Archive for the ‘Craft Show Horror Stories’ Category

Craft Show Horror Stories: Nasty Neighbors

Posted on: June 22nd, 2009 by Kellbot 4 Comments

It’s one thing when customers are rude, that more or less comes with the territory when you’re selling things retail. But it always amazes me when fellow crafters and artisans are as badly behaved (or worse!) as the nastiest customers. Next time you’re at a show be glad you’re not stationed next to any of these folks…

The “art” snob
“my funniest experience was at a show when my artist neighbor specialized in lampwork, and any time someone came to my table, she would loudly exclaim “that is junk, come over here to see real art”…..(she actually helped me I sold over $500 worth of “junk”….giggle” (from anngardesigns)

The Show Stealer

“My very first show was a 2-day outdoor event. I had read every site I could find and felt I had everything I needed for a great show. What I did not count on was the sale stealer that was located in the booth next to me. Just my luck she was a local lady that seemed to know every woman that attended the event. Every time someone she knew would step in my booth and start looking she would call out there name and pull them into her area. We were right at the entrance so once she was finished chatting them up and forcing them to buy her “vintage” clothing items they would walk on. Then she had the nerve to keep asking me how much money I was making. I wanted to scream ‘None cause you won’t let anyone stay in my booth for more than 5 seconds’” (from Jhpapers)

A little too “cozy”

“I used to do a yearly juried show in a lovely fine arts center and before I received a permenant spot I got stuck in a little room. The vendors on either side (those sassy little early birds) had placed their displays directly against my table so that I couldn’t even get into my space to set up! I had to pull the table out, squeeze around and set up, and then of course I was trapped and couldn’t get back out. When nature called, as of course it does I couldn’t push my table, or all my displays would topple so I had to displace my neighbors, and then the “glaring” began. I finally spoke to the management/monitor who did resolve it by making them rearrange, and then of course I received the fire breathing looks for two days.
At least it was indoors!” (from whimsicals)

The hygenically challenged

We did a show last fall where the guy at the booth next to us had a friend who spent the whole weekend in his booth, sitting on the filthy floor (it was in a functional armory) working on a quilt by hand. The quilt was completely smeared with black goo from the floor, as was the girl; and this girl smelled so bad that I could smell her from the other end of my booth, as could the numerous customers that were making faces about the stench. Lucky for us we still sold hats like crazy and can laugh about it now. (from  rocksandsalt)

That’s just gross.

someone who made elephants out of rolled up face flannels, each with a bar of soap hidden in them, which was not their advertised craft, then sold loads next to me whilst they farted very loudly and unpleasantly without apology. Turned out I and the rest of the room were downwind of the incoming air vents so by the time people got to me and the stalls down from me they were holding noses and making a run from us. The organiser is well aware that I will not be next to her this year if he knows what’s good for him. (from BlueBoxStudio)

Of course, to really up the ante takes a neighboring vendor and a rude customer. With their powers combined…

“I will never forget my very first show. I ended up next to a guy selling sunglasses. He arranged his booth so that he had to walk through my booth to get in and out and he was going in and out a lot to help his customers. (I admit that on the last day I rearranged my walls so he couldn’t do that and he had to move his table over a bit to get in).
But the worst part of it was his customers. They would stand in my booth to get his attention and one guy stuck his supersized drink in my print bin in order to free up his hands to try on sunglasses. At the time I was paying out the money for giclee prints too. 16×20″ inch ones too. I think that was my last straw. I picked up the cup and handed it to the guy and informed him that this was artwork and you don’t treat it like that. And in case you are wondering – it was one of those cnavas style print bins, not a solid surface to actually put anything in – he just wedged it in.” (from bemusedart)

Nightmare Customers: Craft Show Horror Stories

Posted on: May 29th, 2009 by Kellbot 6 Comments

For the second installment of our Craft Show Horror Stories series we bring you… Worlds Worst Customers. Or non-customers as the case may be. It’s always the people with the worst behavior who decide not to buy anything, isn’t it? Luckily 99.9% of craft show patrons are 100% awesome. Every show has the usual kids-who-touch-things, that guy who spends an hour making you pull out different styles/sizes and then doesn’t get anything, and people with an oversize sense of entitlement.  But every now and then… you run into one of these folks:

“I Could Make That”

Every show seems to have one of these folks. People whose only comment on your work is that they could do it. Yeah? Right. Artbytrudy ran into a particular gem at a high school craft fair:

I did a craft show at a high school a couple of months ago. I was so excited because I was accepted at the last minute ($125 for day). They stuck me in a hallway with 7 other crafters and we had 9 people all day! People would walk in the front door, go in the gym and leave!

I saw a 20 something girl look at my sunflower [painting] and I thought “good I got a sale.” Well she screamed, ” MOM CAN YOU PAINT THIS FOR ME!” Mom (who looked like a Jerry Springer candidate came over picked it up, studied it, and screamed back, “Sure it can’t be that hard!” and took a picture of it on her cell phone! Now I can be as assertive as the next person, but I was so slap happy that I laughed until I cried.

That’s too Expensive

Some people seem to have a skewed view of what handmade items should cost. Each show has that one person who feels the need to tell you so. A friend had someone tell her she was “taking the food right out of my mouth,” as she purchased a $2 item. $2. Less than the price of a Super Value Meal.

