First Craft Show

I had no idea how to go about actually selling my work when I first started woodturning and I wasn’t too confident about even trying. In fact everyone I’ve spoken to since says that selling your own work is much harder then selling someone else’s since very few people have that much confidence in themselves.

Luckily my mother gave me a lot of encouragement and with her help I booked up my first craft and flea show that we found advertised in a newspaper. They needn’t have put craft in the name of the show though since, apart from my wood turned bowls, there were no other craft stalls there. We sat for eight hours watching people walk round buying £2 items, most of which were cracked or broken in some way. It was a disaster and left me feeling less confident about being able to make a living at woodturning.

We then tried taking my work round a couple of shops and it was only by a stroke of luck that we met a lady who not only would display my work in her gallery but also invited me to exhibit at a craft show she ran. My first proper craft show and it went really well. People wanting to buy my work gave me real confidence and I was more determined than ever to make a living at woodturning.