Back to Basics

October 10, 2004. Good morning, tie-dye lovers. I had a great day yesterday at a little craft fair/pumpkin patch, put on by one of the local churches. Long before I started making and selling my crafts, I used to go to craft fairs(back in the late 60's - early 70's) and dream about one day selling crafts at a fair. Back then, the crafts were really made by the crafters, there was a feeling of creativity in the air, and it was very inspirational to me... a budding artist/crafter. Somewhere in the mid to late 80's, things got a little more commercialized, and prices were higher(probably due to the high booth fees charged by the professional craft show producers). Anyway, the craft fairs started to lose their appeal for me. I started selling in the late 90's at a small craft fair that had been in existence since the early 70's, and was put on by the crafters themselves. There was a hard and fast rule about crafters not bringing in commercially produced items and selling them as if they had made them. This meant the customer was indeed getting hand-crafted items, made by the crafter who was selling to them. I found this to be very refreshing and encouraging! Well, last year I moved away from the area, and found that the large craft fairs in my new town are very expensive to get into, and the Show sponsors are very fussy about who they let into their fairs. Bummer! But wait! I also discovered that the local schools and churches put on fund raising craft fairs, which are smaller than the major events, but well attended by the community. And by selling at these fairs, I not only get to sell my tie-dye, but I get to support the schools and churches with my booth fees. Do I make a fortune? Nah... but the good news is, I'm paying for my supplies, so I can keep tie-dyeing! It doesn't get much better than that!Have a great day!Judy