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.

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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 read

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 read

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