Stalls

I did some stalls back in the Summer including Northern Craft x Awesome Merchandise and Chow Down in Halifax but they were both bad and I didn't make much money so it really put me off. The Northern Craft one was at Awesome Merchandise which is on an industrial estate a bit out from Leeds city centre meaning,,,, no one came. It was really frustrating because I'd spent a lot of money printing things because I was excited as Northern Craft is usually really good but I guess it was just timing and location and I shouldn't have taken it personally and let it knock my confidence so much. Then Chow Down in Halifax is a really busy event at the Piece Hall, however its a food event, people are going for the food trucks and the art stalls were all tucked away in the corner and so again...nobody came. So after these two I was pretty disheartened and didn't apply for another fair until Print Stuff in May. I really wanted to visit Print Stuff in York last year but I didn't get chance but it looked like an amazing day so it was really exciting when I got offered a stall. This was a much better experience, everyone was super friendly and it was indoors so no wind blowing everything over! I met lots of great illustrators and studios and it was a lovely supportive day! I do enjoy doing stalls but they are really tiring and its good to be able to have an online shop to fall back on where theres less overheads and you can sell worldwide.
I need to make my stall look more professional and buy proper display stands etc as because of money constraints I've just borrowed things up to now. I did invest in a card reader which was a really good shout and has saved me some bigger sales which wouldnt have happened if I only accepted cash.

me hiding from the shitshow that was chow down

print stuff

my online shop. Ive made 601 sales since 2015 which is a bit mad! 

Although I'm planning on moving away from Etsy. It feels very outdated to me now - even this banner and profile picture are super old pieces. Etsy seems more like a craft mom place to sell things and theyve upped their commission and its a bit ridiculous! I'm planning on moving to Bigcartel asap as you pay a monthly fee instead of commission and its completely customisable compared to the ugly interface of Etsy.