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Post by Rockindad on Mar 22, 2022 17:41:56 GMT -5
Haven't been on here for 2-3 weeks as we were extremely busy getting ready for a show. What a lot of work. Going through all of our finished tumbles, making pendants, magnets............making stands for displays, ordering supplies, mocking up our setup, printing signs/labels..............Kudos to all of you who do this on a regular basis! We have not done any kind of show in two years since, well, you know...We were planning on doing up to 5-6 a year and then the world shut down. Despite deciding to scale back our tumbling operation a bit, see here: forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/97968/trying-prevent-complete-burnout-hobby we decided to do this show as a trial run. Only problem was we only had 3 1/2 weeks to get ready for it. Going through our "inventory" and putting everything together in one area, we were not surprised to find that we had plenty of tumbled rocks, about 200lbs. of finished product. Bad thing was we realized that we had almost no pendants and magnets left. The mad dash was on. At last count we completed about 80 pendants and 150 magnets, not too shabby. We ended up getting the last table at this show that was hyped up as being huge and very well attended. We were told that there were a lot of very serious crafters who have been at this show for many years so we needed to bring our "A" game. This is what we ended up with:     Financially the show was a complete failure. We only had $125.00 in sales, which was a shocker. Another surprise is that most of these sales were from the tumbled rocks, only a single pendant sold. This is the opposite of our previous experiences. My first inclination is to look at what we did with a critical eye and see what we could do better. While there are a few minor changes we could of made I honestly think this wasn't the show for us. I am not sure how to say this without sounding like a jerk, but walking around the show a bit, it just felt "cheap". We had three people tell us that we should be doing "bigger name" shows which was nice. On the plus side it was a learning experience. This show was a week and a half ago. We went to a show this past weekend that is put on by the Buffalo Geological Society and fully plan to be selling there next year. I think there is a definite niche we can fill there. At the end of the day I consider it a success. A.J. stayed optimistic the entire time and was not bothered by the slow sales, he did a very nice job of interacting with everybody. My favorite customer was an 18 year old girl who was buying a bag of mixed tumbles. We talked about every rock she chose and I wrote down the names for her. When I cashed her out I told her to pick out her favorite premium tumble for free, she was as excited as if I gave her a nugget of gold. Ultimately I'm pretty proud of what we put together in a short period of time and look forward to doing some more, hopefully with better sales. |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Mar 22, 2022 17:57:39 GMT -5
I think your displays look really nice. So was the show not as well attended as hyped? How did you do overall?
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Post by Rockindad on Mar 22, 2022 18:26:02 GMT -5
I think your displays look really nice. So was the show not as well attended as hyped? How did you do overall? Thanks Robin. I was not impressed by the attendance. This was held in a large High School and there were vendors set up in 5-6 different areas: 2 gyms (we were in one), hallways, foyer, cafeteria, etc. Could be that our area was slower than others. I actually published the post before I finished it so what you saw was probably incomplete: our TOTAL sales were $125! Show fee was $25, jewelry boxes, tablecloths, banner, bails for pendants, magnets/epoxy, bags...............Oh it was a huge loss! Notice I didn't mention anything about the rocks, grit...... Now we never expected to make a killing or sell out but this was far below expectations. I should mention this was a five hour show so including set up time I think I worked for -$78.72  . |
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Post by Son Of Beach on Mar 22, 2022 18:28:01 GMT -5
This is awesome Al, very presentable and open.
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Post by stardiamond on Mar 22, 2022 18:56:33 GMT -5
Excellent display. The only show I ever did was sportscards with my son. Did you have a lot of lookers for the pendants? I haven't been to a show for some time. Too much of everything and not enough of what I was looking for. A good approach is to back it up with business cards and a simple website. People buy on impulse. People looking at your work can be a better indicator for the future than sales.
