MH,
I did a lot of craft shows about 10 years ago, and learned a lot of lessons the hard way. I'll try to give you a couple.
Have a wide range of prices available. My first show I had prices for $35 and up for custom lamps I made, and barely sold enough to cover my entrance fee. Later shows I had a handful of low cost pieces that sold surprisingly well, and helped cover my costs. Customers love things in the $3 to $8 range.
Know the competition. Have someone there with you at the show so that you can go around and see what you're up against. If booths look real crowded or busy, maybe that's something you might want to get into as well.
People like to haggle. I never planned on that fact, and priced my work without any 'wiggle room'. I later padded my prices a bit, and let folks haggle away. If someone wanted to pay full price, I always gave them a special deal.
Entrance fees. Make sure you know how much you have to sell to cover ALL your costs. I entered a 'bigger' show with a pretty hefty entrance fee, only to find another crafter had similar projects. I left that day with a net loss on sales. Not a happy day.
Inventory. Don't go into too big of production runs before you know what sort of thing your market wants. Have a variety in case you end up selling in a show where someone has exactly the same sort of merchandise.
Gimmick. Do some cutting at a show if possible. Find some other way to show the customer that you are actually the one making these products, not just buying and reselling.
Business cards. I had a connection in the printing business, and he made me a big batch of business cards. I used these for price tags, contact cards, anything I could think of so that folks would remember where to come back to if they needed more. Most of my business back then was referrals from previous customers. This let me scale back how many shows I went to.
I had a good time making projects, but 2 or 3 BAD customers really put a bad taste in my mouth with the whole craft show thing. One lady bought a $100 lamp, and damaged it before she even left the event, because she carried it around the whole time. I ended up fixing it for her and later delivering it to her home when repairs were complete, and she still thought she deserved a discount because it broke. Others routinely complain that prices are high, or that so and so sells for less. I let it get to me too much, and changed my business model. Folks know what I can do, and when the want something they see me.
Hopefully you will have a great experience. Don't be discourgaged if you have a sale where you don't sell anything. Some days are hot, some cold. Good luck, and remember, you're supposed to be having fun!
