Years ago, when I was making and selling cloth hand puppets, I used to do the craft fair circuit. The first couple were fun, but after that it got to be a lot of time and work for very little return. It’s hard to listen to people discuss your creations as if you weren’t sitting there. And it’s tiring to spend a day and not get any sales. I said, "That’s it, I’m not doing this anymore.
Now, many years later, the internet has revolutionized the craft market, but the fairs and festivals are still around. Recently, through my membership in the Hyattsville Community Arts Alliance http://www.hcaaonline.org/index.php, I had the opportunity to participate in the Annapolis First Sunday Art Fair http://www.firstsundayarts.com/. Several League members would be sharing booths so I wouldn’t be sitting out there all alone. I had different wares, so I decided to try again.
It was fun to decide how best to display the jewelry and to create a "shop" that would appeal to the crowd. Besides jewelry, I also planned to sell notecards made with photographic reproductions of my paintings. At the last minute, I decide to bring along some small framed and unframed paintings. But I didn’t expect anyone to buy one off the street.
I’d like to say that the day was a huge financial success. At least I made more money than I spent. I thought I would sell some notecards (sold 1) and maybe some inexpensive jewelry (sold 2), but I did sell TWO paintings. A day well spent. And it gave me the confidence to try again.
