Get your holiday crafty show applications in NOW!

Craftacular Holiday Show in Madison, WI

You have sewn so many totes they are piling up, too many cute baby hats and you have run out of baby heads to gift them to, heard over and over again "you should sell (insert craft here)" and you are finally ready to take the plunge and enter the exciting times of selling at craft fairs! Now what?

Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news but many (granted not all) of the holiday craft shows have already closed their applications for the season. Yep its true many holiday shows have application close during the summer months. But keep reading, this gives you a great opportunity to research and make great decisions on the best shows to apply for you and your art!

• Keep up to date with those shows you want to apply for in the future. Get on their mailing lists/newsletter. Like their Facebook page and engage with them on there. These are two major places to get updates and reminders of application opening and closing dates.

• Create a database of shows you would like to apply for and gather information from their website. How much is the booth? What have been previous show days (applications are normally live around 6 months before a show)

• Go to the shows you are thinking will be a good fit! You will see first hand the type of art that vendors are selling, do you see a place for you, do you offer something similar but unique to you, do you have a twist on the art that you don't see (thats good! Shows want diversity). Keep in mind jewelry is probably the toughest art medium to get into for a show because there are a lot of amazing jewelry artists, so if you love to make jewelry figure out what makes your pieces stand out and when you do apply make sure you talk about that, sell yourself baby!!!

•  Cant make it to the show? Most shows will have a vendor page on their website check out the other artists and see if you see a space for your art. Find a few that you are absolutely in love with and would love their input on how the show went. Send a polite email introduce yourself and just ask for their opinion. I doesn't hurt to ask but if they don't email you back don't be upset, they are just like you, really busy artists with full email boxes!

• Still really itching to get your feet wet? Many towns have smaller shows that have a low booth fee that can get you great practice for set-up, take down, and connecting with customers and getting your name out there. These normally don't close applications 6 months early so there is still time to apply!