To say the weather didn't work in our favour was a little of an understatement. It rained most of the first day and when it wasn't wet it was so windy, we thought the marquee might take off. This did not encourage visitors. The second day was so cold in the morning it was like a winters day in November, certainly not like a day in late spring. I spent most of the morning wrapped up in a fleece and my waterproof coat (even my husband was cold and he's a polar bear), clutching coffee. Of course our thermos flask decided it wasn't going to keep the water warm, so many trips to the coffee stand was required. It did eventually brighten and warm up a little.
Trading on both days was slow for all, with some of the traders complaining it hadn't been so slow for over 7 years. I would admit that although my bags would be considered a luxury item, I sold enough to just about justify being there. I did meet lots of lovely people (& many pretty dogs). I made a few contacts and even got an invite or two to a few other craft fairs.
It is one of the big problems about doing a craft fair for the first time, you don't know what to expect or what products will sell well. I feel that after people had paid a hefty £7.50 ($11) to get in, they wanted to look around and only make smaller purchases. I did go home on the Saturday night and make another 10 mini clutches to boost that group, which sold well.
Whether I would go again or not, I'm not sure. I don't really want to misjudge it on one wash-out of a weekend but I did put a lot of work in preparing and I'm not sure from that point of view if it was worth it. I am left with a lot of stock, which while it will not go to waste and many pieces have already been listed in my shop, is unusual. I don't usually like to have so much of my resources tied up in stock. Upside is I have already had a little rush of sales.
A return to Mount Stewart is one that I will have to ponder over for a while.
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