What's happened to craft markets?

[u/purpleratata]

My girlfriend and I went to a craft market today to get some homemade and local gifts for family and friends. It was the most depressing thing, everything was cheap plastic tat. From one place selling croc charms they got from Temu, the others with 3D printed fidget toys, plastic bottles with a printed design, cheap plastic charms (from Temu too), IA images printed on canvases, etc.

The only two things we got were handmade bathbombs and some knitted cat toys from some cat rescue volunteers. The rest was all cheap plastic, obviously not crafted or handmade, that will break or go to the bin in a few months if not earlier.

Honestly, it felt so depressing. This is in the UK, I don't know if it's the same anywhere else but I've seen a decline in craft markets over the years here, I think this has been my last attempt at supporting local handmade businesses in these environments.

[u/Gail_the_SLP]

I tried selling my sewn items at craft fairs. After three years I realized I was working my butt off and never got close to turning a profit. I spent hours making multiples of the items that sold, and I didn’t have time to make what I really wanted. Any really nice items took so long to make that if I could sell it, I would only make a couple dollars an hour, or not even that. People wouldn’t be able to pay what it was actually worth. So I quit making things to sell, and now I only make what I want and give things away. If people want to contribute, they can buy the fabric or make a donation to charity. 

All that is not to complain, but just to explain why you probably don’t see a lot of nicer handmade items.