I’ve been on both sides of Missoula’s favorite aisles—the craft fairs, farmers markets and holiday pop-ups that are the lifeblood of many small local companies and launch-pads for artisans and crafters. For three years, I ran a successful hot sauce company that depended on fairs and winter farmers markets. I found so much rewarding about these fairs: getting to see lots of friends, trading my goods for other vendors’ handcrafted items, and above all, selling my product in exchange for some sweet, sweet cash to offset the lousy wages that a journalism degree earns you these days.
The vast majority of people I encountered at our local craft fairs and the winter farmers’ market were just lovely, and it was especially meaningful in the winter of 2020 when I was so starved for social interaction. But that doesn’t mean that vending at these events wasn’t work. It still raises my heart rate to think about getting up early on a winter morning to set up my booth materials into the old Lucky’s market and then stand around praying I would make enough sales to cover my expenses. The uneasy quiet minutes before I made the first sale of the day were never fun. No matter how good sales had been the previous week I always wondered, Had I just wasted my time and money? Every bottle at the market represented so much labor—hours spent cutting up hundreds of pounds of peppers and ladling simmering sauce into dozens of bottles. And that’s just my story. Every craft fair vendor is out there hustling, putting way more time and expertise into their work than you could imagine.
I’m grateful to attend holiday pop-ups now as a regular citizen, which means I also get to be more honest with you, reader, about what I was really thinking while smiling brightly at the holiday markets. Pat yourself on the back if you follow these unspoken rules:
Don’t talk shit about the art or craft while in earshot of the booth. This is a rule my mom taught me when I was a little kid in an art museum: “You never know if the artist is right behind you and can hear you.” I’m always shocked at First Friday when I hear people making fun of art out loud. People work hard to create and present their handicrafts, and the least you can do is wait to snark on the crocheted Minions until you’re far from the booth.
Do move aside into low-traffic areas while catching up with friends. Other people are sharing this physical space with you! Montanans seem to really struggle with acting right in crowds, and I say that as a lifelong Montanan. We get so excited to see our friends that we completely block pathways for other people on sidewalks and in store aisles. Be a hero and gently move your group out of the way.
Don’t forget why vendors vend. Vendors are here to make money, and they’re busy. Don’t get me wrong, the social aspect of craft fairs and holiday markets is a huge reason these interactions are meaningful. But I was often politely fending off people who would want to continue having a conversation with me while I was trying to answer questions from other customers and make additional sales. If there’s a line of people behind you, say thanks and move on!
Do hold the door for vendors lugging their gear. As a one-woman company, I was often carrying heavy boxes, struggling to open a door or get to my car. It’s incredibly stressful to load into these events, which rarely have vendor-designated parking. And in the winter, sidewalks and parking lots are icy as hell. Shoutout to the angels who would give me a hand or step out of the way.
Don’t force your child to do the shopping. This is more from my season as a farmworker, but nothing made my heart sink like a mom handing a bag to her 5-year-old and saying “Okay honey, pick out what you want!” I know the intent was to get the kid invested in the notion of local organic produce, and that’s noble, but in practice I’d watch little hands squash the cherry tomatoes, knock over potatoes and scatter the leafy greens.
Do practice some polite phrases for turning down a sale. Sometimes people who weren’t interested in buying my hot sauce seemed unaware that they could say “no thank you,” when I was trying to make a sale, and it led to lots of wasted time for both parties. They hemmed and hawed, led me on, or some would just flat out turn and walk away. Listen, as a customer I struggle with this sometimes, too, especially if I really like something but then see that the price tag is too high for me. But as a vendor, I just needed folks to make a decision and then move on to make room for more potential customers. If you don’t know what to say to a pushy vendor (and after 20 ounces of coffee I could certainly be pushy), here are some great phrases to use to end the interaction: “This isn’t in my budget, but thank you for your time” or “I’m going to move on, thank you!” or “I like your work, can I tell my friends where to find you?”
It’s not Costco. Don’t eat all the free samples if you’re not intending to pay for anything. I could tell the difference between people trying a free sample and deciding they didn’t want to make a purchase, and the people seeking as much free food as possible. It was a relief when my business became popular enough that I didn’t have to offer samples to bring in customers. Also, I’m sure the esteemed readers of this publication don’t have to be told this, but PLEASE don’t touch samples with your bare hands. One time I stepped away from my booth for a minute and came back to find a guy opening a sealed hot sauce bottle and placing his finger right on the mouth of the bottle. He was miffed when I said I couldn’t sell that bottle to anyone else and asked him to buy it.
Cash is great but not always necessary! Do bring smaller bills. Inevitably my first sale of the day would always be someone fresh from the ATM with a crisp $100 bill, making a $7 purchase. This was annoying, but otherwise I personally wasn’t fussy about people’s preferred payment method. Most younger artisans and crafters will be set up to take cards, Paypal or Venmo–it’s all good, the goal is to make a sale. That said, I try to get some cash out for these events when I attend them, since some old-school vendors are cash-only, especially the smaller operations, and they offer great prices.
Toward the end of the market, vendors of more perishable goods like food, flowers or plants also might be amenable to cutting you a deal if you offer cash.
Lastly, don’t tell vendors that you could make this yourself. Every small-time maker of handcrafted goods experiences this at least once. And yeah, that’s the idea: You’re browsing a bunch of arts and crafts made by people, and you are a person! It defines our humanity that we can make things, and craft fairs are often the place where we suddenly remember that. It’s just exponentially more effort to take a product to market. Now that I’ve shelved my small business and I get to sleep in on Saturdays again, when I see something at a craft fair that I could have made myself, I smile at the vendor and mentally congratulate them for how much work they’ve done to get there.
