My first craft fair was almost a nightmare
Dreaming on the Prairie
My first craft fair was almost a nightmare – literally!
5/2/2025
In 2017, I worked part-time as the office manager at a church, and I had been there for about 3 years. “Office Manager” means I was the chief receptionist, bookkeeper, executive assistant- you name it, I tried my best to do it. I was the only paid employee, other than the pastor and I thought the title “Office Manager” was a bit pretentious, but that’s what they hired me for. I made many friends through that job, and I loved it. One of the friends I made through my work in the parish was a crafter and a very accomplished, experienced crafter at that. She was the organizer of a new, small craft fair, which would be held in the parish hall, and she encouraged me to pay the fee and set up a booth. I cautiously agreed and got busy putting together a few wreaths and a couple of decorated lanterns.
I need to backtrack a little. I lied. This wasn’t my very first vendor fair. Several years prior (like maybe 20 years), I made and sold soap, linen sprays and bath bombs. I named my company “Sweet Dreams” because I was going through a terrible time trying to sleep at night. The items I produced were not at all sophisticated or unique. They were nice and I had beautiful containers, but the products were kind of humdrum, really. I did not do well, and I just did not put much research into it. My husband, Frank was supportive of my little side hustle at the time but when I look back, he probably should have given me a little tough love and told me I was not producing anything exciting or creative or different than a million other soap makers out there. I did a couple of vendor fairs and just quit abruptly because, like I said, my heart wasn’t really into it. I just wanted to see dollar signs and when that didn’t work out, I lost interest.
So, back to my first “real” vendor fair – the one that really launched my brand and passion. I was nervous, excited – all the things. But I had convinced myself that I could do it and started planning how my booth would look. Mind you, it had been many years since I had even attended a vendor fair, and I had not realized how stylish and clever vendors had become with their displays. I found out that most of the serious vendors set up their booths like they were small and intimate boutiques. Never mind all that. I had a plain table with a white tablecloth, and I was able to use the church’s wedding reception lattice backdrop to hang my wreaths, and I was set!
While I was doing all this planning, something terrible was about to happen. About 3 weeks before the event, I ended up in the hospital with a blood clot in my heart. I had felt bad for a long time, but by the time I went to the doctor, I was weak, I had trouble breathing and everything felt “other worldly” somehow. Well, I ended up being transferred by ambulance to a heart hospital in Wichita, staying in the hospital for 5 nights and came out with a boatload of medicine and dangerously low blood pressure. But at least the clot dissipated without surgery or anything. I was tired ALL THE TIME, overwhelmingly tired ALL THE TIME. I went back to work right away and continued planning for the vendor fair. Because I’m stubborn like that. I did not plan on getting sick and I didn’t want to be sick. I wanted to make and sell wreaths!
The day of the fair, my husband went with me, thank goodness. I fell asleep in his pickup truck on the way there and was not “with it” enough to even care how my booth looked! Frank set up my booth, got me organized and propped me up in a chair. I interacted with potential customers the best I could. It snowed (in April) and there wasn’t a huge crowd at all, which is not unusual for a new craft fair. During a lull in the small crowd at lunchtime, I fell asleep sitting straight up in the chair! Regardless of, or despite all these challenges, I was hooked!
I did sell quite a few items, thanks to my husband! But even that made me nervous. I felt like an imposter – something I still struggle with today. From what I understand, even the most successful wreath makers and crafters struggle with this feeling as well. Would the mechanics of that wreath hold up at least until it made it to its new home? What if my customer looked at the back of the wreath and she could see how messy it was? Would she take the item home and decide she hated it after all? Did everyone know I was an imposter?
Thankfully, I did realize my health limitations and I did not schedule another craft fair until July. I thought that would give me plenty of time to heal, right? I also worked hard to improve my techniques and designs and planned a new set up configuration. I increased my inventory and got ready to move onward and upward!
I would like to say I was an instant success after such a dubious beginning, but I would be lying. It took quite a while for me to figure out who my intended customers are. I still feel like an imposter sometimes, and I always pray that my work is worthy of the customers’ trust in me. It’s hard work, but very rewarding. Why do I do it? Well, I love being creative, but most importantly, I love the look on a customer’s face when they love the item as much as I do. It’s a wonderful feeling to support someone’s decorating dreams!
However, change is inevitable. I no longer participate in vendor fairs or craft shows. I am not able to do all the heavy lifting by myself. My granddaughter, Charlee, used to help me, but she’s in high school now and busy with her own activities. I love following the grandkids’ activities! I also changed my business name to Prairie Dreams Decor to better represent what I do and the products I offer.
Are you a crafter? Do you participate in vendor fairs or craft shows? If so, I would love to hear from you! I think we can all learn so much from each other, don’t you? Do you have a funny story to tell? We would love for you to share in the comments!