I haven't done any craft fairs for several years. When I first started making jewellery, I did lots of them, but gradually I fell out of love with them. Finding the right fair for my work was very tricky. I did quite well at Christmas shopping evenings at local schools, Art Trails worked, but I found that small, inexpensive craft fairs were a complete failure for me. So I made a decision to stop doing them and concentrate on selling my work online.
Until a couple of months ago! I reversed that decision and decided that I needed more direct sales, cutting out the middleman, and an opportunity was presented to me. So I signed up for Outlaw in Bristol on the 2nd and 3rd of May. And then I panicked! Oh my word, I had forgotten how much work there is to do in preparation - and this is an all weekender so double the organisation, the stock, the manpower.... gulp!
So, two checklists (one for things to do beforehand, and one for the day), one HUGE spreadsheet (and a whiteboard!), and many extra hours of work, and I feel that I've broken the back of it! Here's the stock box, looking fairly full.
But the funny thing is, when under pressure I often get rather creative, and instead of sticking to The List, I go off piste. This time I found old sketch book and while leafing through it I found an old design and realised it would be perfect as a centrepiece at the fair. But mainly I just desperately wanted to make it again! Here it is modelled by my gorgeous daughter....
And now, back to the list....
