Get Prepared For That Out Of Town Market

Going out of town takes a lot of preparation and certainly getting ready for a craft market does too. Combine them both and you have a big project on your hands. Planning is essential. You have a lot of work ahead of you the day(s) of the actual market and you don’t want to be an exhausted wreck before you even get there. Your purpose during the market is to smile and engage with shoppers and to be ready to talk about your crafts. If you’re stressed or worn out just from the getting there part, the day is going to just drag on and you might not have as much success as you had hoped for.

Crafters usually don’t have a lot of extra money and unlike a vacation where the purpose of the trip is to have fun and consequently spend money, the purpose of traveling to a market is to make money (plus gain exposure, network with motivated crafters and market your creations). There is a careful balance necessary when traveling to a market out of town. Try to be frugal in as many ways as possible so that the show pays off, but allow yourself certain luxuries in order to make the weekend functional. An example of this is staying at a hotel that is more expensive than your normal budget, but is only a few blocks away from the market, thus making it much easier to get there and back.

Packing- Be really conscious of how you are getting there (flying or driving) while you pack. Instead of waiting until the night before to pack everything, find some spot in your home where you can start collecting everything you’re going to need. Once you’ve finished making a product put it in that corner. New business cards come in the mail? Put them directly in the corner so they are all ready to go for the trip. Buy new displays? Put them in the corner. Make a new sign for your booth? Put it in the corner. That way you aren’t scrambling at the last minute. And you’re not constantly trying to remember little things. Anything you see in your house that makes you think “I have to remember to take that with me to the market” just pick it up right then and put it in the corner. Don’t rely on your frazzled brain to remember it later!

Travel Plans- Once you’ve decided if you are driving or flying to the market start planning the details early.

If you are flying, determine if you can rent a tent, tables and chairs from the show. Most shows offer this for an additional fee and renting them from the show is going to make setup much easier. You should also determine early on how much luggage you’re going to have. Find out your airline’s baggage restrictions and how much they charge for oversized bags. Figure out where you are going to stay based on the location of the market. You may decide to rent a car, but chances are this is not cost effective. Figure out if there is a convenient way to take public transportation. Other options are a local car service or a cab, but make sure you have enough cash and have budgeted this into your costs for the trip. Multiple rides in a cab (four trips for a two day show) can really add up. However you choose to get around make sure it is going to work for the amount of stuff you have, and likewise, make sure you don’t have too much stuff that you can’t get from place to place with all of it.

If you are driving, you’ll probably feel like you can bring way more stuff than if you are flying. Make sure everything you pack is essential. Driving a long distance in an overstuffed car can be stressful if your visibility is obstructed. Make sure you have really good detailed directions to your destination and a driving map of each state you’re going through. You never know when a route is going to be closed for construction and you want to be prepared.

Whether you are flying or driving, before you leave home get a really good grasp on the layout of the city you’re going to. If you’re taking public transportation study their map and study a map of your route if you are driving or taking cabs. You need to be familiar even if you are taking a cab. You don’t want to get lost on the way to the market, it will just make the whole day much harder.

Fun- The number one most important thing to remember while traveling to a market out of town is to have fun! The whole ordeal is just that, an ordeal. You have to get ready to get there, you have to get there, you have to haul a bunch of stuff, you have to pitch a tent, you have to unpack all your stuff, you have to make it look pretty, you have to pack it back up at the end of the day, you have to deal with weather for an extended period of time, you have to figure out logistics, you have to get along with the people you are traveling with or you have to figure out how to make all this happen on your own if you are traveling solo, you have to smile and talk to strangers all day, you have to handle money, you have to get yourself food and you have to figure out a way to take bathroom breaks but not leave your stuff unsupervised.

Seriously, doing craft markets is really hard work and not for the faint of heart! If you’ve done one, you are a rock star. So just prepare yourself mentally that it’s going to be a grueling day. But so worth it! You get to show off your hand crafted work to the world, you get to meet crafters from other cities, you get to see crafty friends from all over the country, you get to talk up your product (when else is it really appropriate to brag?) and you get to take money from people in exchange for something you made. What could be better? It’s so exhilarating! So for all the grueling work just keep a positive attitude because this is going to be a great day!!!

So go get ‘em! Get prepared, get ready and then you’re going to have fun!

Additional Reading:
To read more specifics on how to get ready for a craft market in general you can read an article I wrote for Get Crafty a couple of years ago. All the info is still true, but notice the photo with a disposable camera. Now I don’t go anywhere without my digital!

HOW TO: prepare for a craft fair

Christy Petterson is currently preparing for her second drive to DC to participate in Crafty Bastards and her third drive to Chicago to participate in Renegade with her line a bardis. She co-organizes the Indie Craft Experience in Atlanta, co-produces the annual Starlets of Craft Calendar and co-edits Get Crafty.