Dear Friends,

I tried my hand at selling my embroidery at craft shows.  When I digitize, I test all my designs and therefore create many things, and my home can only hold so much!!!!

I thought it would be fun to compile a list of why I like to sell machine embroidery at craft shows.1.  It is light weight.  That means it is easy to carry to and from the car.  I feel for some crafters transporting heavy ceramics.

2.  It is easy to pack in tubs.  Unlike paper crafting or glass that you have to be very careful to transport, fabric is much more forgiving.

3.  Machine embroidery displays beautifully.  Items with machine embroidery show an elegant touch and they look so professional.

4.  Machine embroidery is popular.  It seems that some of the most popular items are those which are monogrammed.

5.  People like machine embroidery for themselves and also for gift giving.

6.  Machine embroidery is a skill that not everyone can do.  Not everyone owns an embroidery machine therefore you won’t see machine embroidery being sold at every booth unlike jewelry.  If the craft shows you’ve been to are like the one I attended, jewelry was being sold at every other booth.

I considered taking my embroidery machine to personalize some items.  I’ve seen this done in the past and it seems to be a popular thing to do.  I decided not to do that just because I was running the booth myself and I didn’t want to be distracted away from customers while hooping and stitching items.  If I had an extra pair of hands at the booth, this is something I would have done.

One more tip if you are selling machine embroidery at craft shows, I personally like to sell at church bazaars.  I feel I’m offering a product that stands a head and shoulders above many items from other sellers.  What I mean by this is at church bazaars, there are many women who have made things that were popular back in the 80’s or 90’s.  Perhaps they’ve been bringing those items to the craft show ever since that time!  I know they put hard work in those items but what they are selling is dated.  That just helps my sales as people want something more trending.  Also church craft shows are usually the least expensive to rent a table space as often times I can get one for $10 to $25.  Can’t beat that!

I’ve never tried to selling at an art show so I don’t have any real advice here.  When I was weaving baskets, some of my fellow basketweaving friends would sell their amazing work at art shows and the entrance fee would be several hundred dollars.  That alone cuts me out.  I have seen some amazing quilters though at art shows who have done very well.  Maybe someday I will get to show and sell my work at an art show, but for now, I’m quite content with the local craft shows.

Happy Stitching Everyone!

Nancy