Coronavirus shut down.

[char wheat]

I usually sell my wares at the Sherwood Forrest Faire in Paige Texas once a year.  The Faire runs from the first weekend in March through the last weekend in April.  My yea r typically goes like this.  From May to February I am working in the studio to produce work to be sold at the Faire.  March through April I am selling at the Sherwood Forrest Faire.  This setup has worked very well for me for the past 8 years.  But this year the Faire was shut down after the second weekend due to the Coronavirus.  I now find myself with a whole bunch of  things that I need to somehow sell.  I have not done online sales before.  If anyone can give me some advice on  where  to go for a good ceramics selling platform  I would be very grateful for any and all advice. The photos are shots of some of the items at  my booth at Faire before it shut down and the other photo is one of me and how I dress for Faire . Sherwood Forrest Faire is set in the 12th century..

[Callie Beller Diesel]

HI and welcome @char wheat!

This is actually a lot of information to dive into all at once. In my opinion, there's not really any one "platform" that is better or worse for getting pottery sales. It's all in how you get your work in front of the people who like what you do. To narrow this down, could you tell us a little more about how your business is currently structured?  Are you needing a certain amount of full time income out of this venture, or is it more to pad a pension of some kind? Do you have an existing website, and if so, what builder did you use? Are you comfortable with technology and learning how to build one if not? Some website builders are quite simple and need not be intimidating. Do you have a social media following or an email list you can tap to get started with marketing? What kind of photography skills do you have, and are you working with a phone or a dslr? Do you use or like  any kind of photo editing software?

[LeeU]

Callie has given you a good start on the things you need to know for yourself in order to launch an online presence. There are also great free webinars from the SBA or SCORE for setting p a website-based small business.

I watched the Artisans video on the Faire's website and noticed that ceramics/pottery is not represented at all--but a good variety of other traditional crafts are. I also noted that the Faire is doing a Virtual Faire every Saturday on YouTube. It is probably  too last minute to get in on this, but it is certainly worth looking into.  Whether or not you can get into the Faire's official online  offerings, you could pursue doing something yourself on your own website or YouTube, using your costuming and whatever props would set the stage for the time period in which you are selling your wares--that could be different and fun. There are probably many such fairs/events in the same boat as yours, nationwide, that may be approachable for including a good video with a "story", perhaps showing  you making the cups.  Just a thought...and of course, there is always the ever-popular Etsy Store--surf around it to see what other products centered on the "High Middle Ages"  are being featured.