Hi pals, welcome to today’s recap of my first craft market in 8 years.
To catch you up, I used to do markets every winter in Michigan, and a few in the spring. Nothing major, just a small pop up by the water front or in a cafe in small town USA. A few weeks ago I was in the hospital for kidney stones, quite loopy on medicine, and I decided that it was a great time to apply to the Seattle Pride Parade market, which was 5 weeks away, because “they totally won’t accept me, but the worst they say is no.”
Fast forward to two days later, and there is a “You’ve been accepted” email sitting in my inbox. I am not joking you when I say I confirmed THREE times that the email was legit, including emailing them through the event portal because whattttt?!
After getting the confirmation(s) back from the team (thank you for being so kind), I got to work.
Here’s the inventory I started with:
- 6 cardigans (mixture of tank top to long sleeves)
- 9 crochet bags
- 4 pride themed beanies
- 1 bucket hat
- I shawl
- 2 worry worms
- 1 banana amigurumi
So, like not a lot at all, but also not zero. That meant I needed to inventory my yarn and craft supplies and break down what I could make quickly but not lose who I am as a maker in the process. I jumped onto Ravelry and Etsy real quick to see if I could find something cute and whimsical to make, just to add to the other plans I had, and I found Bingus. This little guy is probably my favorite little guy I’ve ever made, and he took me about an hour or so to make one, and about 40 minutes to make the little version. Belly_Crochet_ also has free mods for Bingus here, and she even has a free crochet pattern here if you want to check them out first. Speaking of the pattern itself, it is the best written pattern I have ever read. It feels like my best friend is sitting across from me giving me all the tips and tricks, making me laugh out loud, and they are creative as heck. I am 100% borrowing this format (and making it my own, no copy pasta AI shit here), and I am so stoked to challenge my brain in a new way.
I also have to shout out three of my friends, Angry Gato Art, K3lsB3lls, and SleepingLunaDesigns. These three jumped right up to help me out with this market and I couldn’t be more grateful. Angry Gato was a rockstar and laser cut me the wooden frogs so I could paint/resin/finish them into gay frog pins and magnets. K3ls was wild and not only drew Ikora with a pride flag, AND drew her beans as a sticker, she made me a few of her magical Mushroom Guys, pins, and earrings to share with the community. And SleepingLunaDesigns, my sweet best friend, came up from Portland to help me for 4 days with the final prep, the market itself, and the wrap-up afterwards. I wouldn’t have been able to do this without my community.
But after all that, here was my game plan of things to make:
- 4 Bingus (2 regular and 2 mini) – I knew this wouldn’t be a problem because I made 2 the first day I had the pattern.
- 4 Bingus Belly Tubbies – Yes, there are Belly Tubbies
- 10 mystery bags – Each mystery bag is filled with the same things, but they are all different and one of a kind. For example, each bag comes with a 2-3 inch doodle stitch, a worry worm, a sprout, a friendship bracelet, a pin, and stickers. Sometimes they have other trinkets in them, but those are the guarantees of each bag. The stitches and crocheted items are all one of a kind and all hand stitched by me. 🙂
- 10 oopsie bags – Bags with stickers, pins, and magnets that still work just fine but are slightly wonky, like the cut is off slightly or the laminate has a bubble, all sold at a super discount.
- 2 crop tops – Rainbow crochet
- Stickers – Ikora and her beans
- Magnets – Printing and cutting Ikora and her beans, as well as Pride flags as bookmarks
- As many Frog Pins/Magnets as I can
- Bandanas <– Free crochet pattern here <3
I also realized I had absolutely nothing for my booth set up. Like, zero. So I built a quick booth in The Sims 4, figured out what I needed, and ordered all of my yarn, booth supplies, and my business cards/vinyl banner in the hopes that it would all arrive within the 4 weeks I had left before the event. (Spoiler: they all arrived.)
Here is what I ordered the first time…:
Amazon:
- 2 “wig stands” for beanies
- Gold rolling clothing rack
- Gold hangers (regular and clip versions)
- Wooden boxes
- Brown paper bags
- Magnet Stand
- Black stretchy table cloth
- Holographic bags for stickers and magnets
- Printable magnet paper
- Holographic Laminating sheets
- UV Resin
- Acrylic Paint markers
- Small embroidery hoops
Hobbii Yarn Order:
- Baby Snuggle Solid – 2 sunshine, 2 purple
- Toucan – 2 Red, 1 Light purple, 2 sage, 1 dark turquoise
- Friends Cotton 8/8 pack – 2 packs
- Candy Pop – 4 skeins
- Cloudy Delight – 8 skeins
Vista Print:
- Vinyl Banner
- 200 Business cards
- Stamp
StickerApp:
- 200 Stickers
And I kept track of all of the tiny details in a spreadsheet, so here is the breakdown of the items and their cost, plus the materials, booth fee, and table supplies:
I did end up ordering more of a few things later on (they are in the spreadsheet though!), like a bazillion balls of blanket yarn was not on my bingo card, but this was a trust the process kind of moment.
So how was the market?
The market was magical. My booth set up was simple and I have a few ideas to change up for the next one, but I am really proud of where this landed.
I ended up selling $1100 worth of my makes, and after all was said and paid for, including the 10% of my sales to Seattle Parks & Rec which I don’t understand, I walked away with about $100 in profit. That seems like a huge waste of time if you really look at it, but for me, it was a dream come true. I wasn’t looking to make a ton of money, if I made the booth fee back I would have been thrilled, but I really did the thing, and I am so proud of myself.
I now have about $800 in my business account (yes, I finally made one), which allows me to apply for another market AND get my Washington State Business License so I can stop paying for a day pass every market lol.
What’s next?
Next up, I am listing what was left over from the market on my Etsy. Yes, I reopened my Etsy, just to give it one more shot, but I am so nervous with the drop shippers and AI that I won’t be seen. So, if you don’t mind, would you go check out my page and give it a heart? The more “favorites” I get, the higher I get ranked, and I am restarting so anything helps.
I am also applying for the Urban Craft Uprising Winter Show December 6-8, here at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall! I will be making a ton of super cute chunky beanies, more pride things, holiday gifts, and more! Make sure you’re following me on Instagram to keep up with the makes in real time!
Alright pals, that’s it for this one! I will see you soon for the next adventure!
Xx, Sam