The Craft and Quilt fair is

over for another year. I hope it isn't over forever - but it might be, at least for me.
I have spent the last four days at our state show grounds helping out on the stall belonging to my good friend Prudence Mapstone. It has been a wonderful excuse for my paws to caress yarn and more yarn. It has been a chance to talk to people about knitting and crochet, to help some of them choose a crochet hook or a knitting needle or some of the  lovely buttons that were for sale. 
Some people even bought yarn.
BUT - and yes that "but" needs to be in capital letters" - people did not buy very much. 
I know that what my friend sells is not cheap - but it is very reasonably priced given what it is. It is very high quality yarn with a difference. She has gone out of her way to source yarn which is different, yarn which is not available in the shops, yarn which will challenge the knitter and crocheter. Instead of "just wool" she has sourced linen, silk, kid-mohair, alpaca, possum and quiviut. The cotton she stocks is chosen specifically for certain types of crochet work. Yes, there is a little sock wool - and those tiny balls of it are great fun to add to heels and toes of socks! 
There has been a lot of research and hard work go into my friend's stall. It isn't simply a matter of "buying a lot of stuff and putting it out" as some people seem to think. There are many matters to consider before something goes on to the stall for sale. 
Knowing that what she sells is different my friend has also produced a range of "one/two-skein" and "one/two-ball" projects - scarves, mittens, hats, shawls, a vest or two. A good many of those projects have been designed, knitted and written up by me...and yes, I get the money for the patterns for my friends in Africa. It's been a good fundraiser to date.
But not this year. Perhaps people are tired of craft fairs. There was another one earlier in the year and, in all honesty, the city I live in can only support one in a year - if it can even support that. 
The guild I belong to has had a presence at both. The first one allowed guild members to sell things. This one didn't. It was for advertising purposes only. I don't see the first one continuing to allow sales by guilds either. Why should they? The other stall holders, rightly, don't like it. They have come to sell their products. Guild items weren't made from those. People would not spend the amount required to sell an item and even get back the cost of the yarn - let alone anything for actually making something. 
Someone asked me how much I thought one of the vests I had made would sell for commercially. I told her what the yarn would cost - and that alone had her shaking her head. When I said "and times that by three at least" she was horrified. I then pointed out that what I was wearing and what my friend was wearing would, if worked out even just that way, cost far more she said, "I suppose it's why this sort of thing doesn't sell in the shops".  
I suppose it might sell in galleries - occasionally.  What had not seemed to occur to this woman is that this is why the  yarn is sold - so that people can make their own.
Making your own - for yourself, or for other people - is about owning something special and perhaps unique. It is about perhaps giving someone something special. And yes, if you are really good at your craft - like one reader of this blog - you may be fortunate and find a gallery willing to carry a little of your work. It will however be hard work - as that same reader knows.  
So, to all of you who go to such events and wander past a display and think "that's nice" try thinking a little further as well. Try thinking about the work involved, why those yarns were chosen, and why the colours within those yarns were chosen, that someone had to pack, price, and label - and that records have to be kept. Think about the fact that the stalls have to be set up - a day's work in itself - and then taken down again.
Yes, it's hard work - and it needs your support if you are going to benefit from it.