First Market of the Year

A lot of us in the crochet world are very dependent on the money we make at the local markets. But not a lot of people talk about the logistics of it. My goal this year is to tell you all about my markets, what worked and what didn’t work, what I wish I had made more of, etc… So let’s get right to it.

My first market was the Shepherdstown Easter Market. It was the day before Easter. I know what you’re thinking? “But Manda, aren’t people done with Easter shopping the day before?”

No, they are not! LOL. There was a whole thing with the town so we advertised for over a month about this event. We had an Easter Parade, Easter Egg Hunt (hosted by yours truly), the Shepherdstown Small Business Crawl, and the Easter Market. It was a full day of events and it drew in so many people. We actually had people grumbling about it being crowded.. How awesome is that?

Everyone dreams of making a ton of stuff and having back stock so you can keep replenishing throughout your entire market but that is so hard to accomplish. I had a full table to start with at 11 am. (Don’t hate me for the wrinkled table cloth. I spaced on it until 20 minutes before I was leaving to set up).

Here’s the inventory I had:

I tried to switch things up this year to make it different from year to year. This year I made mini bees instead of the bigger bees. My turtles have multi-colored shells and the turtles themselves are different colors. The cats are a whole different pattern as well as the snake. I also have different yarn on the chickens. And last but not least, the leggy frogs are a new addition.

• 1 Large Horse
• 6 Sea Turtles
• 3 Land Turtles
• 1 Twisted Snake
• 5 Mushroom Bois
• 7 Leggy Frogs
• 8 Chickens
• 1 Cow
• 3 Chunky Cats
• 19 Mini Bees
• 2 Large Bees
• 2 Axolotls
• 8 Little Peeps
• 2 Big Peeps
• 1 Toadstool Hat
• 1 Witch Hat
• 1 Mermaid
• Several Reusable Water Balloons
• Several Crochet Hooks
• Several Stitch Markers

It doesn’t seem like a lot but I sold 49 items on this day. My top two best sellers were the little peeps and turtles. I sold 7 of each and I believe that was due to limited stock.

What did I sell out of that I wish I had made more of?

I wish I would have made more turtles in multi colored shells, axolotls, chunky cats, and H hooks. I wasn’t for sure about the multi-colored shells and different colored bodies on the turtles so I made only six. PEOPLE LOVED THEM! Do it! Make all the colors and people will snatch them up so quick.

I also thought the cats were a bit basic but the kids loved them. The tails were such a huge hit. I highly recommend this pattern. It’s so quick to make and it’s beginner friendly. You can find the pattern for all of those up above.

Here’s what sold:

• 1 Large Horse – 0 sold
• 6 Sea Turtles – 5 sold
• 3 Land Turtles – 2 sold
• 1 Twisted Snake – 0 sold
• 5 Mushroom Bois – 3 sold
• 7 Leggy Frogs – 3 sold
• 8 Chickens – 3 sold
• 1 Cow – 0 sold
• 3 Chunky Cats – 3 sold
• 19 Mini Bees – 5 sold
• 2 Large Bees – 1 sold
• 2 Axolotls – 2 sold
• 8 Little Peeps – 7 sold
• 2 Big Peeps – 2 sold
• 1 Toadstool Hat – 1 custom order sold
• 1 Witch Hat – 0 sold
• 1 Mermaid – 1 sold
• Several Reusable Water Balloons – 6 sold
• Several Crochet Hooks – 3 sold
• Several Stitch Markers – 2 sold

What worked and what didn’t work?

I think my price points are pretty spot on. Some people complained about the pricing of my chickens but that was about it. I had my chickens, cats and mushrooms priced at $14. The big bees and turtles were $18 and I think that’s fair. They’re bigger but not a lot of work. My little peeps and leggy frogs were priced at $15 and people loved the peeps. The frogs didn’t sell as well as I thought they would. And neither did the mini bees. I figured at $10 each, people would snatch them up but they were looking for other items. People didn’t really want to spend money on the higher ticketed items at this event. My twisted snake ($30) and horse ($40) didn’t sell.

How did I do?

I didn’t do too bad. I sold $695 worth of items. I gave two away to my honorary children, bought $62 worth of items while I was there and I also paid $125 for my booth fee. That gave me a $488 profit. I think if i would have had more items I could have sold more but maybe not. It started raining about 1:30 so the flow of people coming in wasn’t as steady as it was at the beginning of the day.

My next event:

My next event is at the Blue Ridge Arts & Crafts Festival on April 27th. That gives me 3.5 weeks to get my inventory back up. I’ll keep you guys updated.