My mother walked up to a vendor and expressed how beautiful she thought everything was at Renegade.
“I spent my entire paycheck before the fair opened.” she replied.
I believe it! Renegade Chicago was an absolutely fantastic experience. With so many beautiful minds, ideas, and handmade goods in one room – it was hard to keep myself from spending my entire paycheck, too.
You can check the entire booth roster here and be prepared to be amazed. I’d post photos of what I purchased, but then I might ruin some Christmas presents. Maybe later. 😉
What did I learn at Renegade? Many, many things. Here are some highlights!
We loved seeing Luft Balloons and learning all about her innovative product and ideas! If there is one thing I learned, it’s being unique and coming up with completely new, fresh ideas is the key to success in the handmade world. You have to be creative, even more creative than you think you can be. That will make all of the difference in the world. Luft Balloons created a backdrop of their project and encouraged people to take a photo and post it on instagram to be entered into a drawing to win her product. Brand awareness, my friends, can do wonderful things for your handmade business. Obviously, we took part in this fun contest!
Try something completely new at your next craft fair – you might be surprised at the results! Use those creative brains of yours and figure out a new way to engage with your potential customers.
Ms Anna Art was right in the middle of the fair doing what she does best – face painting! But, she also has written and illustrated books. She put these two talents together and created a mini and interactive booth. While kids (and adults!) were being painted, people would stop to watch and pick up some of her books to take a look. It was a brilliant way to showcase talent in many forms.
As we all know, displaying your products in interesting ways can lead to more sales. Renegade was full of so many amazing booths that I just wanted to practically live in them. You know what this means? It means that the displays + the products were effectively displayed. I wanted to spend time in each booth which is definitely a good thing. As you can see below, I wasn’t the only one enjoying myself in each booth.
Hey handmade businesses! Guess what? Most, if not all of these handmade artists have an online presence in some way, shape, or form. In a sea of big businesses and cheaply made products at large stores, people are craving the unique and the handmade. Get out there and start promoting your business. Develop a strategy, work on that online store of yours, and make, make, make it happen.
What have you learned at craft fairs this year?
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