Another week, another convention center…
This weekend, I headed to Philly to check out the Buyer’s Market of American Craft. It’s been 4 years since I last walked the show, so I thought it was time for a revisit. The Buyer’s Market has been an institution when it comes to wholesaling American craft – in fact, show founder Wendy Rosen is incredibly passionate about American made products.
The show seemed a little smaller than the last time I was there (no doubt a product of the recession), but there were still about 900 exhibitors. The show is loosely grouped by media and type of object – jewelry on one end, then mixed media home decor, ceramics, and glass. I was slightly disappointed with the size of the wearable/fibers section. It was easy to miss due to the small number of booths. But I was excited to see Queen Bee Creations there. (If you aren’t familar with Queen Bee, check out their website. They are a craft-business success story – one maker who went from sewing in her bedroom to running a full fledged production studio.)
I think the Buyer’s Market is doing a good job of attracting younger makers to exhibit at the show (especially in jewelry). I saw several artists that I recognized from Etsy. This is even more true during the August show, (which will be held in Baltimore for the first time this year), where they invite various Etsy teams to exhibit at the show. I spoke to several makers at this show who had gotten their start by exhibiting with an Etsy team last summer, and had graduated to their own booths this show.
I think if you’ve never done a wholesale show before, the atmosphere at the Buyer’s Market would be far less intimidating than at a show like New York Gift. The booth displays felt a little more DIY (therefore more manageable to create for the first time exhibitor) and you aren’t competing with giant companies and stuff mass-produced overseas. The buyers are there solely to shop for craft – which can be a good or bad thing, depending on your businesses goals, audience, and aesthetic.
If you’re looking to try a wholesale show with a little less investment (and with some friends for support), I would suggest looking into how your team, group, or guild can exhibit at the August show. It might just be the jump start you need!
Anyone headed to Vegas this week for Pool or any of the other Vegas trade shows? I’d love to have a report – if you’re headed there and want to do a guest post, please email me at megan (at) craftMBA.com!
This is an interesting review from an exhibitor’s perspective… how many, what booths are like, etc. But having done so many shows, what really matters in the end is the quantity and quality of buyers. Was the number of buyers up or down? Were they buying as much, less, different things? What is happening to galleries and other retailers who sell crafted items? What is the average price point and is it up or down? Too often juried shows become all about getting in for the makers and not enough about getting the most and the best buyers there.
Thanks for the BMAC report! For better or worse, I chose to do Beckman’s Handcrafted in Chicago in January rather than try to get into BMAC. It seemed logical to chose a show close to home (Madison, WI) as my first wholesale market experience. Will definitely apply to the August show now!
Best,
Rachael Brooke
Judith – I think those are all fantastic points, but not information that I could really gather walking around a show on the second day and chatting with exhibitors. I would recommend anyone who is thinking of exhibiting at a show ask those questions of the show organizers.
Thanks for the report. Sorry to have missed meeting you. I caught a dreadful bug [better now :)]. I think the BMAC is a great way to get a feel for wholesale. We started doing it 7 years ago and have established some great relationships with galleries. It can be a lesson in patience though… it takes alot of time and learning to build something. Which, of course.. we are still doing. I enjoyed your encouraging report! Hope to meet you next time around. All the best.
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Do you think BMAC is appropriate for someone doing handmade home accessories? The show looks interesting, but I’m not really targeting galleries, more like museum and specialty shops. Are there any kid’s sellers/buyers there? My line targets both. Thanks for the wrap-up–helpful, as always!
Thanks for the article. I walked this show, as well as NY Gift, once many years ago as an “assistant” buyer when I worked for a gallery, but I really wasn’t in charge of any decision making. Now that I have my craft business, I have been waiting for the right time to make my move into wholesale. I always thought the wholesale shows were intimidating, so it’s nice to hear your take on it, and that this one seems a little more manageable.