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Post by jasoninsd on Mar 22, 2022 19:01:33 GMT -5
Well...I'm planning on doing my first "show" this June...and this isn't what I wanted to hear about sales... Sorry this one was a bit of a "let down"...both morally and financially. However, if it was a learning experience, then it had some positive. Good to hear AJ kept his chin up through the show.  I've got my fingers crossed for you guys on the next one. |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Mar 22, 2022 19:28:37 GMT -5
I think your displays look really nice. So was the show not as well attended as hyped? How did you do overall? Thanks Robin. I was not impressed by the attendance. This was held in a large High School and there were vendors set up in 5-6 different areas: 2 gyms (we were in one), hallways, foyer, cafeteria, etc. Could be that our area was slower than others. I actually published the post before I finished it so what you saw was probably incomplete: our TOTAL sales were $125! Show fee was $25, jewelry boxes, tablecloths, banner, bails for pendants, magnets/epoxy, bags...............Oh it was a huge loss! Notice I didn't mention anything about the rocks, grit...... Now we never expected to make a killing or sell out but this was far below expectations. I should mention this was a five hour show so including set up time I think I worked for -$78.72  . We have had shows like that, Al. When we first started we only had cabs and some jewelry I made. We've evolved as the years have gone by and you will too. It could have just been there were too many events going on at the same time (we've also had that happen) and it cuts down on attendance. The next one will be better! |
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Brian
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2020
Posts: 1,512
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Post by Brian on Mar 22, 2022 19:53:52 GMT -5
The sign is fantastic! And the displays look great, too.
Hopefully the next show will be better!
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Post by liveoak on Mar 22, 2022 20:06:51 GMT -5
From my experience in the sewing / craft field, until you get into the high end " juried" shows- which cost a hell of lot more to enter then $ 25 , you end up competing with people selling imported cheap jewelry.
I think it takes being certain on the show you pick to show at. Just what I understand.
Patty
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Post by HankRocks on Mar 22, 2022 21:17:21 GMT -5
Rockindad Picking the right Show is important. I first started out doing Craft Shows at a local venue. I had two advantages that helped me get started, one, my wife and a couple of her friends shop the Craft Show circuit in our area. She was familiar with this venue and knew which particular Show would be better to do based on the crowds and the number of Vendors there. One thing about Craft Shows, 70 % of the shoppers there are women, so I adjust my items just a bit to cater more towards the women. That and I have done real well at Craft Shows selling to kids with their Grand parents in tow, there's almost nothing else at a Craft Show for them to buy. They see the rocks and the Grandparents are handing $5 or $10 to each kid to buy a rock. Also at a Craft Show I am not going to bring many high dollar pieces, almost no there is going to pay $80 for a Bingham blue Fluorite specimen. I do have a high dollar piece or two just as an eye catcher, they hardly ever sell but they do draw some people to look. Stilll remember at one Show a well dressed 30 something gal with two of her friends walked up, looked at my $110 Quartz cluster and in 5 seconds, "Oh my husband will love that" and buys it and another smaller piece. That was 20% of my sales for the weekend. Second, since I have been collecting/cutting and polishing for 45 plus years I had a decent variety of cut and polished rocks as well as mineral and crystal specimens. That gave me a good selection on my tables. I have found that people are funny and their buying habits move around, one Show I may sell 30 to 40 pendants, and the next one I only sell 5 to 10. Having a few more different item really helps. On top of that I have been lucky that one of my collected materials is Arkansas Quartz which has taken off in popularity in the last 3 or 4 years. At my last Show 2 weeks ago, half my sales were Quartz, with several buyers being repeat customers from years past. I do like your setup. I think you can do well if you get the right venue. It may take some scouting. That and remember to keep talking to folks, I bet I say "Hi, how are you folks doing" to anyone who looks at my tables. It's easy to tell if they want to continue the conversation or not. I suspect that that helps sell things, it also helps if you know a lot about what you are selling. Good luck Henry
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Post by fernwood on Mar 23, 2022 5:30:42 GMT -5
Very nice displays.
What type of show was this advertised as? Sometimes that makes a big difference.
Were others there selling rock related items?
This year I plan on doing two shows. The first is one of the craft markets where I work. Vendors have crafts, MLM items (lotions, Pampered Chef, candles, oils, jewelry, etc.), resale clothing, paintings, woodworking, food products, etc. Only one vendor is allowed per specific items, but many bring a variety of things.
I will be the only one there with items related to rocks.
