Woodwork/craft fair?

[Mike Davis]

I have been pondering for a while and i would like some thoughts from The Board of NCWW, our Corporate Members and Sponsors.

I know there are a few woodworking shows around the State and in other places that some of our members travel to. I know that there are schools and stores around that cater to woodworkers.

All of us would like to see more participation in the work and a larger market for our goods whether they be crafts or tools.

I have been to a few agricultural fairs and they seem to be well attended and enjoyed by the public. I believe the use of a similar model could bring a renewed interest in woodworking and to the artisans involved.

I would like to see NCWW and our members joining in a big way to promote woodworking for the education of the public, our enjoyment and possibly for some charitable cause in a large public venue.

So, what are your thoughts?

 

[CarvedTones]

Something I would be interested in would be booth sharing at existing craft fairs. Before the end of they year, I hope to have a few decent Irish whistles and possibly some wooden ocarinas to sell. I will make a natural edge stand that is about 1' square with dowels standing a few inches apart to slip whistles over, a little business card stack holder and a little name plaque. Probably 10 whistles or less in the display. In a few years, I hope to have a lot of things and be able to fill a table or few. But short term, part time, I would just want to try putting a few out, see how they do and see what kind of feedback I get from people that buy them (assuming they sell).

But, there are a bunch of obstacles. The better shows want info on exactly who will have what in each spot. There would need to be someone who stepped up and did the up front contact and payment for the space. Then there would be the difficulty of figuring out what is fair to charge participants. Who mans the booth and for how long? I think the participants share, but something would need to be worked out. There are possible solutions to all these issues, but they are often what causes the idea to break down.

 

[Mike Davis]

I'm thinking more along the lines of you making whistles at the fair.

Trailer loads of wood for sale.

New Tools demonstrated and for sale

old tools demonstrated and for sale

Tree experts advising on best investment in growing trees on your property and how to sell timber

sawyers making lumber and selling wood

associations explaining who they are and why you need to join

Custom furniture for sale

instructional demos and sign up for classes

Think bigger than you ever have before. :rotflm:

 

[CarvedTones]

If what you are suggesting were to work, it would probably start out not working and have to be grow over time. The up front investment is likely to be rather significant. One of the motivations of my small scale booth sharing idea is to limit my losses, which is what I expect to have initially.

I was talking to someone the other day who had a friend that tried selling stick dulcimers at the farmer's market. They didn't sell and he was on the hook for a few weeks rent of a full space. Was it the wrong place? Was he just not good enough at selling? Was there a problem with the instruments? I don't know and from what I understand, he just walked away from it after the bad experience. I want a cheaper education. I fully expect to lose money paying for booth space at first, so I want to keep that number low.

Don't they mill and sell lumber at the state fair? I wonder how they do. In and around the Village of Yesteryear, it looks like woodcrafts do very well. But they have a crazy big crowd coming for a lot of different reasons.

 

[woodArtz]

Very good idea Mike. More emphasis on the "craft" rather than the fair aspect. I think it would take the full power of the NCWW membership in conjunction with sponsors to bring it to fruition.

 

[cskipper]

I'd like a combination of both.

 

[Mike Davis]

I think I didn't make my idea clear.

I want us to be the fair, not go to a fair.

Not just have a booth, but invite a hundred craftsmen and vendors to reserve a booth from us.

 

[rwwood49]

My wife has been doing the Junior Womens League shows in Fayetteville and Raliegh for several Years now. They are not exactly craft shows and they aren't small but they do command quite a large audience and they did start small. I think what Mike is suggesting is a great idea and something that could grow. More and more people are tired of the junk they are getting now and want somewhere to get a quality product and I see this as giving them an option.

 

[sawduster]

my little garage band played on a semi trailer at the very first Cary Lazy Daze. If I recall correctly the festival took up about 3 blocks

every great thing starts with an idea and some motivation. Low expectations + high gratitude and effort will always yield a positive outcome, no matter what the outcome :icon_cheers


Thanks Mike for getting my brain engaged ( again ) :icon_thum

 

[manfre]

Organizing a woodworking/craft fair would be a very large and costly undertaking. As Andy mentioned, starting small and building would be a more manageable task. It would be interesting to organize a few craft markets (farmers' market clones). Basically small scale fairs that can be done in a parking lot for a few hours without requiring lots of cash for venues, security, permits, insurance, marketing, etc. Many of these could be run in different NCWW areas. If they are successful, then it would make sense to start thinking about a larger fair.

 

[JackLeg]

We, the Friends of the Agri Civic Center are having an event on August 27th of this year. It's called, "Agri Civic Day" and will be an attempt to bring the public together with our agriculture community as well as businesses. We will have exhibit spaces available at NO CHARGE to non profits, and I believe we have finally attained that status.

We'd welcome NCWW to have a booth and demonstrate any type of woodworking, old or current styles, to our attendees. You could also sell your wares if you have them available. Let me know if there is interest.

You can go to www.stanlyciviccenter.com and check out upcoming events. We'll be advertising on radio and newspapers beginning in late June. Flyer will be coming out soon also.
:notworthy:
OOPS! I just checked and it's not up on the coming events board yet! Sorry!

 

[mquan01]

My wife and I were driving down Monroe Blvd a few months ago and there were some signs for a pottery show. There were about 15-20 vendors and the turnout was tremendous. Apparently they have this show once a year, but get most of their traffic from the signs posted up and down the road. Putting together something like that in a more populated city like Raleigh or Charlotte might be a good way to start.

 

[BKind2Anmls]

The parking lot idea sounds promising -- low overhead. We would still need tents, tables, food (?) etc. Then it could continue to grow until it would be profitable to make the move to a more formal setting, if ever. I think you would have to have enough people contributing and variety of products to make it worthwhile for customers to visit and to create good word-of-mouth advertising. If a chain sponsored it we could hold different ones in different locations with advertisements that say "Look for the show nearest you at your neighborhood xyz store!" or something similar.

