Choosing the Right Fairs

Not every fair is worth your Saturday. A hall with 200 visitors and a £15 table fee can outsell a big event where you pay £120 and spend the day shouting over a bouncy castle. Before you book, ask the organiser three questions: how many visitors did the last event attract, what is the pitch size, and what is the balance of stalls. A fair with nine jewellery makers and one cake stand will not serve you well if you make silver earrings.

• Match your price point to the crowd. Village hall events with free entry tend to suit £5–£25 items. Ticketed food and drink festivals, where visitors have already paid to get in, usually support £30–£120 pieces.
• Check the footfall pattern. Church and school fairs peak in the first ninety minutes. Farmer's markets stay steady all morning. Artisan markets often pick up after lunch.
• Start small and build a list. Do one or two events a month for a season and keep notes on takings, fees and the sort of questions people asked.

If you sell home brew or preserves, confirm what the venue allows and check licensing requirements for alcohol with your local council before you commit. Many organisers will also ask to see public liability insurance, so keep a certificate ready to email.

Designing a Stall That Invites People In

Your stall has about three seconds to say what you make and why it is lovely. Resist the temptation to cram everything on the table. Space is a signal of quality; clutter reads as a jumble sale.

Take a plain cloth that reaches the floor — it hides your boxes and looks tidy from any angle. Then build height: a couple of sturdy boxes under the cloth at the back, a crate turned on its side, a small step. Aim for three levels so the eye travels upward rather than sideways into your neighbour's stall.

• Keep the front third clear so people can lean in and pick things up. Handmade work sells when it is held.
• Bring battery LED lights. Village halls are dim, and a warm light on glass, ceramics or wool makes an enormous difference.
• Stand slightly to the side of your table, not behind a wall of it. You become part of the display rather than a shopkeeper behind a counter.
• Show your craft. If you knit, spin, throw pots or brew, a small in-progress piece on the table sparks conversation and slows people down.

Stock Levels and Pricing Displays

Take more than you think you need. A reasonable rule is three times your expected sales, weighted towards whatever sold best last time. A nearly empty table looks like a stall that is packing up; a well-stocked one looks like a stall worth browsing.

Every item needs a visible price. If a customer has to ask, half of them will not bother. Use clear handwritten or printed cards in a consistent style, and group by price where it makes sense:

• Simple round numbers. Odd pennies slow down card payments and mental arithmetic.
• Multi-buy offers. Three greetings cards for £8 or two jars for £9 lifts average spend without discounting your single-item price.
• One clear "from £X" sign at the front, so passing visitors can judge whether to stop.
• Keep spare stock under the table and top up discreetly as gaps appear. Never let the table look bare at 2pm.

Taking Card Payments

Most UK fairs now run on card. Contactless accounts for the majority of transactions at typical craft stalls, with cash a distant second. A small mobile card reader paired with your phone will handle both, and the transaction fee — usually somewhere between 1% and 2% — is a fair price for not losing a sale.

• Sort your reader before you arrive. Download the app, log in, check the battery and do a test payment at home.
• Have a backup plan for weak signal. Halls with thick stone walls are notorious. Many readers offer an offline mode that stores payments until you reconnect.
• Keep a cash float of about £50 in £5 notes and £1 coins. Note the current contactless limit and don't assume customers know it.
• Practise saying the total clearly and turning the reader towards the customer. Awkward payment moments kill momentum.

Engaging Browsers Without Pressure

The best stallholders are warm, not watchful. A simple "Morning — have a look, I'm here if you'd like to know anything" gives permission to browse. Then read the signals. Someone who picks an item up and turns it over wants a conversation. Someone scanning from two feet away usually does not.

Talk about the making, not the selling. Where the wool came from, how long the kiln takes, what went wrong with batch three. Stories sell far better than adjectives, and they cost you nothing. If a visitor says "I'll come back", smile and let them go — chasing rarely works and it unsettles the people behind them.

Packing Smart and Learning From Each Fair

Allow a full hour to set up, and pack in the order you will need things: cloth and display first, stock second, float and reader last. A folding trolley saves your back and your temper. Take water, a snack and a stool, and ask a neighbouring stallholder to watch your pitch while you take a proper break — you will sell better when you are not hungry.

Afterwards, jot down what sold, which prices worked and the questions people kept asking. That notebook, more than any advice, will shape which fairs you book next season and what you make for them.