My 7th Craft Fair: Rozellville Lions Summer Shindig

Sep 24

5 min read

Updated: 7 days ago

Another craft fair is in the books! 🧶✨

The Rozellville Lions Summer Shindig on Saturday, August 8th, was my 7th craft fair since starting my crochet business and my 3rd craft show of the year. While this event was definitely a little different from some of the larger craft fairs I've attended, I still had a fun day, made some sales, and learned a few things along the way!

The event was held at Rozellville Lions Park from 11 AM to 4 PM. The Summer Shindig had quite a bit going on, including a car show, live music, a kids' petting zoo, bounce houses, a baggo tournament, raffles, and, of course, the craft show.

There were only 11 vendors at the craft show, making it one of the smaller events I've participated in.

A Smaller Crowd Than I'm Used To

Rozellville is a very small community, and the crowd at this event definitely reflected that. There were quite a few older adults and grandparents enjoying the day with their grandchildren.

One thing I noticed, though, was that there weren't nearly as many kids as I've seen at some of my other craft fairs. Since kids and families are often a big part of my customer base, especially when it comes to my smaller crochet items, this did make a difference.

If I had to guess, I would say no more than around 200 people came through to look at the craft vendors throughout the event.

However, I don't think the smaller turnout was necessarily because people weren't interested in the craft show. I think the layout of the event played a pretty big role.

The majority of the activities were all grouped together, while the craft show was inside a building located farther away—about the length of a football field. To get to the craft show, people had to walk through the grass and up a slight hill.

For an older crowd, I can definitely see how that could be a deterrent.

I think the craft vendors would have gotten much more foot traffic if the craft show had been set up outside, closer to the other activities. For example, placing the vendors near the bounce houses or along the path to the car show would have allowed people to naturally walk through the craft fair while visiting the other parts of the event.

Sometimes location really does make a difference!

My Biggest Sellers: Mini Crochet Stuffies!

One thing that continues to surprise me is just how popular my mini crochet stuffies are!

I have a pretty big variety of these little guys, including:

🐱 Cats
🐢 Turtles
🩷 Axolotls
🐝 Bees
🐔 Chickens
And lots of other little creatures!

I sell my mini stuffies for just $4 each, which makes them a really easy grab-and-go item. They're especially great for parents or grandparents who want to let a child pick out a little something without spending a lot.

And once again, my minis proved to be a great seller at this event!

I Sold Another Jumbo Turtle!

I also had something really exciting happen at this craft fair...

I sold another one of my jumbo turtles! 🐢🎉

I was SO excited!

My jumbo turtles are definitely one of those pieces that take quite a bit more time and yarn to make, so seeing one find a new home is always exciting for me.

And now I only have ONE jumbo turtle left!

So if you've had your eye on one, there is only one left from this particular batch. 👀🐢

17 Items Sold!

By the end of the day, I had sold 17 items.

Considering this was a smaller craft show with a smaller crowd, I was pretty happy with that number. It certainly wasn't one of my busiest craft fairs, but I still walked away having made sales and, more importantly, having learned more about what works—and what doesn't—for different types of events.

The day was also a good reminder that the number of vendors and the overall attendance aren't the only things that matter. Where the vendors are located and when the craft show takes place can make a huge difference.

The Timing Was Interesting Too

Another thing I noticed was the timing of the craft show.

The overall event continued later into the evening and included fireworks, but the craft show itself ended at 4 PM.

Interestingly, things seemed to start getting busier around 3 PM, right when the craft show was getting close to closing.

That made me wonder if having the craft show open later would have made a difference. People were still arriving and enjoying the event, but by the time the crowd was really picking up, the craft vendors were getting ready to pack up.

It's always interesting to see how different event schedules affect sales!

Was It Worth It?

This is probably the hardest question to answer.

I did make money at this event, but when I factor in everything, the profit wasn't huge.

My booth fee was $40 for my two spaces, and the event was about an hour away from home, so there was also the cost of gas and the time involved with setting up, selling, and packing everything back up.

If I had only sold my smaller $4 mini stuffies, I don't think the event would have been worth the time and expenses.

Selling a couple of my larger, higher-priced pieces—including my jumbo turtle—definitely helped make the day more worthwhile.

Would I do this event again?

I'm honestly not sure.

I wouldn't completely rule it out, because I did have a good experience and I enjoyed being there. I also heard from some of the other vendors that the event was actually busier than it had been the previous year.

At the same time, it wasn't quite as busy as I would have hoped for a full day of vending.

If the layout and timing were changed, I think the craft vendors could potentially see a lot more traffic. Moving the craft show closer to the other activities and keeping it open later could make a big difference.

Maybe this particular year was just a slower year. That's always hard to know after only one event.

Another Learning Experience

Overall, I'm glad I participated in the Rozellville Lions Summer Shindig.

Not every craft fair is going to be packed with shoppers, and that's okay. Every event teaches me something new about vending, customers, pricing, displays, and what types of products people are drawn to.

This was my 7th craft fair since starting my crochet business, and I'm learning more with every one.

I also really enjoy getting to talk with other vendors and hear about their experiences. Sometimes those conversations can give you just as much insight as the sales themselves!

So while this wasn't my busiest craft fair, it was still a good experience and another step in figuring out which types of events work best for my crochet business.

And of course, I'm always excited to see which of my crochet creations find new homes! 💕🧶