison, really. Mass production and sweatshops, developing countries, factories versus our fingers (still with gout). You know the deal. Honestly speaking, we would not even buy handmade ourselves. We would rather make it or really, buy from shops. That is unless the handmade item is so unique it is impossible to find it in shops, then it would be pricey too. Frankly, if someone can make it, we can too. Where is the line here? Can people really profit at craft fairs considering the hours spent? We think not really, but if earning a measly amount for your hours is considered an achievement, then it would probably work for you.