Kids' day is a special day at the faire. Schools from all around the area bring busloads of kids in for the day. These kids have a little money to spend, but usually not much.
Once I wrapped my head around it, I said that I'd do it. It would mean creating a whole new line of merchandise that costs less than $10, and producing lots of it in a hurry. This (four-day) week went toward optimizing the pattern and production technique for cell phone bags, and making my new inexpensive merchandise.
I decided on three items: pouches, belts, and friendship bracelets. The friendship bracelets were the clear winner. At 2 for a dollar, they brought in five times as much money as any other item.
It's easy to forget how much retail experience I have until I "magically" pull off something like this. The booth usually sells fairly expensive handmade clothing, brooms, and staves that kids can't afford at all.
I reconfigured the booth space just for today. First, I set up a "counter" from Annie's beautiful inventory boxes. The sales station, made from two of those same boxes, was in the middle. It turned the broom booth into a "window shopping" experience, with a narrow opening to allow invited guests to browse but keep the swarms of kids out. The main tent was closed entirely.
Then, I removed most of the brooms and hung up a few garments instead. These were for teachers and chaperones. There was a wall of brooms left visible as well.
I set up the demonstration loom with a good view of everything, including the sales station. When things got quiet throughout the day, it took about 30 seconds of weaving to attract a crowd and lead them to the merchandise.
I had gone to Pier 1 and bought some canvas-lined baskets. These went on the counters with signs telling of the cheap prices. The signs made it almost self-service. My job all day was mostly to make change and stuff money in a box. When kids saw that the bracelets were two for a dollar, they ran into the street to tell their friends, becoming barkers than I could ever be.
[Kids' Day setup]
I knew the pouches would be kind of a tough sell, so I made them move faster with two tricks. I went to Michael's and bought some pebbles and colored glass stones. With every pouch the kids got a free string to tie it (a bracelet), and a few pebbles to put in it. This gave them some free stuff and a reason to own a pouch. "Why, you can carry your free stones in it!" It's circular logic, but for a dollar each it worked.
Our booth is right at the beginning of the faire, so I went the day before and got a TON of change. I made so much $19 change in the first hour that I almost ran out. I hung up a sign asking for 1's. Well, that sign drove kids to buy stuff just so they could give me dollar bills. I didn't mind.
At the end of the day, the kids had spent themselves down to just about nothing. As they came back to the front gate, there was just one booth with stuff for less than a dollar, so they came in droves to give me their last dollar. I didn't mind that, either.
All-in-all, the whole day made just a few hundred dollars, less than I would have made if I spent the week weaving for Annie, but it was an incredible research experience. I sold a ton of cheap stuff and learned a lot about how kids' day works. Now I can use that knowledge in designing and selling stuff for people with a very limited budget. Next year I'll know about it in advance and be even better prepared.
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