Craft fairs are big business for artists

While the specific economic effects local craft fairs have on the area is hazy, one thing is clear: The fairs are big business for artists, drawing vendors and visitors from across the Midwest.

Two craft fairs were held at three venues the weekend before Thanksgiving. The Arts Council of Southeast Missouri held its annual fair at the Osage Centre and Show Me Center, while Notre Dame Regional High School held its 20th annual Crafts, Gifts and Collectibles show.

Murielle Gaither, Arts Council executive director, said the council's shows drew more than 300 vendors.

"We have about 290 actual spaces, but with a lot, it's a husband-and-wife team, or it's a whole crew of people who come in. So we don't have an exact count of all of the people ... but it's over 300 for sure," she said.

Between the council's craft fair and one put on by Notre Dame Regional High School on the same weekend, nearly 500 vendors were selling their items. Given that the most successful vendors can approach selling $3,000 in merchandise, it is possible revenue approaches or exceeds $1 million that weekend.

It's not clear, however, how much the city retains in sales taxes.

The Arts Council's craft fairs serve as fundraisers for the organization, through both admission costs and vendors' fees. Gaither said it's the council's biggest fundraiser of the year.

Gaither said the council estimates attendance by taking the number of paid admissions and doubling it, because every person who pays at one location also gets entry to the other location.

This year, that estimated attendance was 15,000, or 7,636 paid visitors, Gaither said.

Notre Dame Regional High School development director Tony Buehrle said this year, the school's craft fair had 203 vendors.

Attendance from Friday night to Sunday was between 4,000 and 5,000, he said, not including children.

Notre Dame's craft show raises funds for the school's Performing and Visual Arts Program, Soldier Packages, Toys for Tots, Toy Box and Christmas for the Elderly, Buehrle said.

"We also have a concession stand, and we do a lot of baked goods and that kind of thing," Buehrle said. "... We have a lot of stuff we sell through our own personal booth here that supports the school."

He said a lot of vendors aren't able to leave their booths to go get lunch, so they buy chili, hot dogs, nachos and other items from the school's concession stand.

Gaither said she knows people travel to attend the Cape Girardeau craft shows.

"There's one family who comes from Wisconsin every year," Gaither said. "They used to live in the area, but they don't live here anymore, and they come back for the craft fairs, which is pretty incredible."

She said vendors come from all over the Midwest and South, including Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Indiana and Ohio.

"Predominantly, though, our vendors are from Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Arkansas and Tennessee," Gaither said. "That's where the highest concentration of our vendors comes from."

Taxes

While the Arts Council's craft fairs are good fundraisers, all the vendors are required to pay sales tax, Gaither said.

"All of our vendors who sell during the weekend are required to pay the Missouri Department of Revenue sales tax on purchases made," Gaither said.

She said they encourage vendors to round up pricing to include tax or charge the 7.975 percent tax separately.

According to evaluation forms filled out by about 10 percent of this year's vendors, they seem to be doing well for themselves at the craft fairs.

"This year more than any other, I had so many vendors say that they made over $3,000," Gaither said.

Buehrle said Notre Dame charges for the booth space but leaves the sales-tax responsibility to the vendors.

In Missouri, hobbyists selling their items at craft fairs must collect taxes, according to the Missouri Special Event Tax Information pamphlet published by the Missouri Department of Revenue.

Under certain circumstances, a waiver can be obtained from the Department of Revenue.

A sales-tax license is required if a vendor sells at more than five shows or events in the state per year.

Those selling at fewer than five events must file and pay on a Special Event Sales Tax Report.

The direct economic effect for the city is a little harder to nail down.

"There's no direct data," Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce president and CEO John Mehner said.

"All you can go by is the attendance of the fairs. ... What's hard to judge with that one is the number of local people versus the number of out-of-town people, because the out-of-town people are really the revenue generators. The local ones are spending their money here as part of the deal."

"We do know that there's a huge impact," Gaither said. "The university is always out that weekend, because it's the weekend before Thanksgiving ... so we do know what traffic is here is usually here because of the craft fair. It's either vendors who are coming in and setting up for the craft-fair weekend, or visitors who are coming in."

Gaither said she heard a lot of anecdotes this year about people coming to town and making it a "girls weekend" -- Gaither said 97 percent of the fairs' demographic are women age 25 to 65 -- going to the craft fairs, the mall, dinner and the movies.

The Arts Council requires vendors at its craft fair to sell items hand made by the person who is there selling them, ensuring the dollars spent are going to individuals and small businesses.

"And additionally, being the Arts Council, we are huge proponents of artists being able to make a living with their work and being able to make a living doing what they love, and this is just another facet of that," Gaither said. "... It's a really cool way for us to reach another demographic and to educate about the arts and about craftsmanship and that sort of thing. And that's another thing that we really pride ourselves on with the fair.

"It's a little bit of a different sort of economic influence."

kwebster@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3646

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1333 N. Sprigg Street, Cape Girardeau, Mo.