The second one is a fund raising art show. Many of the exhibitors have studios/retail space they sell from. There will be paintings/drawings, photography, culinary arts, sculptures, pottery, jewelry, literary works and other visual arts. There will be several performing artists throughout the day.
This is a juried show.
Two different types of shows, so the items I bring will be mostly different for each show. The displays will probably be different, too.
Neither show has a fee to participate. The art show requires that each exhibitor donates something with a value of at least $25.00 for a silent auction.
I agree with Henry on the importance of engaging with everyone who looks at your display. When children are looking at some of the children's specials, which I offer, I always start talking with them. Parents appreciate this, as then they can look at other items.
I think it does help a lot to know things about what you have for sale. What it is, location from, even a special story about how you aquired it can be appreciated.
Knowing your competition is also very important. About 5 years ago a good friend was manager for a street art sale during the annual village celebration. It is a very artsy community. She convinced me to purchase a space.
I worked for months on some nice items. My daughter was helping me at the event.
While my daughter was walking around, she saw a display of lots of jewelry made from rock chips and beads. She heard the sellers tell others that my stuff was way overpriced. My daughter saw a necklace made with dyed howlite, labeled as turquoise. She asked the sellers about the item. It was about 18" long, with polished stones. They said it was genuine turquoise. My daughter knew that an 18" turquoise necklace was worth way more than the $12.00 it was priced. She found many other pieces that were being misrepresented. All the prices were very low.
Some who stopped by my tables asked why my stuff was so much higher than those of these sellers. I just said that everything was genuine and I was not misrepresenting what anything was. Many appreciated that, and purchased something. Some asked me to take a look at items they had purchased from the other vendor.
If the show is sponsored by a not for profit and they have silent auction or raffle items, consider donating some things for that. At times, you can have a business card and/or list your sopace number next to the donated item. Many appreciate that a vendor is supporting the not for profit and will purchase something from you.
Shows are always hit and miss. Sometimes you can do great, other times sales are slow.
I wish you the best on future shows.
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Post by Rockindad on Mar 23, 2022 5:39:00 GMT -5
Rockindad Picking the right Show is important. I first started out doing Craft Shows at a local venue. I had two advantages that helped me get started, one, my wife and a couple of her friends shop the Craft Show circuit in our area. She was familiar with this venue and knew which particular Show would be better to do based on the crowds and the number of Vendors there. One thing about Craft Shows, 70 % of the shoppers there are women, so I adjust my items just a bit to cater more towards the women. That and I have done real well at Craft Shows selling to kids with their Grand parents in tow, there's almost nothing else at a Craft Show for them to buy. They see the rocks and the Grandparents are handing $5 or $10 to each kid to buy a rock. Also at a Craft Show I am not going to bring many high dollar pieces, almost no there is going to pay $80 for a Bingham blue Fluorite specimen. I do have a high dollar piece or two just as an eye catcher, they hardly ever sell but they do draw some people to look. Stilll remember at one Show a well dressed 30 something gal with two of her friends walked up, looked at my $110 Quartz cluster and in 5 seconds, "Oh my husband will love that" and buys it and another smaller piece. That was 20% of my sales for the weekend. Second, since I have been collecting/cutting and polishing for 45 plus years I had a decent variety of cut and polished rocks as well as mineral and crystal specimens. That gave me a good selection on my tables. I have found that people are funny and their buying habits move around, one Show I may sell 30 to 40 pendants, and the next one I only sell 5 to 10. Having a few more different item really helps. On top of that I have been lucky that one of my collected materials is Arkansas Quartz which has taken off in popularity in the last 3 or 4 years. At my last Show 2 weeks ago, half my sales were Quartz, with several buyers being repeat customers from years past. I do like your setup. I think you can do well if you get the right venue. It may