Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
Holding a DIY craft workshop is an effective way to get customers together and promote your store’s categories. Michelle Schefter, owner of Langdon Hardware in Langdon, North Dakota, finds it’s also an opportunity to support other local businesses.
Earlier this year, Schefter teamed up with an independent florist in town to hold a craft design class for their customers. Customers signed up ahead of time and paid a small fee to be a part of the class, which consisted of two parts held on two separate nights. On the first night, participants gathered at Langdon Hardware, where Schefter and her daughter, Alicia, guided them in creating a flower vase out of a mason jar decorated with chalk paint attached to a small piece of wood. All products used for that craft were sold in the store, making it easy for customers to pick up whatever they needed to replicate the project at home.
On the second night, the project continued at the local floral shop. There, the florist showed participants how to arrange artificial flowers in the vase.
“This is a great way to allow customers to socialize with each other and get them in our store,” says Schefter. “We teamed up with the owner of the floral shop and decided this is something we could do to support each other’s businesses.”
Schefter limits the number of participants to 12, which makes it easier for her to interact with everyone and to allow space for everyone to comfortably fit around the tables. The small fee for the project is just enough to help cover the cost of materials, and she says customers don’t mind paying it. Since the owner of the floral shop also advertises the event, Schefter sees a few new customers she hopes will become regulars. She’s already planning the next project, which will also include flowers, so both businesses can share in the opportunity to connect with their customers.
