Craft Fairs: How To Ignore Customers
How to Ignore Customers
This morning, I was the Granville Island Public Market, in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Granville Island is a very small island in Vancouver, a little bit industrial, a little bit craft, a lot of arts, a lot of boats and marinas and a public market. Inside the public market, in the middle of the permanent stands, they have "craft pods". Each craft pod is made of 4 tables in a square, with the owners/craft people in the middle of the pod.
Every year, in February, all the craft vendors have to go through a selection process to know if they will be approved for the year. Then, when they are approved, they will be assigned 7 days per month. There are many photographers, trying to sell their prints, the prices range from $5 for the small 4 by 6 to hundreds of dollars for the large prints on canvas. They've approved too many photographers, some days there are as many as 6 photo stands.
I was waiting for SWMBO 1, aka The Boss, by the side of one of these pods. The craft vendors were busy talking to each other, and laughing. They had a good time. The problem is that they didn't even bother to turn around when people were browsing their stands. At another pod, there was a photographer, he was reading a newspaper. People passed by his stand, people looked at his photos. Not even once did he lift his nose from his newspaper.
Whenever somebody stops at your stand, engage in conversation, just mention something about the picture:
- How difficult it was to take this photo.
- How quickly it happened.
- I took this photo in… or when…
1 She Who Must Be Obeyed ↑
How to Ignore Customers
This morning, I was the Granville Island Public Market, in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Granville Island is a very small island in Vancouver, a little bit industrial, a little bit craft, a lot of arts, a lot of boats and marinas and a public market. Inside the public market, in the middle of the permanent stands, they have "craft pods". Each craft pod is made of 4 tables in a square, with the owners/craft people in the middle of the pod.
Every year, in February, all the craft vendors have to go through a selection process to know if they will be approved for the year. Then, when they are approved, they will be assigned 7 days per month. There are many photographers, trying to sell their prints, the prices range from $5 for the small 4 by 6 to hundreds of dollars for the large prints on canvas. They've approved too many photographers, some days there are as many as 6 photo stands.
I was waiting for SWMBO 1, aka The Boss, by the side of one of these pods. The craft vendors were busy talking to each other, and laughing. They had a good time. The problem is that they didn't even bother to turn around when people were browsing their stands. At another pod, there was a photographer, he was reading a newspaper. People passed by his stand, people looked at his photos. Not even once did he lift his nose from his newspaper.
Whenever somebody stops at your stand, engage in conversation, just mention something about the picture:
- How difficult it was to take this photo.
- How quickly it happened.
- I took this photo in… or when…
1 She Who Must Be Obeyed ↑
