Many crafters and artists are concerned, if not down-right scared, about the new the New CPSI and HR 4040 lead rules and about what effect they will have on their crafting and art businesses in California.  Though, implementation of the regulations have been postponed for at least a year, there are many bloggers and even news people who make it seem as though these laws will put small business California crafters and artists out of business; but is that true?  After all, these laws were created because the big toy makers have been importing dangerous toys from China and not to punish makers of hand-made toys in the US.

New Mexico has long been known for its unique arts and crafts with local flair and flavor.  There is a lot of money to be made selling arts and crafts in New Mexico because that is what tourists expect to buy when they visit that beautiful state.  The real message of this is that you have a lot of local competition and you will have to work hard to create crafts that get attention in New Mexico.

A great display is vital to your success at craft shows in Oregon.  Your display will create the image people will have of you and your crafts.  They will notice your display before they notice your crafts and, in fact, they will be attracted to come over and look at your crafts by the quality of your display.  However, the value of the display is based not so much on the beauty of it. You should be careful to create a display that projects the cost of your items so that you will attract the right customers.

More and more people are realizing the benefits of supporting local business owners and buying local things to sustain their local economy.  All the steps that had been moving the US towards a “global economy” are starting to blow up in our faces and the economy is at its worst point in decades.  The fact that people are waking up and starting to do something about it is very good news for crafters in West Virginia as it makes selling their hand-made arts and crafts even easier than before.  An easily visible and prominent “Made in West Virginia” tag can mean all the difference when it comes to selling your crafts items in West Virginia these days.

If you are a crafter in Maine who is crafting for the love of it, have you ever thought about trying to make money doing it?  If you are already trying to make money with crafting in Maine, are you making enough to make it worth the effort and the time spent on it?  There is an important attitudinal change that is essential if you want to turn your love of making crafts into a viable business.  The first thing you must have is a strong desire to make money doing what you love.  Once you have that, what is needed is to set a goal for how much money you want to make.

The craft show trends for 2009 in New Hampshire are very promising for artists and crafters who are ready to break out of a rut and start making some real money with their creations.  People around the country and especially in New Hampshire are looking for inexpensive or free forms of entertainment during these tough economic times and craft shows rank high on the list in that area.  For that reason, many forecasters suggest that 2009 will bring in record profits for artists and crafters in New Hampshire, especially for those who are in tune with the latest trends.

Today’s economic conditions have spurred a change in both artists and craft show revelers. A rekindled outlook on the “sustainable” and locally fresh grown products is coming to the forefront. Such a phenomenon may include the desire for more organically produced foods; they are blockbusters at this year’s fairs and festivals. Local art and constructed craft goods are also a hit. From hand made clothing to jewelry, craft show goers are now more inclined to purchase green and sustainable art.

In 1997, the United Nations declared March 8 the day to celebrate women around the world. The Women’s Festivals were created to celebrate the accomplishments and nurture the dreams of women in an interactive, multi-cultural, and entertaining format focusing on the five key areas of women’s lives: Personal, Professional, Philanthropic, Political and Planet (also known as the “5 Ps”). The Festivals aim to provide a unique opportunity to provide a rich common experience and fertile environment for networking and resource sharing. Founding not-for-profit organizations include: The National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara and Carpinteria, SCORE, Future Women CEOs, and Women’s Economic Ventures (WEV).

When you are a retail vendor, even if it is just part time as a crafter, you are required to collect and remit sales tax in most states.  To do this, most states and shows require proof of a sales tax ID number.  This sales tax ID number is not your federal tax ID.  Sometimes this sales tax ID is know as a sales license, resale or sales permit.  There are some cities and states that allow for temporary sales permits, but generally, that is not the case.  Check with the show organizers and your local tax office to confirm what you need in order to stay in compliance.  You can find some great links to local state sites through the attached widget on this page.

Ready to sell your crafts but stuck on how to figure it out? There is an art to pricing your crafts.

Pricing your crafts begins before a craft is even made.Pricing your crafts is a business decision independent of your creative outlook and is dependent on your business plan. This includes considering your marketing expenses as well as your financial projections.

