It has been awhile since the last post. I am back into posting and looking forward to sharing some new thoughts, ideas and crafting tidbits. Halloween is right around the corner, but so are the craft fairs and shows.
This week’s post is about what is a “Juried” and “non-Juried” show. In addition, should it make a difference when you visit these shows?
A juried craft show or fair is where the exhibitor would need to supply pictures of their craft and sometimes booth display before being considered to participate in a show. The reason many times, is that the producer of the event (even for a local school) wants to have a certain type of quality and diversity among their exhibitors. Typically, juried shows require that the exhibitor at a show is the “maker” of the product they are selling and do not allow “buy/sell” exhibitors. A buy/sell exhibitor does not make the product him or herself, but purchases items from a wholesaler or distributor and then resells it to the public at shows. The net result of a juried show is it provides the potential attendees a wide assortment of product lines to choose from, a certain standard set by the promoter and usually can make for a successful show.
A non-juried show is just that…not juried. Many times, the promoter (or group putting on the show) still needs to know the type of “craft” you are doing, so that they have a varied mix of products. If you are an exhibitor, many times the “jewelry” category is quickly filled and may not open until after other categories are filled in so the “mix %” is still good. Sometimes, these shows do allow buy/sell to participate as an exhibitor.
What does this mean for you the attendee? All shows are great, whether they are juried or not. Handcrafters spend a lot of time making their products for sale. They usually cannot compete with the large chain stores, nor should they. When you buy a handcrafted item, these “one of a kind” pieces cannot be recreated in China. So go attend a local craft show and buy from these hardworking vendors making wonderful products for you or as a wonderful gift.