How to Find Local Craft Shows
It's a new year and with a new year comes a whole new schedule of craft shows you can sign up for! Finding local craft shows is essential for making a living via your creative biz. Selling at shows puts you in front of buyers who want to support you and fellow makers whose community you can join.
But where do you start? How do you find out about craft shows in your town and near you? How do you determine if you want to travel to out-of-state shows? How do you even FIND out of state shows? Here are a few ways:
TALK TO OTHER CRAFTERS
Ask other crafters what events they participate in and which ones they do NOT participate in. Word of mouth is a great way to find new fairs and glean details about existing ones.
Google is a great way to find fairs in your city, state and in other states. Here is an image from a quick google we did and look at all that popped-up in Kansas City:
And here is a google from Missouri which came up with lots of fairs in the state:
FREE ONLINE SERVICES
Many free services exist online, like Festivalnet.com Eventbrite , FairsandFestivals.net , FestivalNet , Art & Craft Show Yellow Pages which are free to join!
SCOUR SOCIAL MEDIA
Many cities and neighborhoods have dedicated Facebook pages where local makers share information. These are great places to find local events that may be off the radar and also, ones you just haven't heard about yet! For example, we have some in Kansas City like Kansas City Makers , Missouri Events and Vendor Shows , etc. Type in some key terms into your search bar like "craft show" "vendor" "(your state or city)" and browse away.
ETSY TEAMS
Many Etsy sellers don’t realize the best way to find local information is on the site itself. The Teams section of the site has groups located throughout the U.S. and each team has its own forum where members interact. Many local teams have an ongoing thread that lists upcoming events of interest to crafters. Find an active team with such a thread and monitor it for free access to upcoming events in your region.
Once you've found some shows, check out our tips on how to choose which ones are right for you and how to have a GREAT Craft Show Application, too!
Make sure you've joined our page, Craft Show Success on Facebook and are following us on Instagram for more great tips and conversations.
Because, #makersgonnamakemoney
