Hey there! I knew I was neglecting this blog while I prepared for my new crafting adventures... but didn't realize it had been that long since I last posted. Eek!
Anyways, several months ago I heard about a new store that was opening near my home that allowed vendors to rent booths to sell things at. Though the timing for me wasn't great (I go to school a couple thousand miles away), I couldn't resist my burning desire to look into it. I've wanted to explore this type of opportunity for quite some time, but nothing too promising had come up until now.
Lucky for me, my Mom also loves sewing and crafts and was willing to help me be a part of the booth while I'm away (restocking things, inventory, etc., etc.) She looked into the details of space rental, and talked the idea over with a couple of my other amazingly crafty relatives, and what do you know? We signed the lease!
I had only a couple of weeks between school & travel to build up enough stock for the grand opening, we all organized the booth and sat back to see how things would go. I have to say, I went into it expecting to lose money, but obviously was hoping for more.
Over the summer, I spent most of my free time making jewelry, going to rummage sales, repurposing furniture, and making other crafts so I could leave my mom with a nice amount of items to stock my section of the booth while I'm gone. It took a lot of time, but it was all fun :)
The booth is doing well, and we are all still very excited about it, so much so that we extended our lease! Can't wait to be closer to home so I can keep fresh with the crafting trends and not have to rely on my stockpile :)
Congratulations on the success of your profitable craft booth!
ReplyDeleteI have been planning on leasing a booth but have the same concerns you had when starting your craft booth...losing money. What items that you have sewn sell the best at your booth? Any suggestions for a successful craft booth?
Thank you! I haven't done too much sewing for the booth, since it takes me longer to complete those items and I needed to build up stock fast. But, my cousin makes bibs with fun printed fabrics, which are super adorable and have been popular. I think a lot of it depends on the location of your booth, and type of people shopping there as to what will be popular. However, even with that information... I've had a lot of times where I'll bring an item in and think it'll sell really fast and it's there a month. On the other hand, sometimes I'll make something I'm not super crazy about and think it won't sell... and it's gone right away. It can all be a bit overwhelming, but once you get going things settle down and you can get a feel for what's popular.
DeleteGood luck with your future booth!
Congrats on your booth development, Christie!
ReplyDelete