As summer transitions into full bloom, craft fair season is upon us once more! For those of you attending as a guest or as a vendor, creating and branding your business is key. From business cards to packaging, we know the tricks to help you succeed! If you are just starting out, the very first thing that must be determined is what you plan to sell. Once you know the items or types of items or services that you will be marketing, it is important to decide the feelings that you want to present to your customer. Chic? Classic? New Age? Comfortable? Edgy? Whatever feeling that you want to convey to your customers, be sure it matches your product or service. For instance, if you make fine jewelry from found objects, it may be a good idea to highlight the benefits you are providing the environment.
The next step is making a name and brand or logo for your business. Now that you know what you are offering customers and how you want them to feel, coming up with a name and logo will be easier. The name of your business will affect its future tremendously. The name you choose or create, should reflect what your business sells and the attitude you provide your customers. 
With your services, feeling, and name picked out, it should be fairly simple to design a logo or brand for your business. You can always hire a graphic designer or start working on the logo yourself. If you choose to hire someone, be sure that they know the feelings you want to convey to your customer. Knowing the feelings you want to provide can help you choose your colors for your logo as well as the font of your text. To illustrate, if you are up cycling objects and using them in your work, you may want to choose greens and browns and have a hand written looking script. These little details will go a long way to helping your customers and future customers understand what your business is about in a matter of seconds.
Additionally, it is very important to pick colors that you feel confident in and comfortable with. Once you have created and established colors, fonts, and an official logo, it is very difficult to change the colors or fonts without confusing and losing at least some of your customers. Logos can be simple or very complex, the important thing is to include your logo on your business cards, packaging, newsletters, your letter head, and anything that promotes your business or includes your business name.
If for some reason, you absolutely must change your logo, try to make the changes subtle or ease into the changes so that every time the customer is reintroduced it may be noticeably updated, but remains familiar.
*Must Read: Karen Lorene of Facèré’s Memoirs & Workbook
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