who's the King or Queen of the Town and County Fairs?

[rdb]

Alright, who's the King or Queen of the Town and County Fairs?

I'll bet most leather workers start off selling to friends and neighbors, then possibly a small word of mouth gets going. It's at that point, you start thinking about doing small shows, and street fairs.

A long time ago, in a land far away, there were a lot of leather stalls at the shows...at least on the East Coast, now, they are few and far between. Is the lack of competition good? Or is it a sign the work isn't appreciated as much nowadays?

In Canada, and the wild and wooly West, things appear to be different...at least from the info on this board.

Between the Rodeos, and Western Days, it looks like its still possible to eke a living.

The trendy art at the shows I've been too include pottery, glass, metal, wood, but hardly a leather stall. The ones I have seen, are the old stamped belt, and trucker's wallet kind of guy in a leather hat, lots of keys, cowboy boots, and biker denims.

Motorcyle Goods, and Renaissance Fair work seems to be doing okay.

What have You been selling at these shows? What's the best selling article You make?

Are You sizing your belts, or just cutting them to fit right then and there?

What kind of orders for custom are you getting during the fair days? Is everyone specializing nowadays, like every other business seems to be?

Just in general, if You are doing shows, give us all a quick glimpse at how much inventory to carry. What kind of product sells best? What's the best price points?

Over the past decades, I've sold my pottery, my woodwork, some hypertufa container gardens, etc. But I haven't done a leather show since the butterflies on belts days. What's the lowdown?????

[Jordan]

I found that at the street fair/farmers market in Ogden only 1 in 10 knew what they were looking at, the rest think it's the same stuff they buy at walmart. I sold alot of wristbands to those types, a couple of belts, wallets, watchbands, cell cases, dog collars and a set of saddlebags designed for a custom bicycle to the other type. Not very profitable but a good experience for someone who has to hone their sales and personal contact skills. And Yes, I will most likely do it again next summer as it was an enjoyable way to spend a saturday.

[rdb]

Sounds like a nice day.

Ogden doesn't seem like a rich town by any means, so what you saw is probably equal to the rest of the country. Sure would like to see a pic of the bicycle bag. That's kinda clever of you. Saddlebags in town might not work, but bike bags...hmmmm.

Do you make one kind of cell phone case, or several to match the many kinds of phones?

[Jordan]

Here is a pic of the bags kinda hard to see but all I did was reduce the patterns fron the tandy pack of motorcycle accessories and I made some phone cases by modifying the tandy kit to suit other phones the one I like best fits my razr flat & skinny

[rdb]

If you weren't in the West, I'ld say "That's Yankee Ingenuity".

The bags...They look nice from that pic.

How did you attach the bag onto the fender, and keep it from the spokes?

I'm drooling for the pickup!double exclamation!

See, that's what I'm trying to fathom. What is selling out there at the street fairs, and what price break.

Is any of the fancy stuff moving, or is it all basic belts, and items.

It's not everyone who can afford to set up a shop, considering the rent nowadays. And for sure we aren't all saddle caliber, but just about everyone on this board has the skill to make nice things. I can't believe there isn't a whole bunch of street vendors here, with a wealth of experience....

[Jordan]

Velcro on the fender and "D" rings sewn to inside bottoms of the bags tied to the frame with a peice of leather. I made the bags (3) saddle and a tool bag for the guy who makes the bikes, $100.00, worth more but I was'nt thinking when I quoted him as all of it was hand sewn. The bikes were on display along with a bunch of older vehicles at a ford dealer about two weeks after I sold the bags to him. I had hoped for some more orders but he was not happy when I told him I had to raise my prices

[rdb]

A hundred bucks for handsewn leather is Cheap!!!! Even if you figure only $15 an hour...4 or 5 hrs into the project, plus material, adds up quick!

That guy know his market, so he was hoping to be at the price break he needed, I guess. That's where a sewing machine comes in for us guys.....The prototypes, and custom stuff is one thing. When you have to manufacture, it's another.

[Jordan]

Yup, now that I have a machine I will probably contact him again in the spring. A machine opens all kinds of avenues that would be way to time consuming by hand. I'll save that for prototypes and custom jobs.

[bcurrier]

That's a very unusual table setup for a cylinder bed. Did you buy it that way?

[Jordan]

Yes bought from Ed on this board, it is not setup completely yet life is getting in the way, there is also a peice that mounts somehow and makes it into a flatbed