I was offered a table at my local church’s flea market two weeks ago. This was exciting news, but also terrifying because despite crocheting things for most of this summer, many were commissions and my stuff to sell was somewhat limited. I got to work on some smaller items (some little snakes) that might sell fast and are also rather quick to make. I also prepared some plants to sell, since I have a bit of a green thumb 🙂

I showed up to the flea market in my crocheted sundress; this way I could show off- I mean… market my skills in hopes that someone might commission one. I didn’t score that but I got many compliments on the dress and I got my name out there to them, which is invaluable! I set up all of my items and patiently waited for someone to show interest. My grandma helped me set up and wanted to watch me make my first sale. We watched person after person approach, take a cursory glance, and leave. Maybe pick up a few things and investigate. My grandma bought a plant to allow her to get on with her daily business, making my first sale. But, juuuust as she was leaving, a lady approached and showed interest in the spider plants! She bought one, and my first *real* sale was complete.

Now that I had made one sale, I felt a bit more optimistic but worried that maybe people would only buy plants and I might not sell a single crochet piece. Spoiler alert: I didn’t sell another plant the entire rest of the time. A lady came by a few times. I waved at her the first two but the third time we struck up a conversation and she bought one of my little snakes. My dad popped in around this point and snatched up two of my ceramics. My brother bought a crochet item as well. Those sales don’t count as much, though. The next sale came from a teen girl. She bought another snake.

The last sale was the most impactful. A young girl showed up at my stand and we talked about creatures. She reminded me a lot of me when I was her age and she loved my creatures. She “summoned her father” as she put it and her two siblings were enamored with my work. Their dad showed interest in a few items as well. The kids had all spent their allotted money for the day, except the original girl. She bought one of my larger snakes (she called him a danger noodle… as I said, child of my own heart), and the dad asked if I had an Etsy so he could get some stuff for the kids. I don’t but it sounds like that’s going to become a new mission for me. I did give him my business card, though, so he can contact me and see my Instagram, which I’m sure I’ll post about Etsy on there once I figure that out. As we were packing up, a lady approached and threw 10 dollars at me since she already had too much stuff in her home but wanted to support my art. It was incredibly nice of her and reminded me that some people are just super sweet.

Overall, for my first opportunity to sell my stuff this event didn’t go too poorly. I did, however, notice many things I could have done to strengthen my chances of getting sales. Firstly, this event was at a church, so the demographic was naturally mostly older people. This matters because more people in a higher age bracket can and do crochet and also because many of my items were stuffed creatures, unconventional animals, and more out-there things. I’ll keep in mind this demographic if I sell there again, and lean towards more holiday items or things that young grandkids might like. Another thing was my lack of items. This was expected, since I hadn’t been expecting to sell items at a market that soon but it showed me that having a greater variety of items is always better. The fact that the snakes were the only thing that sold reinforced the fact that most people are more likely to buy small crochet items. That was expected, since people had told me that before but the reinforcement helps. Overall, I’ll have to plan for my audience, make many smaller items, and make many items in general to be ready for the craft fair at Marywood when the time comes. To anyone who is reading this: I hope to see you there! More to come!!