There is a fine balance between overpricing and under pricing. If you overprice your item, you won’t sell it. If you under price it, you can lose profits, or worse yet, customers will see your item as “cheap” and not think of it is a quality product. The most important part of constructing a sound business plan is research your market.

Why New England Region Craft Shows Are Successful

New England region in the United States is an interesting and lucrative area for marketers of crafts and artworks. That is because most population centers in the region are located in semi-rural settings, where people do not have many other alternatives for amusement and fun activities. Thus, it is just logical that scheduled and organized craft shows in New England are news.

Thousands Attend the Annual Hampton Beach Seafood Festival
by Jennifer Jones

Being a newcomer to the Hampton Beach Seafood Festival the last thing I expected to find when I attended what has been voted One of the Top 100 Events in North America several times were crafters like myself. My grandmother introduced me to arts and crafts at the young age of four years old. Ever since then I’ve been drawn to art stores and craft fairs to both create my own crafts and to view others’ work.

Westminster, MD - August 16 & 17th, 2008

CONTACT:

Michelle Sholund
MD Four Seasons Fine Art and Craft Market – Summer Market
410-833-1098
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
http://www.mdfourseasonsshows.moonfruit.com

In Massachusetts, vendor events are held all year round, giving sellers, craftsmen, and tourists alike plenty to do. Massachusetts fairs and festivals include the Topsfield Fair, billed as America’s Oldest Fair, in Boston Street, Topsfield, Massachusetts. This county fair has been continuously operating for 190 years, and features agricultural exhibits including a premier fall flower show, the New England Giant Pumpkin Weigh-off, fruit and vegetables, poultry, draft horses, and many more. A Farm/Fair Museum, Fiesta Shows Midway, and the Essex County Farm Yard are also some of the popular attractions in the Topsfield Fair. Other Massachusetts fairs and festivals include the Daffodil Days at Falmouth, the Hudson Valley Arabian Horse Show at West Springfield, and the Massachusetts Sheep and Wool Festival at Cummington.

As a crafter and you probably work out of your house already. . Most crafts allow you to watch television.Other crafts allow to to enter a world of trance and enlightenment while constructing your art. Most crafts require a moderate size work area area, especially if you’re crafting for income. Most A studio or den will be the best (more on that).

Cooking Food At Festivals:  A Great Business Opportunity

If you are looking for a fun seasonal job or want to be your own boss, then consider vending food at your local flea market, seasonal festival, craft show, or bazaar.  There are many opportunities to set up and become a food vendor in a variety of locales. 

Many pundits and self proclaimed economists predict a less than optimistic outlook for year 2009. What’s the best advice for the craft show industry at this time? How can those that own their own arts and crafts business adapt to the changing economic environment? There are no easy answers, but those who own their own business have much greater control over how the economy may impact their business. Here’s some good news:

The holidays is a time for family and friends. It also marks the time to start planning for next year’s events calendar. Get in to the best 2009 shows early while there’s still room! Remember the best summer fairs are filled many months in advance, so get the membership that will give you the details you need to choose the most profitable fairs and festivals to attend. Over 8,000 events happening in 2009 have already been uploaded to our events database!

Etsy.com is a popular online shopping and site for handcrafts and artworks. If Amazon.com and eBay.com have made their own niches in the online shopping and selling market, Etsy.com is starting out its own. Buyers and shoppers of handcrafts and artworks are raving about the development and operations of Etsy.

Event executives and event promoters: Would you like your craft show, fair, and festival to be exposed to an additional hundreds of thousands of FairsandFestivals.net visitors each month? Are you an event executive or promoter that wants more exposure than just adding your event to our database? Do you want to reach an addition millions of artists and crafters to sell at and show goers looking to find events to attend?

FairsandFestivals.net delivers the most targeted and loyal crafters there are online. In addition to such a targeted audience, as a valued advertiser on FairsandFestivals.net, you will also receive a backend login and pass to our ad server to track the exact performance of your ad spots.

We invite you to check out our event promotion options below and get your event SEEN today! Getting started is quick and easy. Simply select your option and pay via Paypal and follow the additional instructions for material to send to our media department.