take some scouting. That and remember to keep talking to folks, I bet I say "Hi, how are you folks doing" to anyone who looks at my tables. It's easy to tell if they want to continue the conversation or not. I suspect that that helps sell things, it also helps if you know a lot about what you are selling. Good luck Henry Lots of great info Henry, thanks! We plan on scouting various shows over the next year, the one we went to this past weekend is a likely candidate. One thing I think we got right was having items across the pricing spectrum, although if I had ever been to this show before I wouldn't have bothered bringing too much over $30 or so. On the plus side we are well stocked now, we could easily spread out to three tables as we left quite a bit of stuff at home. An interesting note: There was an elderly gentleman that looked over everything at our booth, very methodically and with a huge smile on his face and he kept nodding his head approvingly. We had a couple of other people we were attending to at the time so I said "Hi" and let him do his thing. After everyone else left he told me he had been cutting cabs for over forty years and was very impressed with our work, he only casually tumbled and he was really impressed at our results. He said he and his wife were selling at the show and asked me to visit him later. Well I was looking for someone selling jewelry, cabs, etc. When I finally found them they were behind a table of potholders. When I asked him where his cabs were he said they never had any luck selling them at this show. Wished I would have met him sooner. |
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Post by Rockindad on Mar 23, 2022 5:50:00 GMT -5
This is awesome Al, very presentable and open. Thanks Chad! Excellent display. The only show I ever did was sportscards with my son. Did you have a lot of lookers for the pendants? I haven't been to a show for some time. Too much of everything and not enough of what I was looking for. A good approach is to back it up with business cards and a simple website. People buy on impulse. People looking at your work can be a better indicator for the future than sales. Both business cards and website are on the list, they were thought of actually but we just ran out of time. I did hastily come up with an Instagram page because it only took five minutes. People looked at the pendants but did not buy. One thing we talked about changing is having some signage that emphasizes these are made by us with our own hands. Not being in a hotbed of lapidary this might get lost on some people. Well...I'm planning on doing my first "show" this June...and this isn't what I wanted to hear about sales... Sorry this one was a bit of a "let down"...both morally and financially. However, if it was a learning experience, then it had some positive. Good to hear AJ kept his chin up through the show.  I've got my fingers crossed for you guys on the next one. Thanks Jason, you have great work to show off and I'm sure you'll do very well. I think we paid the price (literally) for going into this show without really knowing what it was about. |
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Post by Rockindad on Mar 23, 2022 6:09:03 GMT -5
The sign is fantastic! And the displays look great, too. Hopefully the next show will be better! Thanks Brian. My wife designed our banner so that people could see us from a distance, she did a great job. We put that line on there about the tumbling contest hoping it would be a conversation starter- not one person asked about it  . From my experience in the sewing / craft field, until you get into the high end " juried" shows- which cost a hell of lot more to enter then $ 25 , you end up competing with people selling imported cheap jewelry.
I think it takes being certain on the show you pick to show at. Just what I understand.
Patty
The only other seller we saw doing anything with rocks was someone selling painted rocks with different words they put on them- I told my son that we should think about that as it would be a lot less work, he wasn't having it, which is good because I wasn't serious. We are looking at some shows that have pretty high fees. One is a two day art festival that we have gone to many times, their attendance averages close to 250,000 a year. Going to look at this one and some others over the next year taking a lot of notes. |
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Post by liveoak on Mar 23, 2022 6:20:52 GMT -5
You might also try labeling the stones & crystals with their metaphysical properties (if they remotely have any) - some people are into that.......
I saw at the local rock show a couple of weeks ago, some of the vendors were doing that & there were people clustered around the displays.
