Juried art and craft shows can be great money makers, especially the more prestigious craft shows.

Getting Started

Read through your newly purchased craft show list and mark the ones that are of interest to you.  Then, simply call or visit their website to request an application.

Generally speaking, the more prestigious art and craft shows have submission deadlines 6 months before the start of their first show of the season.

This is to allow for all their jury members to meet and come up with a balanced roster of craftspeople for each event. 

Most juried arts and craft festivals will require the following from you:  a completed application, an application fee, a separate check for each show you are applying for (usually cashed 1-2 months prior to event date), photographs or slides of your work, an Artist Statement, Booth and Display shots, and a signed agreement for being insured for the duration of the event.

It’s not as much work as it seems

Assuming that you’ve been following the tips in the starting a jewelry business section. Aside from having great jewelry photographs, what these juries want to see is that you understand who you are as a craftsperson and that you are able to make that connection to your business, as expressed through your handcrafted collection. 

Much of this work has already been done when you crafted your business plan:  you explored what you do and why you do it, you focused in on who your target market is, and why your work stands out in the marketplace.  You also worked on your jewelry brand in the starting a jewelry business section, and thought of ways to extend this into photographing jewelry, and coming up with jewelry display ideas.

You may, at this point, consider hiring a professional jewelry photographer to take pictures of your handmade jewelry. I mention this only because jewelry is the most fiercly competitive of all the craft fair categories.

All of this foundation work comes in very handy when applying for juried craft shows and art festivals.  You pretty much have all the answers for them, it’s just a matter of reformatting that information to satisfy the needs of each art and craft shows that you apply for.

What if I don’t have a craft show booth display shot?

No need to worry!  If this is your first time, you may state so in your application (or tell a little white lie and say you are redoing your craft show booth display).  Then offer to submit a ground plan of what your booth will have and photograph a mock display in your yard or living room showing what your jewelry craft show displays will look like.

Well, good luck with your applications!  And aren’t you glad you already worked on a bunch of the background information before applying for these juried craft shows?

More Craft Show Tips

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  Jewelry Business Ideas

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