Showfest journal
Stories for makers, promoters, and the people who love shows.
Field-tested playbooks, promoter interviews, and city guides from the people building Showfest.
Featured · Vendor playbook
Lee Odom · May 13, 2026 · 9 min read
How to price handmade goods for a craft fair (without leaving money on the table)
Most makers leave 20-40% on the table at every show, not because they're bad at math, but because the pricing conversation is genuinely hard. Here's the 3-step framework one of our verified vendors swears by, including the actual numbers from her Saturday market.
Lee Odom · May 13, 2026 · 9 min read
Vendor playbook
147 Comments Later: What You Taught Me
I posted a rant about too many events and not enough real shows, and figured a few people might nod along. Instead 147 of you showed up with decades of hard-won wisdom, and some of it flat-out corrected me. Here is what I am taking away from all of you.
Lee Odom · Jun 15, 2026 · 4 min
Promoter playbook
Both Sides of the Table: How to Be a Vendor Worth Rebooking
I've worked the booth and I've run the show. The vendors who get invited back aren't the ones with the highest sales. They're the ones who make the day easier for everyone. What good vendors actually do, what promoters quietly want from you, and how to handle conflict when it lands, vendor-to-organizer and vendor-to-vendor.
Lee Odom · Jun 15, 2026 · 5 min
Vendor playbook
Too Many Events, Not Enough Show
There's a market on every corner now, and somewhere along the way, "more events" stopped meaning "more opportunity." The vendor math, the one-hit-flop problem, and why the fix isn't fewer makers: it's better promoters, and a way to tell them apart.
Lee Odom · Jun 12, 2026 · 3 min
Checklists
What to bring to your first maker market
The official 28-item checklist 47 vendors helped us build. Tent essentials, change-box math, the one thing everyone forgets, and a 6am-call routine that will save your sanity on day one.
Lee Odom · May 8, 2026 · 6 min
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