Why being friendly always pays......

Welcome to chapter three of The Jewellery Boat Blog on preparing for craft fairs. Feeling nervous? Worried about running a stall? Anxious about talking to people? Perhaps bear this in mind.....as a stall-holder you are NOT the only person feeling this way! Think of your punters, they have been sent out with the unenviable and pressurised task of ticking off every name on their Christmas list with a suitable present. They arrive and are faced with a sea of eager stallholders "ready to pounce on them" the minute they get near the stall! Now you know how that feels don't you? You've been there too, sidling up to the stall, avoiding eye contact with the stall-holder, creeping away when no-one i

3 top tips for clinching the deal

Following last week's Jewellery Boat Blog on the topic of getting ready for craft fairs, we're back with chapter two: That will do nicely! - 3 more tops tips for clinching the deal Being prepared to deal with sales and commissions is key to a successful day! 1> Here’s my business card! You never know when someone will want to commission you. Be ready with attractive professionally-made business cards. I use Moo.com. I find the software easy to use. There's the added bonus of being able to include as many photos as I want to create a variety of images on my cards. I have tried other suppliers, but keep coming back to Moo! Make sure your photos are "super-smashing-lovely", you need quality sh

3 top tips for an irresistible craft stall display!

With the run up to the festive season, The Jewellery Boat Blog is posting on the topic of getting ready for Craft Fairs. Being prepared is important, so here are my first three top tips for a successful day's trading! 1> The dummy run: It's a really good idea to practice the layout of your stall at home before you get to the market. Find out the size of the table you are renting, and mock up your display at home, and confirm your pricing and tags. Take some photos at home on your mobile phone to refer back to on the day. You will feel and be more confident and efficient with your time when you arrive at the fair if you already know where everything is going on the table. Half an hour befor