Paige Joanna

Crafts

How to plan a craft event.

  • Paige
  • January 6, 2016

This is a topic I have wanted to post about for a long while now, so it feels good to finally get my ideas down. Some of you may remember way back in my blogging archives when me and a fellow blogger planned ‘craffybloggermeet‘, an event aimed at bloggers to have fun and make things. This was back before I had any experience in event planning or had even worked in PR or communications. Fair to say it wasn’t the most successful turn out of people but we did have a great day and I definitely learnt from it. Since then my experience in event planning and management has been in my professional career and I now want to take what I have learnt and translate it here, so it may also help you.

Where to start:

Starting is probably that hardest part, but most likely you will already have an idea of what you would like to do or what you want to teach. Think about these important aspects and make sure you are clear about your ideas:
– Idea: for a craft event this could be to teach hand embroidery or something more specific like ‘How to make a home sweet home embroidery’. Refine your idea so it isn’t 5 different ones that don’t gel well together, make sure it is focused and has your own spin on it. Having one great idea that is executed well is going to make a more lasting impact on your guests, than 5 small ideas that you couldn’t put enough planning and time into.
– Theme: This is a great way to sell your idea to others and you can adapt this in so many ways to suit you! Here are some great starting points; Christmas and holidays, home, fashion accessories or colour themes. For example a craft event for pastel coloured Christmas decorations, this will make your event more original and stand out against others.
– What you want to achieve: Have a goal in mind, this could be to teach a select group a new skill, grow in your teaching experience or to gain more exposure amongst like minded individuals and online bloggers. This may change as you start planning but it’s always good to have a rough vision as to what your expectations are.

Planning:

This is the bulk of the process and of course will take time to get it right. Break down the planning into smaller groups so you can focus on certain things at a time.
– Guest list: Start with your guest list, this is important because the number of people you want to come will determine materials you will need, price of ticket and of course venue size.
– Venue research: If you are starting out and on a budget I suggest asking around local cafes and try get somewhere free by offering to buy all food and drink for your guests, as well as online promotion for the venue.
On a larger budget you can find some amazing venues in London, especially One Belgravia which would be amazing for larger events with guest speakers and demonstrations. The white walls and high ceilings would make a dramatic and amazing space for a craft or fashion event.
– Sponsors: If you need help with budget or would simply like to collaborate with brands big or small, this would be a great way to get the word out and offer some free goodies to your guests.
– Tickets and confirming guest list: This is one of the things I found hardest to manage (any great websites let me know). Decide if you want to sell your tickets, if so how much for and always keep track of confirmed guests on a spread sheet.
– CHECKLIST: Every event NEEDS a check list, this will be your best friend whilst planning and needs to include everything. Think food and drink, tech equipment, materials, cleaning stuff for afterwards, bin bags, goodie bags, vendors (candy floss machine or photobooth), signage and so much more. Make this on Word and include a row to tick things off once you have them.
– Itinerary: Have a structure from start to finish of the event and time scales for each.

Lead up:

Once your plan has come together and your guests have been confirmed, don’t forget the lead up is just as important.
– Chase up: On average 20-30% of people wont show up, or can’t attend last minute. Minimise this amount by chasing up invites a week before and then again a day before.
– Plan goodie bags: If you want goodie bags, make sure these are planned and pre-prepped and don’t leave it to on the day.
– Advertise: Create your own hashtag, It is fun and means your guests can share with others and it spreads the word for future events.

On the day/night:

– Organisation is key: Carry your check list everywhere and check it 100 times, don’t rely on other people to check it for you. Always check vendors on the morning of the event in case of any last minute cancellations or no shows, this will give you time to find an alternative or prepare floor plan etc for change.
– Have wifi codes printed.
– Get some help with set up and have a floor plan.
– Data capture: Think of a hashtag or way to get people sharing the event, also have your guest list on the door with it being ticked off confirming attendance, this will make it easier to contact people afterwards.

Post event:

When your event is over, don’t let it be forgotten quickly. Chase up people that came and get feedback, and those that didn’t come send a new date to your next event. Learn from your mistakes and improve next time, most of all be confident with your idea and yourself and have fun!
I hope you found this post useful or interesting to read. This is just my way of event planning and I am still learning and improving as I go. Anyone can host an event or workshop you just have to be confident in your idea and extremely organised.
This year I hope to plan some events of my own again, to teach some craft skills so your feedback on this post will be highly valuable. What do you think makes a great event and how much wold you likely pay for an event that included materials? Let me know in the comments.

Photo from my Pinterest ‘food for thought’ board.