Mount Sunapee Resort, NH
August 2-10, 2008

The Annual League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s (and craftwomen’s) Fair, one of the oldest craft fairs in the country, is celebrating its 75th birthday this year. The Fair will be held August 2-10 at the Mount Sunapee Resort, in the beautiful Dartmouth-Lake Sunapee region of New Hampshire. Within a fairground of white tents are beautifully appointed craft booths, where visitors can speak with individual craftspeople and purchase from them.

News and Highlights:

• Event Calendar Update (including paid members area): We are at 3,600 events and are now adding anywhere from 400-500 new events per week!
• Work for Fairs and Festivals! Make $1 for each complete event that find for us, more details are on our work at home page.
• WE NEED YOUR FEEDBACK! - We want to make the site as great as possible and we need your feedback on what we can do to make that happen, please email us anything you’d like to see! .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
• Zip Code Search - you can now search by zip code!

News and Highlights:

• Event Calendar Update (including paid members area): We are at 5,989 events and are now adding anywhere from 750 new events per week! (find new events by selecting the "new event" checkbox when you search.
• Become an Affiliate of Fairs and Festivals.net :  We have launched our affiliate program via clickbank and you can make 50% off of anyone that subscribes through your affiliate link. Learn more by visiting our affiliate page.  You can make $7.50 for a 6 months subscription sign up and $12.49 for a 1 year subscription sign up.
• Zip Code Radius Search - you can now search by zip code and radius, so you can enter the zip code you live in and search for events up to 200 miles near you!
• We want to hear from you - Let us know what you’d like to see on the website or what you don’t like about the website -  features, products, etc. we value your feedback and all improvements on the website are because of what you have told us you want to see, send feedback to: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

News and Highlights:

• Event Calendar Update (including paid members area): We are at 9,422 events and are now adding anywhere from 500-750 new events per week! (find new events by selecting the "new event" checkbox when you search).
• Zip Code Radius Search - you can now search by zip code and radius, so you can enter the zip code you live in and search for events up to 200 miles near you!
• We want to hear from you - Let us know what you’d like to see on the website or what you don’t like about the website -  features, products, etc. we value your feedback and all improvements on the website are because of what you have told us you want to see, send feedback to: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

 What’s New for May 2007:

• Event Calendar: We just surpassed the 900 event mark, that means we had over 300 events added in April alone. (you must be a member to access the calendar)
• Discount: We’ve partnered with www.FestivalCanopy.com to offer you a 10% discount on all orders through the end of May 2007.  Use Coupon Code: fairsandfestivals0507
• If we are missing an event in our event calendar area or you have constructive feedback on how we can make the site and members area better for you, please let us .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

 What’s New for June 2007:

• Event Calendar: We just surpassed the 1200 event mark, that means we had over 300 events added in May alone. (you must be a member to access the calendar) - we are getting an average of 300 new events per month!
• New search featurs coming soon! We are adding a zip code search to the membership area by the end of June. You’ll be able to search by Zip Code Radius instead of just by state!
• If we are missing an event in our event calendar area or you have constructive feedback on how we can make the site and members area better for you, please let us .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

 What’s New for July 2007:

• Event Calendar: We just surpassed the 1,400 event mark, that means we had over 300 events added in July alone.
• Work for Fairs and Festivals! Make $3 for each complete event that find for us, more details are on our work at home page.
• We’ve added a customer service number so if you want to order the membership you can do so over the phone now.

Membership Benefits :

News and Highlights:

• Event Calendar Update (including paid members area): We are at 13,159 events and are now adding 750+ new events per week! (find new events by selecting the "new event" checkbox when you search). We add the 750 new events every Monday.
• Want a Free 1 Year Membership?- For the Month of December, you an get a free membership by sending us 10 eventss that we don’t have on our calendar, Get the spreadsheet and details on how to complete the spreadsheet and email it to us at.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
• We want to hear from you - Let us know what you’d like to see on the website or what you don’t like about the website -  features, products, etc. we value your feedback and all improvements on the website are because of what you have told us you want to see, send feedback to: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)