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How
to Host a Home Craft Show |
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Hosting a home show has always been a success for me. My home show
is always my biggest show in sales every year. I make large quantities of
crafts and host an open house in my home for several days. I have it
around Christmas time so that handmade holiday items can be included.
To have a successful
home craft show the atmosphere of your home must be nice and comfortable
so that your customers are relaxed and feel comfortable going through your
home. Soft classical or Christmas background music, decorations
inside and out, lit candles, and snacks and coffee or punch are a must.
Last year I made 2 of my best dips that I usually serve at parties and
offered the recipes, that went over real well. |
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Customers
want to see a large selection of handmade crafts, quilts, and holiday items.
If you can invite other crafters to participate and bring their crafts into
your home show. You can either charge them a percent (20% is the norm)
or ask them to help you out the show and don't charge them at all. Customers
also want to see a variety of crafts. If you sell only fabric crafts
then invite a wood maker, and a jewelry maker to join in. |
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Your handmade crafts
should be displayed by color, or by theme. As seen in the photo to
the left, the color scheme is red, white, and blue, and the theme is
patriotic and nurses. Also notice there is dolls, quilts, wood, and signs
mixed in the group arrangement. |
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Make sure you have a
accessible bathroom, plenty of change, and plenty of paper and pens. You
want to make it convenient for your customers to buy so accept personal
checks made payable to you, and if you can, take Visa/MC. Statistics
show that 70% of all sales are charges. |
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Use all
the furniture you can to display your crafts. Once again, notice in
this area of the home we displayed snowmen both fabric and wood. We
used a CD holder to use to display the crafts. As I stated before costumer
want to see A LOT of crafts, they want a BIG selection. The photos on this
page were taken AFTER my show was done, so you are looking at my
leftovers. Imagine about 5 times the crafts shown to be on display. |
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I
usually don't advertise my home show because my family is involved in so
many activities that I only invite people I know. I send out
invitations to my family, friends, church friends, school friends,
gymnastic friends, dance friends, sewing students families, and the list
goes on. Advertising is up to you. Some people are not
comfortable having strangers in their house and only invite people they
know. If you do want to advertise I would suggest making up flyers
and putting them in your neighborhood doors, and writing an article and
sending in a photo to your local newspapers. Make sure you put
"Handmade Gifts Open House" and you should not be charged for it. Send it
in as a write up not and advertisement.
Best of luck to you
in your home craft show and make it fun for you and your customers with a
nice friendly atmosphere, great snacks, light music, candles burning, lots
of quality handmade items for them to chose from, and finally lots of
friendly chic-chat. |

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