Turning crafts into cash

Arts and crafts aren't all about dollars and cents. The down-home jewelry, ornaments and decorations typically require more care and time than a strict businessman would ever part with.

But when more than 230 crafters descend on one town, as they did Saturday and Sunday at the 36th annual Christmas Arts and Crafts Extravaganza, the money made and the economic impact are real.

"It's a big draw for the entire region. It's a Christmas tradition," said arts council director Delilah Tayloe.

"You come here to find something totally unique. You can go to a chain store and find something that's made in the thousandfold by somebody more than likely overseas but you're not truly supporting the American economy."

And from an attendance standpoint, 2006 was a good year. Tayloe said ticket sales at the two venues (the Osage Community Centre and the Show Me Center) were more than 11,000. That figure is approximately 3,000 more than 2005.

To people who watch those numbers for a living, the influx of money to the local economy is important.

Chuck Martin of the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau said that studies have shown the average person who makes a day trip into the community spends $50. Additionally, the average person who comes to town and stays overnight infuses $130 into the local economy.

Martin said because of the self-contained nature of the fair, these numbers may not hold true, but he believes the fair being divided in two locations helps show off the city.

"People will be driving from the Show Me Center clear across town to Osage, so they're seeing a lot of Cape Girardeau," Martin said.

"They make a day of it. They're taking breaks to go to restaurants, many of them are also antiquers and they take advantage of what's here in town."

From near and far

The weekend also saw the 31st annual River Valley Craft Club Christmas Craft Expo 2006 at the Plaza Conference Center and the Arena Building and the 11th annual 2006 Crafts, Gifts and Collectibles Show held at the Bavarian Halle.

Shoppers Sunday traveled from places like Carbondale, Ill., Blytheville, Ark., Paducah, Ky. and St. Louis.

But the buyers aren't the only new faces coming into town for the show. The craftsmen and women often travel even further. Those hawking their wares Sunday came from 14 states and the Marshall Islands.

The artists spent an average of $185 to rent a booth for both days of the show. That money and the $3 entrance fee pay the cost of renting the venues and make up half of the arts council's year-round budget. The council raises between $35,000 and $50,000 during the two-day event.

Maria Dilly got ready for payday as she sold painted gourds at the Christmas Arts and Crafts Extravaganza in the Show Me Center on Sunday. (Fred Lynch)

Tayloe said from her experience, a good portion of the crafter's profits also stay in town.

"From what I've seen I would estimate 30 percent of what they make here goes into feeding, gas and lodging, and it stays here in the region and becomes embedded in the local economy," she said.

Crafters did not dispute that estimate. They were divided, though on where 2006 ranks for product sales.

Traveling vendors

For Gary and Nancy Scharfenberg of Medora, Ill., this is the only fair they attend during the year. Nancy uses acrylic paint to decorate glass ornaments which she sells for $10 each.

Aerial Minor, left, and her mother, Stephanie Niswonger, both of Cape Girardeau, looked at floral angels at the Christmas Arts and Crafts Extravaganza in the Show Me Center on Sunday. Sponsored by the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri, the annual event raises about one-half of the organization's funding. (Fred Lynch)

Gary said sales have been brisk and he anticipated selling between 90 and 110 ornaments over the weekend. This compares favorably with previous years.

"We've been coming here for 10 years, so we have a lot of repeat clientele. We also do mailings, so we have a clientele built up, and they treat us very well," he said.

But others like John Kolbe of Sleepy Eyes, Minn., who sells period clothing and furs that harken back to frontier days, were having a tougher go of it.

"I'm selling a lot of the $1 rabbit's feet. People are looking at the hats and expensive items, but they're not really buying," he said.

Kolbe, who sells his goods at 40 shows per year, said the 700-mile trip might even be a net-loss if he was not stopping at a similar event in Belleville, Ill., next weekend.

That was a sentiment echoed by Jeremy Yoo of Bloomington, Ind. Yoo makes colored glass jewelry part time and only attends eight to 10 shows per year.

Stuck in a booth on the second floor away from much of the foot traffic, he was frustrated.

"I was hoping to sell a lot more," said Yoo, who had gone so far as to offer a "buy one, get one free" deal to entice shoppers.

"People are looking but they seem very reluctant to spend money this year," he said. "A lot of it is they don't see the difference between this jewelry and the things you find at Wal-Mart."

The bottom line

Yoo estimates he sold $800 in goods, but after factoring in his lodging, travel and other sunk costs, he thinks he may only turn a profit of $200 for the weekend.

"That's not good," he lamented.

A first-time attendee to the event, Yoo was undecided of whether to return next year. At the moment he was leaning toward coming back to give it one more shot.

"My rule with the bigger shows is to try them two times, if next year is like this, that will be it," he said.

tgreaney@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 245