My first craft market in St Albans - pros and cons

Frankly I'm exhausted! After all the preparation, the early morning start and the excitement of the big day itself I am propped upon on cushions (a la Barbara Cartland) blogging from my bed. First, here's a pictures from the day.

Stall holders setting up. A lovely room in the Old Town Hall.

The Love & Lilac stall. I had lots of lovely comments.

Soap testers for smelling worked really well. The aroma on my stall was a great draw.

The dolly pegs drew lots of nostalgic comments and made people smile.

The old wooden crate worked well but I need some more props to give height to show off my goods. 

I loved the bunting stall. These stallholders looked smashing in their pinnys!

Talking to other regulars at this event yesterday was quite a slow day and there seemed to be more browsing than buying for many stalls. I made my first sale, some soap, before the market officially opened for business, and there were more sales throughout the morning. After a long lull in the afternoon a last minute wave of customers lifted spirits. I had covered the cost of my stall and made a little money on top of that. With other stallholders not even achieving this I think I did fine for my first time and I learnt so much. With that in mind here's a few of the pros and cons of running a craft market stall I gained as a first timer.

Pros

• The camaraderie of the other friendly stall holders
• The advice and experience of other traders
• The lovely feedback on my products from the public
• The oohs and aahs when people smelt the soap and the interest in how it was made
• That someone actually wants to buy something you have lovingly made
• Knowing that all the preparation has paid off and the day runs smoothly
• Selling one of my cowboy fabric cushions to parents of a lovely little boy - what a joy!

Cons

• The loading and unloading at each end of the day
• The lack of on site parking 
• The hidden costs - parking fees, coffee
• That a number of stall holders don't actually make the products they sell - I would have liked more of an artisan feel to the day.
• Keeping up morale during long periods when nothing sells
• That making money is jolly hard work!

All in all a fun day, tiring but worth the slog - I know the learning will be invaluable for the next one. Once I've recovered that is!