Elevate Your Crochet Show Display: Tips from Mikey Stitch Studio

What if we crocheters have the craft show circuit all wrong and maybe, just maybe, it's something we can control? Perhaps we can change the perception of craft show displays to increase our value?

If you have thoughts about this, I would love to hear them in the comments below. It's been rattling in my head, and I'm thinking about what we can do differently.

Let's be honest: importing foreign goods makes it difficult to sell items at craft fairs when people have low expectations of pricing based on a major retailer's volume. It's hard to compete with a retailer when, chances are, the workers are foreign and have very low wages.

Maybe we can change this through a different perspective?

Yarn In A Craft Show Example

Regular Store Displays

What do retailers have that we don't as crafters? Other than pricing, it's about packaging.

Chocolate, though it comes in various flavours, is what makes you decide which bar you will get. Chances are, you are conditioned to respond to the brand through something you can recognize—the yellow packaging of Oh Henry bars gets me every time. If you are like me, you tend to pick what I am familiar with.

The packaging is everything to a product's success. Toys could be on a shelf, but no, they are packaged in boxes, tags or something to increase the dopamine responses we feel when shopping.

What if crafters paid attention to packaging?

Handmade Blanket in A Box

Craft Show Display

As much as I love crochet and am obsessed with handmade gifts, the displays that interest me will dictate my interest. Blankets, especially in displays, rub me the wrong way in the following ways:

• Knowing the item was hanging up, I recognized it was probably folded in a box before the show and would be stuffed into a box afterward. It's collecting dust, and with the constant pulling out of the project to display, it can look tired through rubbing and transportation. It can pick up smells from storage and more. Though it may be new, it, for whatever reason, feels used to me.

• If I decide to purchase it, I will either stuff it into a bag or carry it as is on my way out of the show. There is a lack of refinement in doing that.

What if you decided to package it so that the project is separated from everything else in a ready-to-go box?

A customer would assume that extra care was taken when the vendor handled the item.

Crocheter Having Pride With Their Work

We expect the world to change, but maybe we crocheters need to adapt to the game. Packaging is everything.

Baked Goods Analogy

At my local farmer's market, we have people who bake.

• On some tables, you can tell the muffins are plastic-wrapped by hand with cellophane.

• Others package their baked goods tightly, which means the package cannot be opened without destroying it.

• Others display their muffins openly and package them into a craft paper box when you buy them.

You could argue that the plastic-wrapped muffins are better than the openly displayed muffins because people are walking around the farmer's market. But leaving with a craft paper box and muffins in hand evokes a sense of elegance and a homemade nature.

The heat-sealed ones feel elevated. As you know, the person took extra time to make her display upscale.

I will always pass on the plastic wrap, every time. There is such a thing as homemade, but the customer experience also plays a factor. Though it's cheaper, it feels like a packed lunch when I was going to school on the bus when I was a kid.

Baked Goods in A Craft Fair / Farmer's Market

Think About Presentation

What if you placed a blanket inside a nice craft paper box with plastic wrap on top to see what was in the box?

• If the customer wants to see the blanket fully, help them and talk about the stitches and care you did when you made it.

People are very cautious when handling children with crochet items. If a baby blanket is on the table, and people are feeling the stitchwork, as it's a very tactile concept that people naturally do. The customer may be purchasing a project that several people have touched. Protect your work and protect the customer's purchase.

Think about other project types where people touch items in a craft show. We tend to do that in a thrift shop, as packaging isn't as important. It doesn't feel elevated; it feels used, and in thrift shops, that's exactly the point. A craft show shouldn't have the same feel or perception.

Crocheter Having Personal Pride with Their Skills

Your Work is Worth Something

People will pay more when the level of service and presentation feels valued. Some people will haggle over minor details, but others value experience and recognize value. If the boxes and packaging cost more to do, add it to the prices you are willing to sell your item. Don't offer it at the same price as you paid for the box or packaging. Add the cost and pad up some profit for the experience, as your care for the project is worth something, too.

Purchasing is an emotional experience. Lean into it.

There's a reason retailers have people come back, and many people make emotional purchases by buying stuff they never intended to buy when they walked in. The response to the packaging is a big trigger. I'm triggered by it; maybe you are, too. Think about what makes you purchase something, then adapt your thinking. It may serve you well. These are just some thoughts; tell me what you think.

I was triggered to this blog when I saw a devastated woman on social media last week; she was truly upset about her stuff not selling. There is a sense of non-value for handmade items, but maybe we can change that through adapting what retailers do to trigger us to purchase.