I was thinking back to what started me in woodworking and it was seeing some beautiful wooden boxes and wanting to create something similar. I'm thinking a woodworking, home improvement or other tool store would let us use their parking lot in order to attract new customers (i.e. tool addicts).

 

[Mark Stewart]

You know that the state arts councles have some monies avalible for grants to help sponser things of this natur. the monie is intended for space rental and promotion of the event. They have a pottery show here that uses this funding I believe.

Thanks Mark

 

[CarvedTones]

We, the Friends of the Agri Civic Center are having an event on August 27th of this year. It's called, "Agri Civic Day" and will be an attempt to bring the public together with our agriculture community as well as businesses. We will have exhibit spaces available at NO CHARGE to non profits, and I believe we have finally attained that status.

We'd welcome NCWW to have a booth and demonstrate any type of woodworking, old or current styles, to our attendees. You could also sell your wares if you have them available. Let me know if there is interest.

You can go to www.stanlyciviccenter.com and check out upcoming events. We'll be advertising on radio and newspapers beginning in late June. Flyer will be coming out soon also.
:notworthy:
OOPS! I just checked and it's not up on the coming events board yet! Sorry!

This sounds like a great idea. Maybe we need to start a new thread and see who is interested enough to commit to it. But we would also need to run this by the BOD to make sure it is legitimately under NCWW and plan to provide a percentage to support NCWW.

 

[sawman101]

I think Mike's idea has great merit. :icon_thum At the Klindspor Extravaganza in Hickory, many of us were able to sell items :eusa_clap from our Club's booth displays, as well as demonstrate woodworking techniques. Part of the success of the sales can probably be attributed to the Christmas bazaar being held in another portion of the building, combined with the free admittance to the Klingspor event. That was contrary to the Woodworking Show in Charlotte where there was an admission fee, plus parking charge:thumbs_do, and the venue being focused on the woodworker.
In the northern states there are Colonial Craft Fairs, where crafters of all persuasions gather to demonstrate their crafts, and sell them; they are quite successful.:thumbs_up
If I am reading Mike's idea right, this would be an event where woodcrafter's of all types can gather to display their works, and demonstrate their skills, combined with the opportunity to sell used machinery and tools, lumber, etc. An opportunity for those with portable sawmills to set up and demonstrate saw milling, and market their lumber and services as well.:eusa_danc
All of the above would require an area that provides easy public access and parking, shelter for items being displayed and offered for sale, sanitary facilities, refreshments, promotion to participants and the public, and funding.:eusa_thin
Funding can be partly be covered by inviting companies that cater to the woodworking community, to display and sell their wares.:icon_thum This system worked for me, a number of years ago, when I was in the farm supply business. I would host an annual event at a large restaurant for my customers, provide a buffet dinner, expose my customers to my vendors, present an educational program which would stimulate sales for targeted products, and have my vendors share the cost of the entire event. It required work and planning, but increased sales for my business.:wsmile:
An event of the scale Mike is proposing would require significant planning and funding, but first there needs to be a brainstorming group mete. :argue:
Hey Mike!! I think you just may have a really great idea!!
I'm willing to get involved, and I'm sure there may be a few others who are willing to sit down and kick the idea around.
As Mike said, "THINK BIG!":banana:

 

[b4man]

Fantastic idea Mike! Maybe we should check into the Farmers Market as a venue. If so, we'd get the benefit of their electronic bill board!!

Barbara

 

[walnutjerry]

GO FOR IT

Jerry

 

[Dean Maiorano]

I know it's late to discuss any specific venues for this coming craft season but this kind of thing might be perfect for something like the Festival for the Eno, especially if the skills displayed were hand tool use (given their 'green' nature).

What about a booth (or more) at a local flea market? If properly cordoned and sticking to hand tools for safety's sake, I can't imagine them being against such a thing.

 

[McRabbet]

Originally posted by Mike Davis: I have been to a few agricultural fairs and they seem to be well attended and enjoyed by the public. I believe the use of a similar model could bring a renewed interest in woodworking and to the artisans involved.

I would like to see NCWW and our members joining in a big way to promote woodworking for the education of the public, our enjoyment and possibly for some charitable cause in a large public venue.

We, the Friends of the Agri Civic Center are having an event on August 27th of this year. It's called, "Agri Civic Day" and will be an attempt to bring the public together with our agriculture community as well as businesses. We will have exhibit spaces available at NO CHARGE to non profits, and I believe we have finally attained that status.

We'd welcome NCWW to have a booth and demonstrate any type of woodworking, old or current styles, to our attendees. You could also sell your wares if you have them available. Let me know if there is interest.

You can go to www.stanlyciviccenter.com and check out upcoming events. We'll be advertising on radio and newspapers beginning in late June. Flyer will be coming out soon also.
:notworthy:
OOPS! I just checked and it's not up on the coming events board yet! Sorry!

This sounds like a great idea. Maybe we need to start a new thread and see who is interested enough to commit to it. But we would also need to run this by the BOD to make sure it is legitimately under NCWW and plan to provide a percentage to support NCWW.

Sorry that it has taken a few days for any of us on the Board to chime in, but after some brief discussion, we love the ideas expressed here and believe that we should definitely support this as it is exactly what we are all about: sharing our knowledge, educating the public and fostering better woodworking. As you know, we will be in a transition between our existing Board and a new one and we'll see the retirement of our Events Director and President (and Treasurer) midway between now and late August. Nonetheless, we believe we can help the avid members here pull off a great event. We want to discuss some key issues and develop a budget for such an event, so give us a little time to work it out -- but know that we are committed to promote this!