Despite an alternative-lifestyle atmosphere, Canada's annual craft shows are examples of mercantilism at its rawest.

Low barriers to entry, no division of labour, intense competition and constantly shifting margins make the creative trade a tough way to make a living. Yet the people who organize the events see few signs that the industry is slowing down.

"It's impossible to pigeonhole the craft industry because it includes everyone from part-timers to classically trained artists," says John Ladouceur, president of Signatures craft shows Ltd., Canada's largest event organizer. "The one consistent thing is that every spring and fall, tens of thousands of them will set up their tables and try and sell their personal creativity."

In any given year as many as 5,000 shows will take place in church halls and sportsplexes across the country.

Photo courtesy of Circle Craft
Craft shows such as this one, organized by Circle Craft, offer consumers wide range of products.

But only 20 to 30 - usually held in convention facilities - are big enough to generate up to $50,000 in individual sales for vendors during runs from five to 11 days.

Large-event organizers say most vendors who make a living at craftwork generate between 80 and 100 per cent of their income from the big shows.

Signatures, which has offices in Ottawa and Toronto, operates eight wholesale and eight retail shows in major cities. Each can attract up to 300 vendors willing to pay as much as $1,800 for a booth.

Ladouceur will spend $100,000 to advertise an event ($250,000 for a big Toronto show) and expects to see as many as 60,000 people show up to do their birthday or Christmas shopping.

"This is a mature industry, but the market is always a moving target so there's no way of predicting what will happen at any specific show," he says. "The only consistent thing is the quality of work.

"Despite all this, craft shows have been remarkably stable since I started doing this fulltime in the 1980s, never up or down more than six or eight per cent," Ladouceur says.

Like most big shows, Signature has a 25-per-cent turnover of vendors each year.

Competitors such as Toronto's One of a Kind - whose two annual shows charge up to $2,600 for a booth, draw more than 1,200 venders, 200,000 visitors and have a marketing budget of $1.25 million - and Vancouver's two Circle craft shows - up to $3,200 for a booth, 530 vendors, 70,000 visitors and $170,000 in advertising - have been around long enough to establish brand equity.

"There's all kinds of traditions. Mothers and daughters will make a day of it, collectors will come to get another piece of a favourite artist. These shows can be very personal experiences," says One of a Kind director Patti Stewart.

"It's a difficult industry because there is so much competition, especially from offshore goods, but I think our popularity remains high because we support entrepreneurs in Canada," she says.

John Ladouceur

Stewart says exit polls reveal sales of about $17 million for the One of a Kind Christmas show and about $5 million for the spring show.

Circle Craft is run by a Vancouver artisan co-operative that has more than 200 craftspeople, while One of a Kind is U.S.-owned.

All the major events have two requirements: Everything must be handmade by the vendor, and all vendors must go through a jury process to make sure their products fulfil organizers' needs.

The worst thing that can happen is to develop a reputation for being old-fashioned and stodgy, says Paul Yard, Circle Craft's general manager.

"It's not just about quality, although that is of prime importance. We want to make sure that the variety of products fits the public's tastes. That's a real challenge, considering how tastes change these days," he says.

"Over the years, craft shows have undergone an incredible increase in sophistication. It's the people in the business who keep track of what's hot, what's selling. They treat it far more seriously now than they did 20 years ago," Yard says.

As a result, products change constantly. While there will always be pottery mugs and wooden spiceracks, most organizers say they are seeing more jewelry and clothing fashions that appeal to a younger demographic.

"For the customer, it's our job to help educate them, give them a chance to meet the artist and feel the inspiration. For the artisans, we offer advice on preparation and marketing plus an in-show website," Stewart says.

"I'd say there is a mentoring aspect to what we offer because, unlike in Europe and America, and a few government programs here that artisans can access directly, there is no real (financial) support for people who earn a living in this industry," she says.

It is not an easy life for crafters and artisans. A 2003 study for the Canadian Crafts Federation (CCF) found that those who make a living from the trade have average annual gross incomes of about $60,000, but net slightly more than $17,000.

About 73 per cent are individual operations and 65 per cent are women. About 25 per cent generate some of their revenue by exporting, primarily to the United States.

With the exception of the industry in Quebec, artisans and show organizers get little or no government support, although that may change in 2007 when the Canadian federation sponsors Canada Craft Year.

The 2003 CCF study also pegged the number of workers at about 22,000 across Canada, generating about $727 million in revenue.

However, Tom McFall, executive director of the Alberta Craft Council and CCF spokesman, says those figures are skewed to those who join craft councils and are included in surveys.

"These people are more cultural workers than business people, so only about 50 per cent of them are joiners and therefore show up in studies like these. For years, we've been trying to get Statistics Canada to get these figures, and they can't," he says.

The United States, where the industry is closely tracked, boasts a $14-billion industry that includes about 600,000 workers.

Pro-rating Canada's population of about 33 million with the 300 million in the United States suggests the Canadian industry could generate more than $1 billion in annual sales and employ up to 60,000 artisans. Some industry observers say there could be as many as 120,000 Canadians making part or all of their income from crafts.

McFall says he believes only about 25 per cent of artisans ever enter craft shows.

"They involve a huge amount of work to get an inventory ready for five or 10 days of sales and they're very high risk because after paying thousands of dollars in overhead, your product just may not appeal to the public," he says. McFall adds that he also believes the big shows are vital.

"They're a testing ground for new products and they can act as incubators for people who want to move into more sophisticated venues, like studios. That's why organizers are always on the lookout for new ideas, to keep things fresh," he says.

(Mike Levin can be reached at levin@businessedge.ca)