Foxberry Folk Art Fair has been created as a craft marketplace site by artists for artists and those that appreciate fine quality hand made items! We started this site after searching for additional places in which to market our own artwork. We found hundreds of little craft malls and a few large marketplaces. None of them had all of what we were looking for and most had 'features' we didn't want at all. In creating this site, we have kept all of the good stuff and tossed out the bad to bring you a truly unique marketplace. It is our hope that this site and the philosophy behind it will help you promote your art or craft business.

• The Problem - Not all crafts are created equal! This in a nutshell is why Foxberry exists. We just got really tired of page after page of tulle tutus, foam masks, hair ribbons, crocheted pot holders, and glued together pompoms and popsicle sticks vying for our customers' attention. While these items are hand made, they just aren't in the same league as say, a one of a kind hand sculpted polymer clay fairy or a primitive hooked rug or a grain painted cupboard or a... well, you get our drift.
  • The Foxberry Philosophy - We believe people shopping for high quality hand made items are not interested in buying glued together pompoms and popsicle sticks (unless, of course it is done in some spectacularly creative way - in which case, we would love to see it as well) High quality crafts are in a league of their own and deserve a separate marketplace!
  • The Solution - Foxberry Folk Art and Craft Fair was created to serve the needs of artisans and people seeking unique and fine quality artwork and crafts.
• The Problem - We were (and still are) frustrated with the flood of imported and mass produced items on Ebay and other craft sites that masquerade as hand made crafts. With Ebay's new "Search" now implemented, it is nearly impossible to find what you are looking for. There seems to be no easy way to filter out the junk on most sites.
  • The Foxberry Philosophy - We believe our customers deserve truly hand made items that are lovingly created one at a time - not mass produced items passed off as crafts!
  • The Solution - Only high quality hand made items are permitted on this site!
• The Problem - We found that many of the group craft sites lacked a way to search for items - the only way to view items for sale was to visit each members page one at a time in the order they are linked by the site owners - very time consuming and not exactly fair to all members! These sites limited the number of items a member could post to just a few, and on many, there was no way to purchase directly from the site, you had to contact individual members thus delaying a possible sale.
  • The Foxberry Philosophy - We believe customers should be able to find the items you are selling quickly and easily without having to page through the site's pages one by one. They should be able to purchase said item without a lot of hassle - We know the last thing WE want to do is WAIT when we are READY to purchase something!
  • The Solution -  We offer a site wide search feature, in-store browsing, item searches, category shopping, and site wide browsing so customers can easily find what they are looking for or browse at their own leisure! We have a site wide shared shopping cart that allows customers to purchase from one or more shoppes easily! We don't force the use of the shopping cart on shoppe owners, but it is there if you want to use it!
• The Problem - Most of the craft malls out there aren't really malls - you can't actually buy or sell anything in them. They are really advertising sites that just have lots of flashing banners and ads for other sites -- your items are shown (if at all) on only a tiny section of the page and surrounded by even more advertising! -- We wanted more than just an advertising or link exchange site!
  • The Foxberry Philosophy - We believe YOUR items and YOUR business should be the focus of the site -- not the advertising! We think that if you are paying for a spot (no matter how low the cost), you should be the one advertising on it, not someone else!
  • The Solution - Only minimal banner advertising on the site (it helps keep everyone's costs down) and NO forced outside advertising on your store pages! Member's items and stores are FEATURED PROMINENTLY and RANDOMLY on the site's home page - this makes it fair for everybody - nobody is always at the top or bottom!
• The Problem - Most of the group craft sites only update their merchandise once or twice a month - This means you have deadlines to meet. Items that sell aren't removed right away and you can't add more until the next update. Imagine how frustrating this is for customers when the items they have to sort through aren't even available anymore!
  • The Foxberry Philosophy - We believe you should be able to update your store whenever it is convenient for you. 
  • The Solution -  We offer an easy to use store interface that works in your browser - this means no software to download. You have 24/7 access to your store, so you can work when it suits you! Sold items are automatically removed from the site, but kept in queue so you can easily relist!
• The Problem - NO VISABILITY! Most sites rank so far down in the search engines that your artwork is rarely seen! Some sites don't even show up when you search for them by name. The few sites that do show up are so huge that your opportunity to be seen is miniscule. Your success on these sites depends heavily on self promotion and constant relisting. Some require so much promo time, that there is little time left to create!
  • The Foxberry Philosophy - We believe artists and crafters do what they do because that is what they LOVE to do. Few of us like to spend our time marketing our work, and even fewer of us have the skills needed to do so effectively. We also understand that self promotion is very important in this industry and it must be done.
  • The Solution - As experienced webmasters and SEO'ers we have the needed skill set for this task. We are willing to share the benefits of our marketing efforts with you thus freeing up valuable crafting time! By gathering many artists and crafters together, promotion becomes easier - much the same way as a real life craft fair works. The more talented crafters you have in the show, the more people you have flocking to see them!
  • What do we get out of it? - The same thing you do - a great craft marketplace where we can be surrounded by other talented artisans who are selling high quality hand made items!