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Post by Rockindad on Mar 23, 2022 6:34:12 GMT -5
Very nice displays. What type of show was this advertised as? Sometimes that makes a big difference. Were others there selling rock related items? This was definitely advertised as a "Craft Fair". A LOT of vendors with fabric-related items. Potholders, blankets, decorations, etc. The only other rock items we saw were painted rocks with words on them. This was held at a large high school but was open to the whole community, all adult sellers. A.J. was the youngest person I saw selling. This year I plan on doing two shows. The first is one of the craft markets where I work. Vendors have crafts, MLM items (lotions, Pampered Chef, candles, oils, jewelry, etc.), resale clothing, paintings, woodworking, food products, etc. Only one vendor is allowed per specific items, but many bring a variety of things. I will be the only one there with items related to rocks. The second one is a fund raising art show. Many of the exhibitors have studios/retail space they sell from. There will be paintings/drawings, photography, culinary arts, sculptures, pottery, jewelry, literary works and other visual arts. There will be several performing artists throughout the day. This is a juried show. Two different types of shows, so the items I bring will be mostly different for each show. The displays will probably be different, too. That makes a lot of sense. Again, it is hard to say without sounding like a jerk but I honestly think some of our stuff was "too nice" for this venue. The lady on our right was selling bootleg screen printed Buffalo Bills shirts, sweatshirts, etc. She sold a ton and was taking orders for them. I heard her tell another seller that she doesn't even come up with the designs, her daughter does it on her computer. Thing is, they looked like something somebody did at home. I told A.J. that we should have glued our rocks to a piece of plywood spelling out "Go Bills", we would have easily sold out. In a moment of bitterness I told him that I was going to contact the Bills and blow her in for copyright infringement . Kidding aside I was wondering if she ever worried about getting caught as this school is only ten minutes away from the Bills stadium/offices. Neither show has a fee to participate. The art show requires that each exhibitor donates something with a value of at least $25.00 for a silent auction. I forgot about the pendant we donated as well, at least it was for a good cause- it went to an auction that benefitted a scholarship program.I agree with Henry on the importance of engaging with everyone who looks at your display. When children are looking at some of the children's specials, which I offer, I always start talking with them. Parents appreciate this, as then they can look at other items. I think it does help a lot to know things about what you have for sale. What it is, location from, even a special story about how you aquired it can be appreciated. Knowing your competition is also very important. About 5 years ago a good friend was manager for a street art sale during the annual village celebration. It is a very artsy community. She convinced me to purchase a space. I worked for months on some nice items. My daughter was helping me at the event. While my daughter was walking around, she saw a display of lots of jewelry made from rock chips and beads. She heard the sellers tell others that my stuff was way overpriced. My daughter saw a necklace made with dyed howlite, labeled as turquoise. She asked the sellers about the item. It was about 18" long, with polished stones. They said it was genuine turquoise. My daughter knew that an 18" turquoise necklace was worth way more than the $12.00 it was priced. She found many other pieces that were being misrepresented. All the prices were very low. Some who stopped by my tables asked why my stuff was so much higher than those of these sellers. I just said that everything was genuine and I was not misrepresenting what anything was. Many appreciated that, and purchased something. Some asked me to take a look at items they had purchased from the other vendor. If the show is sponsored by a not for profit and they have silent auction or raffle items, consider donating some things for that. At times, you can have a business card and/or list your sopace number next to the donated item. Many appreciate that a vendor is supporting the not for profit and will purchase something from you. Shows are always hit and miss. Sometimes you can do great, other times sales are slow. I wish you the best on future shows. Thanks! |
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Post by Rockindad on Mar 23, 2022 6:49:59 GMT -5
You might also try labeling the stones & crystals with their metaphysical properties (if they remotely have any) - some people are into that.......
I saw at the local rock show a couple of weeks ago, some of the vendors were doing that & there were people clustered around the displays.
We have avoided that as we are not into it ourselves but we did hear some people make comments like "cool crystals", etc. No judgment on my part, just not my thing. I will say I do like my rocks and studying, touching, etc. the finished products do improve my mood so............ Perhaps another way to look at it: is it foolish to not label/mention the metaphysical properties if people are into that. I would have to find a balance in mentioning them but not pushing it. Thanks for the input. |
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Post by fernwood on Mar 23, 2022 6:50:29 GMT -5
I often see copyright infringment items being sold at shows and online. Amazing more are not caught doing this.
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Post by liveoak on Mar 23, 2022 6:55:11 GMT -5
After all is said and done, the point is to sell .
I'd totally agree , I'm not the crystally type, BUT if I could market to them in even a small way and sell more, could be worth the effort.
The last couple of issues of Rock & Gem had some " touchy feely" articles about lucky rocks, and other metaphysical interests.
The point is, it's just another market.
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Post by rockjunquie on Mar 23, 2022 7:10:15 GMT -5
Well, I think your display looks great! Very professional looking. You seem to be doing everything right, so I (in my armchair) must assume that it is the venue. I can't offer any advice that has not graciously been given. |
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