The Ohio Renaissance Festival Protest

The other day, I was sitting in the den / office of a fairly well known and controversial author / attorney by the name of Edwin Kagin.  Edwin was showing me his extensive collection of knives and swords.  One sword he’d purchased from me without a scabbard / sheath years earlier at the Ohio Renaissance Festival.  It had a spanking new sheath on it.  Edwin Kagin explained that he had Gil Hibben make the sheath.  As Gil Hibben is one of the most famous knife makers in the world, I was flattered.

Judging from his home, I wouldn’t say Edwin Kagin is a rich man.  I would say he has used his talents to make a good life for himself but wouldn’t mind the money to put a Lamborghini in his driveway.  What he does do is put the things that he loves on the wall and when there’s no time to put them on the wall he stacks them up in the corner of his office.

Why is this encouragement to Craft Folk?  Because even in the economic downturn that you hear about on the news, there are and will always be people who appreciate unique hand made goods.  Although I’d not previously seen Edwin’s collection, I did not get the feeling it was shrinking with the economy and I am honored to have a piece included (even if it was a very early piece).  Mentioning this to him, he told me I needed to show him some finished pieces.  Obviously, he is still shopping and probably will be for the rest of his life just like the rest of us who appreciate unique hand made goods.

So why do so many people report dismal sales at this year’s Ohio Renaissance Festival?  I think the reason is two fold.

1. No matter how many people you shove into a flea market you aren’t going to make much money if you are selling fine art.  Sure, using the terms flea market and fine art are extreme ends of the spectrum, but you get the idea.

Like Edwin Kagin, I appreciate unique hand made goods.  When looking for such items, I gravitate towards art and craft shows.  Sure, I like flea markets also but that isn’t where I’d expect to find what I have come to love about craft shows.

2. You aren’t going to get many people into your flea market if you charge them $20.00 to go shopping.

Now do not get me wrong.  I –LOVE- a good flea market.  Mainly because they are cheap (read that free) entertainment.  That and out here in the hills, flea markets offer an opportunity for wheeling and dealing.  I just love to haggle over price and Wal-Mart employees just get annoyed when I try it there.  The thing is, I am not going to pay $20.00 to shop at one.

Lauren Terry, who says she works at the Ohio Renaissance Festival this year, reports:

“There is a boardgame shop now! (boardgames sold in plastic wrapping… yeah)”

I think you can see where I am going with this.  I think the problem is that the Ohio Renaissance Festival has a serious identity crisis brought about by mismanagement.  There is a place for resale / commercial goods and there is a place for unique hand made items.  The Ohio Renaissance Festival just doesn’t seem to know what its place is.  That or its management just doesn’t care as long as they rent booth space and is too disconnected to see that bad management leads to low attendance.  The result is misery, but not only for the merchants.  You see misery is contagious.  It seems to be infecting employees and even patrons.

Lauren Terry also writes:

“I feel that no one that is working here is actually enjoying it, the fun has left. Everyone just grins and bears the day, or the weekend, instead of actually hving fun with it.”

So where’s the encouragement for Craft Folk that I promised?  Well, it is not at the Ohio Renaissance Festival but it is out there.  We’ve had a great season and we hear from many other crafters whose season hasn’t ended that things are rolling right along.  You just have to be in the right place at the right time, know your market, and stop poisoning yourselves with the bad decisions made by other people.

In other words, if you are in a tent at the Ohio Renaissance Festival my advice is to skip that new lease and move on.  If you own a building, my advice is pay your lease and put your building up for sale.  If you spend the money you save or make to set up at another show before the Christmas season, I think you will be very happy with your decision.

People are spending money differently these days.  With less money for entertainment, shopping seems to have become an alternative.  With less money for shopping, careful purchases seem to be the trend.  Instead of running into Wal-Mart for a shopping basket full of plastic wrapped imported goods, customers seem to be looking for one or two unique items.  They seem to be looking for exactly what Craft Folk have to sell.  The thing is, they are not looking at flea markets.

With the exception of whimsical little things we knock out during demonstrations, our smallest knives start at $95.00 a piece and we have never had a better season for handmade goods.  Why?  Because they are unique blends of antler, bone, exotic woods, and pattern welded Damascus steel.  Because they are not what you find at Wal-Mart and because we don’t try to sell them at Wal-Mart.

Know your market and you will do fine this holiday season!