I work as a subcontractor with the Dept. of Defense in Seaside, California (also known as DoD West). The Social Committee holds a craft fair for its employees and their families twice a year and this time I decided to sign up. It was today, right in time for Mother's Day. The other craft fair is right before Christmas.

As most artists, I am reserved and somewhat shy so I find craft fairs, art shows, and art receptions difficult as I have to step out of my skin and actually TALK to someone.

This craft fair was good practice for me. I was strongly encouraged to sign up and now I'm glad I did. I crafted hand made notecards of California wildflowers. These were from paintings I had done years ago. I cut them in 3" squares and pasted them on notecards. I sold them for $2.50 ea. I sold several. I also brought several older paintings that I no longer display on my web site and sold those for $10.00 ea. I sold a few of those. And lastly, I brought my Orchid Collection. These had already been matted since they were on display at a coffee shop last year. But they did not sell at all which was fine with me as I didn't want to part with them for only $25.00 ea.

I was asked to bring a donation. So I brought the Chilean Bellflower (pictured) and received rave reviews. This will be raffled off later in the day.

The craft fair only lasted a couple of hours. It gave me an idea of what people want (mainly note cards) and I got an opportunity to meet some new faces and gain some new customers.

If you're just starting out and you want some easy and quick exposure, I recommend a local craft fair. The people are very supportive of your work. Or as one co-worker put it (who bought a painting) " I'd  rather support the artists than the cupcake lady."