TLDR: I won’t have a booth at the Charleston Holiday Market in 2022.
This was only my second time participating as a vendor in the Holiday Market at the N. Charleston Convention Center, though I was a customer for several years before that. It was cancelled due to COVID-19 last year. I know the world is only just beginning to emerge from the pandemic (maybe a bit too soon?), so that might explain why this year’s market was a bit of a disappointment. There were nowhere near as many vendors or patrons as usual. Unfortunately, the show organizers allowed a lot of mass market vendors in, which really lowers the interest for a show that you pay admission to attend (as a patron). My booth was across from a gel ice/heat pack product and another booth with shoe insoles. Not that those products aren’t useful, but my pieces just don’t mix with the type of product that you normally buy at the pharmacy. Nor would I want to pay $8 admission to view products that I can buy at the pharmacy. On top of that, the booth fees went way up for next year for vendors.
Other than that, the show was well organized and the new parking garage makes logistics so much nicer. I hope that the show can improve once the pandemic eases. I will re-assess after next year. In the mean time, there are several new City of Charleston related vendor shows that have started, so I will look into these opportunities and see if I can find one or two that is a better fit for crafts vendors. Stay tuned!
