This has been an interesting thread to read and to hear what some people have to say about making money as a woodturner. I have been fortunate to have had several different experiences trying to sell my turnings. Like several people have said, don't expect to sell your turnings at craft fairs and expect to gross much in sales. I found out that most people that attend craft fairs don't expect to spend more than about $25 for an item. I have also been part of a coop art gallery. This required me to pay a monthly fee as well as work so many hours a week. When I wanted to do an art fair, I found that I would have to take thing out of the gallery on a Thursday or Friday and then return items Monday morning--quite a hassle. Just before COVID, my wife and I decided to drop out of the gallery and increase the number of art fairs/festivals that we would do. We currently do about 14 or 15 art fairs a year (end of March thru the weekend before Thanksgiving). We have been doing several of these shows for many years and have developed many return customers. I sell a lot of artistic hollow forms, bowls that can be used as utilitarian, but most customers say they use them mainly as decorations. My wife sells mostly decorative natural edge bowls. As Donna has said repeat customers/collectors are an important part of being successful at selling your woodturnings. One of our patrons has collected about 40 of my turnings and about 25 of my wife's. So far this year we have done two shows--one in Houston, TX and one in St. Louis, MO. Our gross sales for these two shows is just over $12K. Our turnings sell from $50 to $900. We use a lot of wood that is not native to the US. This helps make us different than a lot of turners that stick with just domestic woods.
Doing shows is not cut out for everyone. You have to haul your tent, your display, and your turnings. It usually takes us about 4 hours to set everything up and about 2 hours to tear everything down and pack it in our vehicle. The majority of the shows that we do are usually within a 5 hour drive from our home. In addition, to save money we usually stay with friends or family members--lodging can get to be quite expensive. This year the only time we will not be staying with friends or family is when we go to CO. For the past three years we have made this a combination business trip and vacation. We do three consecutive weekend shows. In between the shows we spend time hiking in the Rocky Mountain National Park.