Show Review of the Month Gatlinburg Craftsmen's Fair

August 2024, by Sunshine Artist Editor

October 5-22, 2023; Gatlinburg Craftsmen’s Fair, Gatlinburg, TN. Contact: Gatlinburg Craftsmen’s Fair, LLC, Kelly and Jeff Rusk, 805 Eleanor St., Knoxville, TN 37917; Phone: 865-436-7479; Email: kelly@craftsmenfair.com; Website: www.craftsmenfair.com; Space fees: $475 to $1,425; Exhibitors: 200; Attendance estimate: 50,000; Admission: $10.  

Compiled from FastAudit reviews 

This Gatlinburg Craftsmen’s Fair ranked CC39 in 2023’s 200 Best list. Eighty-eight percent of the artists who reviewed 2023’s event said they would exhibit in it again.  

A wood artist who reported sales of $10,000 was among them, saying it was a “great show, and the promoters are very, very friendly and helpful.”  

An artist whose mediums are wood, jewelry, and art glass made $6,200 and wants to do the show again as well.  

“Good show, overall!” said an artist whose mediums are mixed media and wood. This artist had $30,000 in sales and wants to return.  

A jewelry artist who made $16,000 wants to exhibit there again. “I enjoy the show very much and have participated in it for several years,” the artist said. “We are inside, which protects us from the weather and is locked up at night. There are two days to set up. Our sales are very good each year.” This artist said there was a wide variety of artisans, with high-quality work.  

An artist whose mediums are painting, wood, and furniture and lighting loved the show, saying it was an “awesome place to exhibit.” The artist did not report a sales total and would do the show again.  

“It's in a great location, with a diverse variety of vendors and customers. It was very well managed. Those working at the event communicated very well and seemed to be very organized. I appreciate all the hard work by everyone that put the show on, and I hope I will be able to participate again in the near future,” said an artist who made $4,000 and whose mediums are painting and arts and crafts.  

A fine craft artist who had $2,000 in sales was disappointed in that amount and will not participate again.  

An arts and crafts artist who made $15,000 would return. The artist described it as a great show run by a promoter who cares about artists and craftspeople. 

Promoter’s Self‑Review 

Kelly Rusk said October’s Gatlinburg Craftsmen’s Fair was a good one, with attendance up over the pre-COVID-19 years. 

She estimated attendance at 50,000 and said, “We saw customers who had not been around during those years finally come back. We have our returning shoppers, as many shows do, but we have the added advantage of first-time tourists again and again.” 

Rusk said they do a lot of advertising, so it always surprises them when a new customer comes to get their free return pass and tells them they never knew the event was there. But they also say how much they love it, she said. 

“That goes to show how hard it is to compete with advertising budgets like that of Dollywood and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is both a hurt and help to us, as 13 million tourists come into this area each year — and we get our share of them — but it is a marketing challenge to be sure,” Rusk said. “For the many customers who plan their vacation around us each year, we send out over 20,000 postcards each January with our upcoming dates.” 

She shared some of the feedback received from vendors. “While not every exhibitor will tell us how they did at our event, those who have a great show usually do not hold back, and the majority told us they were having their best show ever with us, and many said they were exceeding their all-time sales at our event,” Rusk said. “Several said this was their best show ever anywhere, including an experienced wood carver who does more than 30 shows each year. We certainly have our challenges in Gatlinburg, but we strive to make this the best event and the favorite event for many of our exhibitors who come back to every event.” 

Parking in Gatlinburg is always a challenge. They are taking steps to ensure free parking for their exhibitors is kept free and accessible only to them. 

“We strive to help our exhibitors with amenities and even created an app to help them have at their fingertips access to many resources. We can say with certainty all our exhibitors rave about booth setup and takedown,” Rusk said. “They love how they can pull up to their booth space for setup and takedown. Our staff is second to none for helping with any issue that may arise, and we take great pride in that. Many exhibitors also like the fact that we are an indoor event, and being a long show, they only need to set their booth up once. They leave each day at 5 p.m. to beat the crowds to dinner.” 

The best improvement made others might learn from was their decision to start taking credit cards at their event ticket counters. “We used Square interfaces, which intimidated some of our cashiers at first, but then they saw how easy it is to use and embraced it,” she said. “Now those who want to use a credit card can do so. About one-third of our ticket buyers used a credit card.” 

Her message to those considering the show is, “This show has been run by families for years and has created a sense of family for those who participate. That feeling has remained and is as important to us as we know it is to our exhibitors and customers. We had a couple of our older exhibitors decide 2023 was time to end their travels to events. Their customers came looking for them and shared their incredibly heartwarming memories with us.” 

Rusk said their customers and exhibitors have close bonds with one another. “They call this their working vacation. They find time to go on an early morning hike or drive; enjoy breakfast where they are staying; take in a musical dinner show nearby; or visit a nearby mountain top attraction for the evening meal,” she said. 

Their easy-load-in/load-out event tends to attract older exhibitors increasingly. “We certainly enjoy new and young exhibitors, too,” Rusk said. “They have discovered the never-ending stream of fish swimming up this creek and look forward to coming back again and again.”