Here’s my own story from when I was selling under priced hand forged jewelry:

A kid who looked about 10 came up to my booth, with his mom behind him. He was touching various necklaces (*cringe*), and pointing them out to his mom, who just sort of grunted. Then he checked the tag on one, saw that it was $30, and yelled “Jesus Christ that’s expensive!”

His mother immediately yelled “Bobby! Didn’t I tell you…”
and I’m thinking “phew, she’s going to correct him for being rude,” oh no,
“… Didn’t I tell you not to take the lord Jesus’ name in vein?”

And then they walked away.

Unsanitary Practices

Even without Swine Flu floating around, some things are just common sense. Like not licking the merchandise:

At the end of a very long and hot day, a woman tried on one of my rings. She then found that she couldn’t get it off but no problem, she had the perfect solution. She put her whole hand in her mouth, got it good and wet, then deposited the ring into my hand with a big smile!

Or maybe she was just hungry? Like a woman Livinginthepast ran into?

I was at a miniatures fair and I was demonstrating polymer clay. I had these miniature candy canes that I was giving away to people- they were 1:12. On the label I had ‘polymer clay candy canes, please take one!’ I’d been telling the children that no, you can’t eat them. :)

A lady came by and picked up one. She looked intently at what I was doing, and at the packets of clay I was using. She then put the candy cane in her mouth and bit it in half as I went into slow motion ‘nooooooOOoooOOooo’ mode, saying “you can’t eat it!!!”
She took the broken bit out of her mouth and said “Oh, I always taste things.” And wandered off…

Clowns.

Ok so this one isn’t really a category of person, I think this story is unique to StymiepieStudios. But it’s a good one to keep in mind next time you have trouble ridding your booth of clowns. No, really.

I did a popular large craft show during the last holiday season that was over a weekend. On the first full day, a strange woman , dressed like a regular person but wearing clown makeup, came over to my table several times. I thought she worked at the show, you know, face painting….something. She bought a bank, made small talk, etc. Strange but friendly.

The next day I show up early and she’s sitting at my table, has coffee for me and the Sunday paper, and show time approaches and she won’t leave! Customers are browsing and she’s selling my pieces and telling people she made them and I’m her assistant (and she’s still got the clown makeup on). I was reluctant to get rid of her, she sold ten things(LOL) but finally I gently (well, maybe not so gently) suggested that she leave. At the end of the day I saw her in the parking lot helping a guy pack up his van while he pleaded with her to leave him in peace.

Luckily the bad customers are the exception to the rule. Got your own worst customer experience? Share it in the comments! Next week we’ve got tales of the most awful booth neighbors imaginable, folks that are supposed to be professionals! If you’ve got a good (er, bad) one, send it in to blog@indiecraftshows.com

Bad Weather Blues: Craft Show Horror Stories

Posted on: May 22nd, 2009 by Kellbot 1 Comment

We put out a call on Twitter for your worst craft show horror stories. We got so many good ones (er, bad ones?) that we’re breaking it up into a series. This week it’s all tales of inclement weather.

First, there’s wind. Even on “nice” days wind can be a real problem at a craft fair. EpicallyEpicSoap had an epically epic run in with the wind – literally:

Last Saturday it was pretty windy and the “welcoming tent” wasn’t weighed down correctly. The entire huge tent took flight and hit me right in the face!!! AAAA!

Luckily, I was fine and none of my soap was damaged, somehow! :)

And then of course there’s rain. Depending on the show’s location it can go from being a nuiscense to your worst day ever. Bemusedart was unlucky enough to do a show which quickly turned to mud, and an the organizers provided an even worse solution to the quickly growing mud field:

There was the typical 4 days of rain at my biggest show of the year. Ankle deep in mud for 4 days. And the dog started having seizures that weekend so my husband had to stay home and watch him instead of helping me at the show.

They put plywood in aisles for the customers to walk on, and there was a huge gap in the plywood in front of my booth where folks kept doing the splits as they tried to step over the gap. Then the city thought it would be a good idea to use this hay mixed with manure to cover the wet ground inside the booths – Warm wet manure smell – Yum! If it hadn’t been storming, I would have tried to be somewhere other than inside my tent that weekend too. And to top it all off, less than 5 min. after closing the sun came out and made for a most beautiful sunset while we packed up.

But really if we’re talking about rain mishaps, magichands wins hands down (ha ha get it? hands down? hey where are you going?)

I can win this one. Rainy day stories?

MY TENT WAS STRUCK BY LIGHTNING.

Happened during setup on the first day. It was a two-day, $375 show, and the organizer refused to give me any money back, even though it was raining and my tent was a smoking wreck with holes melted in the canopy.

worst. show. ever.

But the award for most total destruction goes to the Fountain Square Art Festival. Circa Ceramics caught the tent carnage on film:

Photo by Circa Ceramics
Photo by Circa Ceramics
Photo by Circa Ceramics

Check out the full photoset on Flickr for a start to finish photo journal of the destruction. And next time its a little cloudy / drizzly just think to yourself “well, at least the whole craft fair hasn’t been blown away.”

Got a horror story of your own? We’re still collecting “worst customer”, “worst neighbor”, and miscellaneous stories, so send them to blog@indiecraftshows.com. And if your bad weather story didn’t make it into today’s post feel free to leave it in the comments!