31 Days - Day 6: Do Research - What Crafters are in the area?

It is important to know what other crafters in your area are making for selling, because you don't want to saturate the market on the same items, or offend other crafters.  I think it is better to find a unique product to incite interest in your booth.  If you duplicate someone else's idea in the area, you may offend them, which is not a great way to begin in the crafting arena. Here are some ways to do the research:

Visit: The best way to do research about the types of crafts in your area is to visit other shows in the same area.  I found in my area at several summer festivals that jewelry making is a really big craft.  In fact, I wondered why those crafters hadn't figured out that everyone else sells jewelry in the area. Fortunately, I don't make or even wear jewelry, so I won't overlap the six other jewelry makers in the area.   Being unique can be a benefit when beginning in the craft show arena.

Ask the Organizer: The other to research this area is to ask the person who runs the craft show for a list of the crafters entered along with a description of what they do.  This can give you a general idea.  A good craft show organizer will be tracking what people sell and making sure that there isn't too much of the same things.

Ask Friends:  Back to asking friends for their advice   I've found that if you ask, most people are willing to give you their advice.  One of my friends mentioned that a local lady makes tons of these type of signs:

Homespun Happenings

I love these signs and had even thought I'd make some for the craft show, but I'm going to be careful about not having too much time and effort put into them.  I may make some that are more shabby chic than antique looking.  I'm thankful that my friend gave me a heads-up with this one, because it would be awful to make a bunch of these and then have a lady who sells these all the time in the area leave my booth unvisited!

If you haven't seen the rest of my posts in my 31 Days to a Craft Show series, be sure to check them all out here: 31 Days to a Craft Show.