While many small farmers markets allow for homegrown products only, some larger markets also permit local craftspeople to participate. In fact, most popular farmers markets offer holiday markets specific to offering folks the chance to buy and sell local arts and crafts!
There’s a small amount of controversy about crafters selling their creations at the local farmers’ market.
On one side, people say that crafters may not earn enough to make it worth their time.
On the other side, farmers sometimes are concerned that crafter displays take away from the true purpose of a farmers’ market.
But we’re here to tell you that selling your crafts at a farmers’ market truly is a win-win that you should look into if you haven’t already.
Here’s why.
More Income
The average farmers’ market hosts hundreds of visitors each week. Unlike festivals near me, most farmer’s markets take place every week. This makes it a prime location to find new customers and new sources of income.
By attending a farmers’ market, most visitors have already shown that they value local businesses. They are also more likely to show interest in unique products that they can’t find anywhere else. Even if they don’t buy from you at the farmers’ market, they’re likely to remember you and reach out the next time they’re in search of that original, local-made gift they can’t get anywhere else.
Participation In YOUR Community
The community of vendors and visitors in your local farmers’ market is warm, helpful, vibrant, unique, and well...just fun. You’re sure to make a few new friends, at least some of whom may lead to useful business connections in the future.
Besides this, participating in your local farmers’ market weaves you more firmly into the fabric of your own community. Food is the one thing we all have in common. A farmer’s market may be the only place where you can meet and connect with single parents, retirees, and young professionals all in one place. And unlike music festivals or annual craft shows, you get to see the same people week after week, so you have the opportunity to really get to know them.
A Testing Ground For Your Product
Earning a living as an artisan is always a risky business. Often, you have no idea which of your products will bring in the most profit until you’ve already invested your time and energy into creating and selling it. Buyers can be fickle and it’s tough to predict where their tastes will lead.
Displaying your product at your local farmers’ mitigates some of this risk. It gives you the opportunity to watch and listen to the numerous visitors who stop at your tent. You can observe what catches their attention. And because most visitors are regulars, it’s not like the Orlando Fair where you see them once and then never again. You have the opportunity to watch how the same people interact with different products. And this knowledge is gold when you’re building your business.
A Small Business Without the Overhead
Running a business is expensive. You have to pay for the space, the lights, the heat and air conditioning. But setting up shop at a farmers’ market allows you to reap the benefits of running your own local shop without all the overhead. Even having a booth at the Shipshewana Flea Market requires a certain amount of red tape, which you can usually bypass by going to the farmers’ market instead.
Are you ready to take your craftsmanship to the next level, connecting with new friends and business prospects? Becoming a vendor at the farmers’ market might be the best decision you ever make.
