What to know before organising your own craft fair
Before you even begin organising, you should make yourself familiar with the fundamentals. You should set yourself a budget, research appropriate local venues, make yourself familiar with legalities, and much more:
- First, what is your budget? You’ll need to keep this in mind when looking for a venue, and putting money towards advertising. If you’ve got an existing audience who might want to attend, it’ll be easier to find vendors.
- Next, organise your timeline. As a crafter, you’re probably used to organising by now! So, pick a date which is far enough in advance to prepare everything else you’re going to need, such as advertising, contracts, venue and more.
- Once you’ve got your date set, start drafting contracts for your vendors (if necessary), and research/apply for required permits and licenses.
- Finalise the details. Once you’ve received the required permits and licenses, as well as a contract for your vendors which states rules, regulations and any other relevant information, you can start looking at planning the actual event itself.
Get Insurance to Host a Craft Fair
Now you’ve got the fundamentals sorted, you want to start thinking about theming, promotion, target audience and more:
- Event promotion – You need to attract vendors and customers for a successful event. Market to local crafting clubs and businesses by using social media, local boards and approaching potential vendors directly. On top of this, promote your event to the public, clearly displaying a date, time and the theme of your event. Asking confirmed vendors to promote your event too helps both you and them secure more customers.
- Vendor fees – In your vendor contracts, you should clearly define their fee. Will this fee simply cover the costs of the event, or do you intend to profit from organising the event? Either way is fine, but do your calculations and work out what you’ll need.
- Theme – Will you define a specific theme or crafting niche for your event? Whether it’s ceramics, jewellery making, resin art, or any other type of craft, clearly outline this choice to your vendors and customers, and organise the venue to be set up/decorated appropriately.
- On-site operations – Organise payment systems. Will you be cash-only, card only, or accept both? Set up a cash float, and a credit card payment system.
The legalities of running a craft fair
Selling crafts legally and running your own craft fair legally are two very different things. As a craft fair host, you may or may not legally need insurance depending on a couple of different factors.
If you have any employees or volunteers helping you organise, manage, or run the event, you are legally required to get employers’ liability insurance, as it protects against claims for injury or illness as a result of their work for you.
If you don’t, then you as an organiser don’t legally need any other type of insurance, but it is strongly recommended that you acquire public liability insurance. Not only will this be required by most venues you may choose, and by many local councils, but it’s also common sense to get yourself covered against claims for death, injury or damage to property from members of the public.
As an event organiser, it’s likely you’ll be legally liable for a high number of fair attendees, so the chances of you facing a claim are raised significantly.
What licences and insurance do you need to run your own craft fair?
To safely and responsibly run your own craft fair (check out short term craft fair insurance), you’ll need the following licences and insurance:
- Public (and employers’) liability insurance – Any damage or injury which occurs at your event should be covered by a public liability insurance plan. Equally, if you have any employees or volunteers helping you with the event, you’ll legally need to get employer’s liability cover.
- Event cancellation insurance – If your event is cancelled, postponed or cut short by circumstances out of your control, you’re protected from financial losses.
- Temporary Event Notice (TEN) – Most local councils or authorities require a TEN if your event is hosting any ‘licensable activity’ – (See list of licensable activities).
CraftCover can help when it comes to comprehensive insurance plans. Whether you’re hosting a craft fair, workshop, or any other kind of event, we can help you to understand exactly what level of insurance you need, as well as offering you bespoke plans at good prices. Get in touch today to get started.
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