Summer craft fairs are a great way to introduce your products into a variety of different audiences. However, with the large crowds and hot weather, if you’ve never done a craft fair before, it can be overwhelming.
In this guide, we’ll share our top tips for summer craft fair ideas.
Preparing for a summer craft fair does require a bit more work than you may expect, especially if it is your first one. We’ve listed our top tips below for preparing for a craft fair:
Think about what kind of fair you’re going to, and whether your products would suit this environment. For example, would a farmers market work best, or would a city market stall be better suited?
If you’ve visited craft fairs in previous summers, have a think about the type of products that were being sold and how the crafters set up their stall.
As the summer season approaches, you could try to see what reaction you get from the public by going to smaller fairs first and then working your way up to larger ones.
Once you’ve decided which fairs you’d like to go to, applied and sorted your insurance, you can now start preparing your products. For items which can be made in advance, now is a good time to start preparing them. For example, if you make jewellery, you could start making your more complex pieces and keeping them in storage until the craft date.
If you have products that will be affected by the summer heat, it is also a good idea to start thinking about how you can combat this. For example, freshly made soaps may benefit from being surrounded by fans or sitting on cooling plates.
While your products will be the main selling point, you should consider bringing items that will elevate your stall.
During the summer, buyers are likely to spend longer looking around the stalls since the weather is nice. Simple things like free water, free food samples, props or business cards are a great way to make your stall look more attractive and encourage shoppers to browse.
How much stock you take to a craft fair will depend on the size of the fair you’re going to, as well as what is a realistic amount of product you can make.
Ideally, you will want to have enough stock to cover your stall and some more behind the stall in case certain items sell out quicker than others.
If you’ve been to crafts fairs in the past, it’s a good idea to think back at how much stock you took then and how much of it sold.
Ideally, you want to aim to sell 75% of your stock. While possible, it’s unlikely you will sell 100% of your stock. As you sell products and your display dwindles, shoppers become less attracted to empty booths, so 75% is a good average to go by.
The possibilities for products you could take to craft fairs are endless. However, some of the most popular crafts include:
Listed below are our top tips for summer craft fairs. If you’re new to selling at craft fairs, our craft fair tips for beginners blog may help you!
Many people love to have seasonally-appropriate items, which is why it is a good idea to hone in on summer trends. For example, if you have a bakery, why not focus on using locally sourced products that are seasonal, like English Strawberries.
Really focusing on things which are related to summer is a great way to get customers’ attention, since they won’t want to miss out on buying products that won’t be around for long.
Spending a bit of money to offer quality packaging goes a long way in the development of your brand, and it doesn’t need to be overly expensive.
From on-brand bags to small thank you notes, personalised touches can go a long way when it comes to customers remembering your stall and brand. This is particularly important if you are planning to have a stall at specific craft fairs for the next few summers to come.
Many UK based craft organisers require sellers to have craft fair insurance, so it’s always a good idea to get it early so you’re ready to start selling as quickly as possible.
If you currently have craft insurance with us, you can combine craft fair insurance with your current public liability and product liability insurance. Alternatively, if you’re new to the world of crafting, we can create one bespoke policy for you covering the different aspects of having a craft business.
Our dedicated blog explains the importance of having insurance at a craft fair in more detail.
If possible at all, accept card payments and advertise that you accept them. Craft fairs tend to be extremely busy in the summer, and customers don’t want to have to worry about dealing with loose change.
For products which you know will sell out, make sure they are visible from a buyer’s perspective.
Try to keep popular products front and centre so the general public can clearly see them and become interested in your stall. Once all the popular products start to run out, you can then start to move onto solely focusing on the rest of your stock.
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