Craft Shows

Have you ever done a craft show? I don't mean as a buyer, but as a seller. We did craft shows for more years that I want to think about. It was hard work, with little pay for lots of hours, but I loved the high I felt when someone purchased something I had made. I have to admit that I've never been to one as a buyer.

I started doing craft shows in 1980. My twins were only 9 months old, but Rod was laid off and had pneumonia to boot. A friend offered to let me share her space. We had just started pouring our own ceramic molds, and I took scrubby holders. I had a frog, cow, duck, hen, pig, and turtle. We sold these for $5.00, and, over the course of the two days, I had made over $100. I thought I had hit the mother lode. We also sold some ceramic pins which I had painted. And the bug had bit me. We did all sorts of shows - inside and outside; big and small; one day and multiple days; good and bad. It was life changing. For years that's all I thought about. What to make, what to pack, how to paint it, what to charge -- it was an obsession. I painted from 7:00 am until midnight, and Rod did all the cooking and house work. He also poured all the ceramics and cleaned a lot of the greenware. And once, when the kids needed report cards signed, I did it with a brush.

The greatest show I ever did was sponsored by Equitable Gas at Soldiers and Sailors hall in Pittsburgh one November. Your table was free and you had to show proof of unemployment to apply. The show opened at 10:00 am and by 4:30 that afternoon, I had nothing left on my table. I had sold everything, even the large music box that one local TV channel featured as the opening and closing of their news broadcast. We made over $1000 that day, and I cried the whole way home. I was so in shock of how well we had done. Bills that needed paid were paid, and the kids had a decent Christmas. The worst show I ever did was at a fire hall one summer. We made a total of $17.00, and to make matters worse, had broken the back window in the station wagon when packing the car. I cried that day, too, but for a much different reason.

The most fun, however, were the Santa shops at the elementary schools. All items were priced under $5.00, and I loved doing them. I made and sold more bean bag frogs than I want to think about. Rod was doing woodcrafts by then, and made golf clubs, fishing poles, bug catching boxes, and key chains. We sold lots of pins, and sooo many Christmas ornaments. The kids were so cute, and the other crafters were the nicest we had ever done shows with.

We stopped doing craft shows when I started selling my crafts in stores. And we quit the stores when we learned that Bubby would have spina bifida. But those are other stories. Have a good day.