Vendor Benefits

BENEFITS OF BEING A VENDOR

This festival has truly changed how I see myself as an artist and helped me fall even more in love with fiber arts. I'm just so grateful beyond words. Thank you all. You were all so awesome and encouraging. I love this group and what we do and can't wait to do it again. - May Vendor

If you're interested in becoming a vendor, but still on the fence about applying, here's a breakdown of what we do for our vendors and what the opportunity would bring you.

Unlike in-person events, WAFA brings exposure from customers all across the US and other countries. This opens up your market to hundreds, thousands, of potential new customers.
What sets us apart from other fiber buy and sell groups is that we use Facebook LIVE for our sale, during specific events that we drum up excitement for in advance. This isn't a group where you drop a picture and go, and hope for a sale - this group allows you to interact during your sale with customers, like an in person event, which we have had incredible feedback on from customers.
Social media promotion! We highlight each and every vendor, for every event, on all of our social media accounts and within the WAFA group. Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, TikTok, and Ravelry will all feature a spotlight of your business and products. We also use photos from vendors (with permission) on our social media between events, which could mean even more promotion for you.
Mentorship options are available. Doing a LIVE sale can be scary at first, and tricky, but we have experienced vendors who are willing to step up and coach you through the process leading up to your first sale!
We have training for businesses that you can take that can be applied not only to a WAFA LIVE sale, but to your own business outside of it! This is extremely beneficial for a lot of people.
We are constantly doing things and running fun events to grow our audience and interaction. We have themed weeks between sales to encourage interaction and growth for the group - something you won't find in other fiber art sales groups.
We are also creating a catalog for each future event that will be shared with customers early leading up to each event. Each vendor will be highlighted in this catalog with photos and descriptions of what your business sells. This will be a virtual catalog.

Can we just say what an AWESOME weekend!? Thank you doesn't seem to cover it, but THANK YOU a billion times to the team who worked so hard behind the scenes to give us a wonderful festival. And yes, it was a festival! Not just an online sale but a place where all fiber artists can come together to laugh, share, and support one another. I feel like I gained a new fiber family out of this experience. - WAFA Customer

WHAT BEING A VENDOR MEANS

Here's what being a vendor guarantees you, and a brief overview of a couple rules you need to know up front! The vendor fee is $30 per event.

Once accepted as a vendor for an event: You will get a 30 minute time slot to do your Facebook LIVE sale during the event that you've been accepted for. This is the time you have to introduce your business, and show off and sell your products!
You will be allowed to heavily promote your business and products in the group during the week leading up to the sale - but they may not be explicit sales posts. You can post photos and say "this will be available during the sale @ (your time slot)" or similar, but you may not post photos, description, and price posts.
As highlighted above, there's a lot of benefits to becoming a vendor! Please take a moment to really read through these.
Each vendor will be individually given a spotlight on social media accounts leading up to the sale - this means lots of exposure for you!
You will also be listed on the website for the event you were accepted for. This means a photo, description of your business, and links to up to three social media accounts (this can include your etsy shop, website/store, anything you want!). These will be left up for a few weeks after the event as well and this link will be posted multiple times in the WAFA group.
Going from in-person events or just an online shop to selling at live events can be intimidating or tricky. We're here to help! We have experienced vendors, training videos, and all the support you could need to help you transition to an online and live platform for your fiber arts business. This isn't a necessity for being a vendor, but if you would like the mentor opportunity and support, it's available to you. Don't let a lack of experience turn you away from wanting to join us - the secret is, the majority of us had never done something like this before. You'll be among understanding and similar company!

This is a juried show. We carefully look over each application and select the greatest variety we can to create a balanced and well rounded event. Applying for an event does not mean you are accepted. If you are, you will receive a message notifying you of such along with an invoice for the vendor fee.

I feel so excited to have such a successful fiber festival opportunity, and my Etsy shop has had more sales than I ever expected because of this group. And it's because everyone has liked and shared and commented on everyone's videos! That massive 5K+ following is a culmination of everyone's efforts. THIS is the experience I was looking for: a group of people genuinely interested in each other's crafts. - May Vendor

READY TO APPLY?

Just use the form HERE. Make sure you read the VENDOR TERMS & CONDITIONS at the bottom of the form before hitting submit.

If there's anyone out there reading this and hasn't been a vendor before, it's terrifying, but it's so worth it. When you go live it's nauseating, but right in the few seconds, people will pop up and say hi and everything will be okay. Sales or no sales, the courage it takes to stand up and show the world what you make is a lot, but it's so worth it. - May Vendor