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the smallest table section. ever.

Looks like the foot of snow fell just in time overnight, avoiding the City of Craft Fair shoppers. Despite the deep freeze yesterday afternoon, people came in droves. With little slow down in traffic, the turn out at the event was a success.

Aisle space was small, room for the vendors was even smaller! At least it gave us an excuse to get well aquainted! My neighbours we fantastic, Jason from Spins and Needles and Temple from Beacon. It was a long day, but a fun one. Friends and family showed up and it was so nice to see familiar faces support the crafty cause.

hats on one side, silk creen on the other

This being my first craft fair, I have to say, that shoppers in Toronto are so friendly and completely embraced the craft community. I got a chance to check out the other vendors as well and was thrilled to be amongst such amazing talent and creativity.

To my delight, the snap&tumble cards fared very well. And if my numbers are right, the spine card did especially well. Coasters were picked up often, but the cards did better in sales. To my surprise, the general, non-themed cards went faster than the holiday cards. I spoke with alot of shoppers and even with some who also do letterpress printing or have a genuine interest in it. How great is it when you speak the same "type" language with someone or meet someone else who knows that I couldn't have hand-set the indicator lines on my bookmark?

Also noteworthy were the represetatives of local paper shops who were deeply interested in carrying local letterpress artists! You can't find too many of us in Toronto, so I was more than happy to accept their business cards and most certainly plan to call them in the new year to talk shop.

Learning experience from this show:

1. Good idea to have a photo album of my work just in case I sold out of a particular design. Also, people were interested in what kind of press I have and what the process was. I took out my album and did a show and tell.

2. I know it's obvious, but the business cards were a must. It was a little something that people could walk away with if they didn't make a purchase. The cards I had worked especially well, because they were also letterpress printed. I encouraged people to run their fingers over it to experience the texture. A fine keepsake.

3. Next time, seperate the folded cards from the flat cards. Of course they looked the same from the front so it was hard for customers to tell which ones were which.

4. Bring water and snacks. I was operating on breakfast the whole day - it was that busy.

5. If possible, bring a friend to help out at the show. Shelley was with me for four of the busiest hours and she was a god-send. I got to talk about the cards with customers while she bagged product. So helpful!

shelley. craft fair sidekick.

What now? Recovery.