Now, I know the weather had a lot to do with it but it also transpires, after talking to a few of the other stall holders, that Jimmy's Farm didn't actually advertise the fair on their own website until Thursday just gone. Also, there wasn't a single sign on the main road advertising the craft fair - only the usual Jimmy's Farm sign. One lady refused to pay for her pitch because she didn't take a single penny and said that she didn't see why she should pay when Jimmy's Farm didn't actually advertise the fair. 4 or 5 of us other stallholders also spoke with the lady that organised it and said that we thought the advertising was really bad and that we weren't at all impressed. She agreed with us and said she would pass on our comments - whether it will do any good or not remains to be seen.
I was in the Barn and it was absolutely freezing and very damp - all of my fliers went all limp and the print started to bleed into the paper and all of the card I had mounted my brooches and hair bobbles on went all limp too ! Pretty soon I was starting to feel very limp myself!
But, I did sell a few bits and pieces - none of my pictures though - and after taking out the cost of the stand, made ...... wait for it ...... £3.50 ! So at least I did actually sell some stuff and am pretty sure that if Jimmy's Farm had done what we were paying them to do, and advertise the craft fair and if the weather hadn't been so awful, I would have made a whole lot more.
So, a bit of a bad day, but I know it wasn't anything to do with my stock ... just the advertising and the weather !
Here are some pics of my stall - I have to say I was REALLY pleased with how it looked and I got lots of lovely comments from the other stallholders about my stuff too !
And I just want to say a HUGE thank you to my lovely Mum who sat by my side for the whole day giving me lots of moral support and freezing her little backside off !! Thanks Mum xxx
I am now looking forward to having a bit of a rest before completing a few commissions I have for my "Name in a Frame" pictures, waiting for the deluge of business I shall receive following the publication of my advert in Crafts Beautiful magazine next week (fingers crossed) and starting to think about contacting a few little shops and galleries down in Cornwall. And of course, getting to grips with the freehand machine embroidery technique I learned down in Dorset last week !! So not much to do then ........
xxx
4 comments:
your stall looks fantastic :-) it is a shame though that jimmy's farm didn't do their job properly :-( shame on them !!
So sorry it did not go as well as it should of. I would be so mad at the organiser - Jimmy's Farm has had such a huge amount of press coverage that you would think that they would be able to put on a really good event attracting a large number of visitors. My extended family live near Colchester and visit Jimmy's quite often and they had no idea it was on!
At least you can be proud of your stand and goodies and look forward to the next fair.
Tracy x
Love the photos sarah! Your stall looks gorgeous!!
Sorry it didn't go well though :o(
Hey you lucky thing doing a course with Wilhemina.. her work is exquisite. Sorry to hear about the craft fair. It's so hard sometimes especially when you put in so much hard work and then it doesn't get advertised properly. The hardest thing for us crafters is finding the right places to sell our work.
Best wishes
ginny x
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