Wholesale Marketing: Trade Shows

Fish Face booth at the Minneapolis Gift Show

The selling season is in full swing here in the Midwest. We’ve already gone through the Chicago Market Show, along with Beckman’s Handcrafted Show  and Style Max. Next on the schedule is the Minneapolis Gift Show.

It seems that the “gift show” is still the most effective way to market a small line of graphic t-shirts to stores, boutiques, catalogs and online retailers. In theory it makes sense to invite all the store owners from a region to come to one location to shop from a variety of venders. Sounds good enough, but here are a few things to consider.

Know Your Target Market

Before signing up for a trade show first investigate whether the show’s target buyers aline with your target market. Call the promoter and have them send you a list of last years attendees and ask the promoter questions about their  list of registries.  What types of stores attend.  Are they antique, boutique, sport stores, chain stores, or distributors?  What are their annual sales? What did they buy? How often do they attend? Where did they come from (which states or geographical areas?)

Word of Mouth

Do you know someone who does the show? If not, maybe a colleague of yours know someone who has done the show. Ask that colleague for the name of that person and give them a call.  Ask if it is a good show, and how long they have done it. It it ‘s over many years, then it must be working for them.

Go to the Show

Next, if you have the time, I would strongly recommend visiting the show (either as a manufacture, or buyer). If you can go on what you might think is a busy day, and an “off” day. Check out your competition and watch them for a while. Are they busy? Don’t be shy, go into their booth. Once you enter the booth they are going to want to see your badge. Strike up a conversation. Let  them know you produce a similar product, but also that you carry other lines on your online store (polite white lie). Tell them you may be displaying your own products next year at this show. They may or may not be open to a few of your questions about the show, if they aren’t, move on, don’t push it because reps, owners, and creatives get territorial about their lines, and rightly so.

Up Next: Planning for the Show

O.K. you’ve decided to sign up and display your products at a wholesale gift show.

Vote for Your Favorite Design

Like any of these old designs?

So I'm wondering if anyone would like us to reprint any of our old designs (Not Just Another Pretty Face dates back to 1998). Please visit Fish Face Goods, and your vote today (lower left Conner of the "Home' page will be up for about a day or to). The winning design will be reprinted and sold at the shows and online through out 2011. Thanks for participating!

Great New Tool for Artists

My new iPad on my old drawing board.

I bought a new iPad several months ago to replace my laptop. I thought it would be easier to carry around when a traveled to the art and craft shows I do for Fish Face Goods; for simple business tasks, it works well.

I read a article in "Art News" about David Hockney and his use of an iPad as a drawing tool.  "ArtStudio" and "Sketch Book Pro" apps have transformed the iPad into a new medium for me. Now my life (my art life) has been changed forever. I am so stoked by these apps that over night, I have doubled my fine art production. These apps have brought an element of instant gratification. I use to do pencil sketches in a "sketch book" to develop ideas, but with ArtStudio I get a real feeling for the finished piece cause I'm  drawing in full color, with textures or brush strokes just like I may use in a finished piece of traditional art. Plus, if I don't like it, I just delete it and start another. I didn't use up any paper, canvas, pencils or paint. Below are just a couple pieces I've done over the last few months.

Chicken

Hey You

Tax Time

2010 Tax Box

It's that time of year, tax time. Like most of you know (and others will learn) I own a pretty small business. I'd like to say a "micro business". Because of that, my accounting system is pretty much run out of a box and a some folders. It doesn't take me long at all to put together all the info for the accountant. I tried quick books once (at the request of the accountant) but it just seemed like a waste of time. It seemed silly to take the time (Time - a precious commodity for the owner of any micro biz) to write myself a payroll check. I pay my withholding quarterly. The Fed gets its money. How many of you are self employed? How many use some software to run your books? How many of you use an accountant?

Good Work

"Yes, I Hunt" caps rolling out of the dryer.

Finishing up the wholesale order for Colorado today (600 caps - 200 shirts). They've been a good customer, and it's really nice to have a job of this size at this time of year! Smile, Fish Face Fishing Gifts are the perfect choice for the silly fisherman in your life.

Why I Love Winter

The path to the shop.

Most will think I'm nuts, but I love winter. It's the time of the year when I have the most time to work on new t-shirt designs. I guess you could call it creative hibernation. I sit myself down in front of the drawing board and the creative juices really get going. I'll be posting some of these new fishing shirt designs soon. In the mean time checkout the current offerings at Fish Face Fun Fishing T-shirts.