I attended a craft show at the Henry, IL American Legion yesterday. It was a first time event, both for them and me. During a conversation among crafters, several crafts shows I knew nothing about were mentioned and it occurred to me that there wasn't a central blog or facebook page I could go to and check Central Illinois craft shows. From that thought, an idea sprung, sprang, uh, was born. Central Illinois Craft Show Central (cicsc.blogspot.com), a blog devoted entirely to craft shows in Central Illinois containing information for customers, hosts and vendors.
The lady in the space next to me sold the cutest small purses for craft show vendors - big enough to hold money, cell phone and chewing gum. They were made from different kinds of material from cotton to blue jean material and each was decorated differently. If I decided my daughter needed one of those, I would have no way to get in touch with the crafter. However, if I could check the entry in my blog for that specific craft show which listed the vendors, I could check future craft shows for her. I realize some crafters have followers but she was new to me and I didn't get a business card or find out what her next show was. And sometimes, you don't know something will come in handy until you actually need it. So, what do you think? Would you check a blog like that on occasion? I have created a draft e-mail to show organizers and sent one to the host of the next show I'm doing with that question. I'm hoping she thinks it's a good idea. I want to work with hosts and vendors to give customers a source for finding vendors and shows. I want to give vendors a source of advertising and I want to give hosts a forum for announcing their shows.
If I hear that people would find that information useful, I will contact hosts (I have a few names already) and chamber of commerce offices in hopes of reaching more hosts. I will ask the hosts I know to forward my information to others. In due course, this could become the ultimate lists of craft shows and vendors in Central Illinois. I love to work on the computer and I've been looking for a project to make me feel as if I'm contributing to the crafting world. In closing, I did fairly well yesterday. I made my rent (we all love to do that) and I have some beer money. I don't do this to make money as much as to deplete my inventory, I can send only so many of the cards I make. And I have to make cards, it's what I do - so, instead of buying a new house to store them in, I attend craft shows, make lots of new friends, enjoy a day free of house work, cooking and laundry, and occasionally find a treasure for myself.
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