How to Choose the Right Craft Fair or Pop-Up Event: Free Tool

I created this free artisan event evaluation tool to help determine whether a craft show, market, or other event is the right fit for your business.

How to Use the Artisan Event Evaluation Calculator

1. Collect key details from the event organizer to help answer the questions above

Tip: Professional event organizers answer clearly. Vague responses can be a red flag.

2. Answer each question honestly. Each question has a default weight, but you can adjust the importance to show how much each question matters to your business:

Higher importance → this question has more influence on your final score.
Lower importance → this question has less influence on your final score.

Adjusting importance lets the calculator reflect what matters most to you, so the final score better matches your priorities.

3. Review Your Score
The final score shows market viability at a glance. Use it as a structured guide to compare risk versus reward before committing time or resources. Note: A high score doesn’t guarantee success, and a lower score doesn’t mean you should automatically skip it. Use this as a starting point for deeper research and considerations

Frequently Asked Questions

I don’t have exact data for the event. Can I still use it?

You can, however, this tool is only as good as the data you give it. While you can use estimates, guessing is often what leads to bad investments. Unless a new event, professional organizers should be able to provide you with historical attendance numbers and booth costs upfront. If they can’t (or won't) give you that information, that’s a red flag in itself.

Can I use this for events that are not Craft Fairs or Artisan Events?

Yes. I would recommend making Question 4 as only "Slightly Important" or "N/A".

I answered "Yes" to almost everything, but my score is still low. Why?

This is the "Harshness Engine" at work. If you mark a negative factor (like "No Promotion") as Extremely Important, it will significantly impact the average. In business, one or two major red flags can ruin an event regardless of how many other boxes are checked. A low score despite many "Yes" answers usually mean your specific non-negotiables for an event aren't being met.

Is this supposed to make the decision for me?

Not at all. This tool is your "thought partner," not your boss. Use the score to double-check your intuition. If your gut says "Go" but the score is a 30%, it’s a sign to pause and ask the organizers a few more questions before you send that application fee.

Have questions about the Artisan Event Evaluation tool or want to share feedback? Reach out to me anytime. I’d love to hear from you!