When can you call yourself a craftsman?

[When can you call yourself a craftsman?]

5 hours ago, chrisash said:

It's hard to do something and sell at the same time, a salesman normally tells you of the features

One way would be to make a sample video of say 3 to 4 minutes of you doing the basic steps of making one  product and show it on a large screen notebook or monitor, 3 to 4 min gives a fair amount to show you snippets of the process and quick enough to keep viewers watching, after the first video you could expand it to say Belts, Wallets, Tack or whatever all running one after another, just remember like YouTube its better to have little talking on it, but good visuals

Just a idea as I never work fair's and don't know your market, but a video running leaves you free to sell and the screen shows the effort you make in the products

True, but that's also because most salespeople can barely operate a phone and fill out an invoice.

It certainly takes practice. This is essentially a form of technical sales, only you're not selling a specific item, but rather your craftmanship and tying it to finished pieces and potentially commissioned work. The practice part is important though. Having given plenty of live demonstrations (not on leatherworking, but the concept is broadly applicable), you definitely want to work on it at home and in front of a friendly audience that can critique you (just narrating what you're doing to your dog or cat is a decent starting point if you have trouble speaking while working). What I'm advocating for wouldn't even be anything particularly difficult. Cutting some small patterns, beveling, skiving, etc. Things that can be done with a few small hand tools which you can quickly demo and then point to a finished product and how it improves the completed piece.

I'm not a fan of just having a video running. It would require setup that may not be practical at a fair booth. You may also have issues with getting sound at a level that both works for customers and doesn't overly annoy the neighbors. It also takes attention away from you and the items you're selling. Too many salespeople use powerpoints and canned videos as a crutch. It often ends up being either too sanitized, rambling, or a combination of the two. This is an entire other skillset to learn.

[When can you call yourself a craftsman?]

On 7/22/2019 at 11:40 AM, mikesc said:

Much better to make something that others do not or make yours very different, ( filigree, or carved, or multicoloured dyed ) or offer names ( to be sent on later, paid in advance at the stand ) make them more expensive..Maybe put some bondage cuffs* out..just enough to get some interest from those who won't ask how much, but will ask "can you do"..and when you say you can, but that it will be ..... and will need paying "upfront"..Those who order, will keep you busy enough to not regret being" too expensive" compared to the guy who calls himself a "craftsman"..

Go "upmarket"..add some "sizzle"..
You are not selling to us ..nor to JLS
You are selling to people who have been conditioned by the ad business..( another of many areas in which I have worked ) ..they like "presentation".."entertainment".. don't tell them "hand made" and "high quality"..Hand make something of high quality..right before their eyes..
And have some "already made and finished" ready to go ..

It is irrelevant to sales of leather goods to the non leatherworking public what the leatherworkers would buy, or what we leatherworkers want to hear..or not hear.

To add a bit to this, you could try beating this guy at his own shtick. He's "making" belts in front of people by adding a buckle to some unfinished, poorly dyed leather.

Have some unfinished projects that you can work on at your stand in front of people to explain how you do things, why they make a difference, and shows the quality of your work. You should also have samples of the different types and thicknesses of leather you work with, samples of dyed leather to show the color options, thread samples, and the various hardware you use. With all of this, you can walk a person through "designing" their own product. Your finished products will give them ideas of the patterns you can do and they can take part in the process by choosing colors, textures, and making some small customizations. If you do carving, have examples of different patterns and you could even offer to do a pattern the customer comes up with. Stamping names would also be a great addition.