Are you an artist, crafter, or small business owner who attends conferences, craft fairs, markets, or other events to promote your work?
Do you wish you had a better way to make customers feel special when they purchase from you?
Want people to remember you after they leave your table?
Or maybe you’re looking for a creative way to share more about you and your business without handing someone just another business card.
I recently had the chance to create something that would do just that…
Meet Taliesin
Let me introduce you to my dear friend and talented artisan, Taliesin Nyala of Hungry Woodworker.
Last year, Taliesin created an exhibit in Winona, MN titled Made by Hand: How Craft Shapes the Maker. The exhibition explored the ways that engaging in craft impacts the artist and the world around us.
Taliesin writes about how crafting with our hands is medicine, and I couldn’t agree more.
Her writing and exhibit explored the craft of four local artisans through five themes: Curiosity, Experimentation, Failure, Reverence, and Connection.
When she told me about the project and I got to see it unfold, it inspired me.
So when Taliesin began planning for the St. Paul Artisan Fair, she asked me if I would create some handmade marketing for her table.
And, of course, I was delighted.
We ended up creating two very different pieces, each with a different purpose.
A thank-you that says a little more
First, Taliesin wanted a thank-you card to give to people who purchased from her.
A thank-you card is a small thing, but it can be an important part of the customer experience. It gives you one more opportunity to say I appreciate you after the transaction is over.
But we also wanted the card to do a little more than say thank you.
It was an opportunity to share a bit of Taliesin’s story and give customers a way to stay connected with her and Hungry Woodworker.
The result was a handmade piece that felt much more personal than a standard business card or printed thank-you note.
An invitation to explore
The second piece was something entirely different: a Ponder Wheel.
The Ponder Wheel was inspired by Taliesin’s Made by Hand exhibit and her exploration of what craft is through the five themes. After the opening reception, she told me that many attendees shared how inspired they felt to think more deeply about their own ability to create.
That’s when I saw an opportunity to help Taliesin share her message about the healing power of crafting with our hands. And, in the spirit of the project, I got to use my own hands to create this piece. I’m so proud of how it turned out.
The Ponder Wheel was designed as an interactive exploration of what craft is, giving people visiting her table an opportunity to engage with some of the ideas she had explored in her exhibit.
I love this piece because it wasn’t simply a promotional item.
It gave people something to do.
It created a reason to pause at Taliesin’s table, interact with her work, and explore an idea that was important to her.
And that creates a different kind of connection.
Handmade marketing can do more than promote your business
When you’re at an event, you’re competing for attention.
There are tables to visit, people to meet, products to browse, conversations happening all around you.
A business card can tell someone how to find you again, but a thoughtful handmade piece can give them a reason to remember you.
That might mean making a customer feel appreciated after they purchase from you.
It might mean giving someone a reason to stop at your table in the first place.
It might mean sharing a piece of your story, your process, or the thing that makes your work meaningful to you.
Or it might simply be something that makes someone smile.
What could handmade marketing look like for you?
Think about the next time you’ll be at a market, conference, craft fair, networking event, pop-up, or other gathering.
- What do you want people to remember about you?
- What do you want them to feel?
- What would you love to tell them if you had more than the few minutes you might get at your table?
- And what could you create that would help make that connection?
Maybe it’s a thank-you card that feels like an extension of your brand.
Maybe it’s a small takeaway that tells your story.
Maybe it’s an interactive piece that gets people to stop, play, think, or talk.
Maybe it’s something completely different.
That’s the fun of handmade marketing. We get to make it up.
Want to make a lasting impression?
That’s the question I love exploring: how can you create something tangible that helps people connect with what you do?
If you have an upcoming event and an idea you want to explore, or you know you need something but aren’t quite sure what, let’s brainstorm.
I’d love to help you come up with something that feels like you, makes sense for your audience, and gives people a reason to remember you after they leave your table.
Because sometimes the smallest thing can make the biggest impression.