Blog Archives

Making money with craft show customer service!

Thrill of all thrills--you've got a potential buyer in your booth! Now what? First smile, make eye contact, greet the customer and start a simple conversation--anything but, "Can I help you?" Walk the fine line between being available and being pushy. And definitely never sit in a corner reading a novel! Ask questions to create a personal connection like, "Are you looking for a gift or for yourself? "What colors do you enjoy best?" "What are your favorite styles of crafts?" Buyers often come to ...
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How to Raise Creative Kids

'Where did he come up with that?' Kids often amaze us with their imaginative ideas, and we should give ourselves a pat on the back for playing a role in this development. Innovative thinking is essential for success in school and in life, and it's our job as parents to nurture our kids' innate desire to be creative. Inventive play fosters original thinking, an asset when children are confronted with new situations. By providing activities that use their creativity and imaginations, we are ...
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Christmas Craft Projects: Bust Boredom With Kid Crafts

Have you ever heard those familiar words, "I'm bored," coming from the mouth of your child? If so, then kid crafts are the answer. Providing the kids with plenty of interesting craft materials and project ideas and boredom will soon be a thing of the past. In here I will outline a few ideas and their instructions to keep little fingers busy throughout the Holidays. I?m sure you already know that you need to have plenty of the basic essential on hand like paper, crayons, safe scissors, and ...
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The Business Side of Craft Shows

The Business side of Craft Shows Starting a craft show business when you're really an artist at heart may be a rude awakening for you. Nevertheless, if you decide to turn your hobby into a business, you need to switch hats from time to time. You wear your artist hat when creating and producing your crafts, and you put on your businessperson's hat when you're running the business end. Begin successful on the craft show circuit doesn't just mean you have a great product; it also means you have a ...
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Your Craft Show Booth - How it can make you more money!

The requirements for your booth will be spelled out in your contract for each show. This includes set up and break down times and policies to which you must adhere. In order to avoid having to have different displays for different shows, it makes sense to create a moveable display that will work well in the majority of situations--both for indoor and outdoor events. Even if the promoter supplies a backdrop, a rug or tables, you can bring your whole set-up and use it instead. Your display is ...
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Craft Show Items - Patents and Trademarks

These are similar to, but not exactly like a copyright. In fact, a patent and trademark are a far more in-depth than a simple copyright on your craft show items. "A patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to the inventor, issued by the Patent and Trademark Office. The term of a new patent is 20 years from the date on which the application for the patent was filed in the United States or, in special cases, from the date an earlier related application was filed, subject to the ...
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Hiring for Your Craft Show Business

The nature of your craft show business and your budget will determine whether or not you need others to help you with any aspect of your craft show business. Needless to say, the success of your crafts at craft shows will also have a considerable effect on whether or not you will need to hire employees. On the "free" end, you can get help from friends and family to produce your crafts and help with any business aspects. A tax benefit for "hiring" your children under 18 is that you don't have to ...
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Craft Show Essentials

Craft Shows, your chance to show off your hand-made treasures to thousands of eager craft seekers. The big day is finally here. Your tables are filled with your hand-crafted items, the aisles are filled with young and old customers and you are ready to make your first sale. You're excited and probably a little exhausted because getting to this point was a little tougher than you had imagined. First of all you had to ensure you had enough of your crafts made to last the weekend. Also, ensuring ...
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Craft Show Organizing 101

You've done it! You've signed up to do a craft show'.now what! Where do you start? This is a dilemma most first time craft show participants (sometimes even us veterans) feel shortly before the show. I am going to give you a few basic tips and some tricks of the trade to help make your show go smoothly and hopefully successfully. The first and most important thing is to be sure to read the rules and regulations of the show. The last thing you want to do is show up and set your table up with ...
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