I can’t really say the craft fair/food truck extravaganza was a total bust… mainly because technically it did happen.

Of the fifteen vendors who signed up, four of us actually showed up.

Four.

Now, no one really seems to know why the other eleven didn’t make it. Maybe they overslept. Maybe they checked the weather and decided it looked suspicious. Maybe they looked at their alarm clock that morning and said, “You know what? I’m good.”

Whatever the reason, part of me is honestly glad they didn’t show up.

In fact, being one of only four vendors worked out pretty well for me. I didn’t make a lot of money, but I did make enough to get my registration fee back. When you’re doing craft fairs, sometimes breaking even is considered a small victory.

There were at least five food trucks set up at the event, and I suspect that’s what most people came for. The smell of barbecue, fried food, and whatever magical seasoning food trucks use tends to pull a crowd much faster than a table full of handcrafted items. People were definitely walking around with plates of food in their hands.

But every once in a while, someone would wander over to the vendor tables between bites.

One of the great things that often comes from doing these shows is meeting other craft vendors. I still remember the first show I did a couple of years ago. I was extremely nervous. I had no idea what to expect.

I kept asking myself questions like:

Am I charging too much?
Am I charging too little?
What if someone is selling the exact same thing I’m selling, but for half the price?

After that first show, though, I slowly started learning the ins and outs of how these things work. The more shows I did, the more comfortable I became with what I was selling and how everything operated.

Around here, there’s a local state park that hosts a monthly craft fair that brings in over a hundred vendors each month. These shows have been around for a long time. I remember going there as a teenager just to walk around and see what people were selling.

Things have definitely changed over the years.

Back then, it seemed like most people were selling handmade crafts. These days, a lot of booths are filled with boutique items people bought in bulk somewhere and are reselling at a markup. Others are selling what I would politely call “yard sale items”—things that were probably sitting in their garage a week earlier, and they finally decided it was time to part with.

Several people stopped by my table on Saturday, asking if I set up at those big trade days events.

The short answer is no.

The longer answer is that those events require a lot of product because of the amount of traffic they get. I simply don’t have that kind of surplus inventory.

What I sold Saturday was pretty much everything I had made over the past few weeks. With the equipment I use, each project takes time to complete. It can take close to an hour just to cut one item.

Then you have to sand it.

After sanding, it needs to be painted or stained.

Then, in most cases, the pieces have to be assembled together.

On average, I’d estimate it takes at least three hours to complete a single item.

Now I do try to stay organized. While something is being cut, I’m often sanding another piece or painting something else. Sometimes I’m assembling one project while another one is drying. My little garage workshop tends to look like a carefully managed mess most days.

One of the things I really enjoy about doing these shows is meeting people who are doing something similar. The vendor set up to my left on Saturday was a young guy selling 3D-printed items. His stuff looked really good.

I’m not sure what he was charging for his pieces, but as we were packing up, he told me he hadn’t even sold enough to cover his vendor fee.

That’s the risk you take with these events.

Since there were only four vendors there and the crowd wasn’t exactly overwhelming, we had plenty of time to get to know each other. Turns out he’s in his late twenties and has two kids—one five years old and the other just five months old. His wife came by toward the end of the day, and I had the chance to meet her as well. They seemed like wonderful people.

At one point, he mentioned that he owns fifteen CNC machines—everything from diode lasers to CO₂ laser systems.

“Hobby?” I asked.

Because that sounded more like a small manufacturing facility than a hobby.

He laughed and explained that he also has a full-time job installing granite countertops for new home construction. He showed me some photos of his work, and it was actually pretty impressive. From the looks of his product table, his 3D printing work was pretty impressive as well.

He told me he regularly sells at the trade days event I mentioned earlier and has been doing it for several years. Most of the time, there’s a waiting list just to get a spot at those events. I’ve actually looked into selling there myself, but as I’ve already said, I just don’t have the inventory to support a show that size.

But then something interesting happened.

This coming Saturday and Sunday is the next trade-days event, and he has invited me to set up a table beside him. His idea was simple: bring some of my products and see what it’s like to sell there.

I haven’t given him an official answer yet.

But the more I think about it, the more it sounds like it might be a good idea. I think I’d probably have a lot of fun just experiencing the event from the vendor side.

Truth be told, I suspect he might just want the company I’d bring to the table—so to speak. He certainly kept my ear busy most of Saturday, and honestly I didn’t mind the conversation myself.

The downside to all of this is simple math.

I already have two confirmed shows coming up. If I add this trade-day event to the list, that means I’ll be spending a lot more hours out in the garage making things to sell.

On the bright side, it will keep me out of my wife’s hair and out of trouble.

And historically speaking, staying out of trouble has always been a pretty good life strategy.