artsandcrafts

If you’ve been looking at different arts and craft fairs, and you’re thinking about getting started, there are some things you need to know.  First and foremost, you can’t join a show if the application date has already passed, and for most of these shows, the application date is WAY in advance of the show.  For example, there is one show I am considering applying to that has an application date at the end of October.  But the show itself isn’t until April 21st of next year!  Needless to say, you have to plan ahead for most of these shows.

The way I recommend doing is getting a calendar and some different colored stickers.  Now, the year of the calendar isn’t important.  As long as there’s no writing in it, you can use an old one.  What is important is to make use of the stickers as a system.  Say you use red and blue stickers.  On the red, put a sticker on the application date.  Say that the application date is Sept 29th, 2008.  Mark the name of the show on the sticker and put it on that date.  Then, put the name of the show on a blue sticker, and put that one on the actual date of the show.  Let’s say that’s on April 1st, 2009.  Instead, I would put it on April 1st, 2008.

The reason the year isn’t important is because you can, and should, overlap your years.  You don’t need to know the date for a show that’s already passed, and you may not have the exact dates that it will be next year.  But that doesn’t stop you from having an approximate idea when the applications are due, and when the show is each year.  So what you do at the beginning of every month is to take your calendar and look at all the application dates for that month and the next month. You’ll have the name of the show on a sticker, and you can Google the show.  Get the exact dates the application needs to be in by, and also, get the exact dates for the show.  Either move your application and show sticker, or put new ones that will let you sort of track the dates throughout the years.

Finally, there are three great places to check.  First, EventLister seems to have all the info for all the major shows.  It’s layout is awful, but it’s got the scoop.  Second, Eventful has a great layout, and they list a lot of the same shows that Eventlister has, but if you look closely, the links all seem to lead to Eventlister.  Third, Zapplication seems to have all the major shows, and also seems to be the most official.  Some of these shows only use them.