We recently connected with Susi Engl and have shared our conversation below.

Susi, appreciate you joining us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

I do make a full-time living running LV Craft Shows, and though I am not creating my own art, I provide a platform for hundreds of artists to sell their original crafts, gifts, and so much more. I had to learn a lot as I went, what it takes to put on shows, the requirements, dealing with people (that can be very challenging), and ignoring those who don’t want you to succeed, but being in my 9th year as the owner of LV Craft Shows, I am proud to say that the business is growing, and so is my knowledge and desire to do it right so my artists are thriving. If they don’t do well, I feel I let them down.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I grew up in Germany surrounded by actors, dancers, and artists. Therefore, I started modeling as an infant and was an actress my entire childhood doing commercials, TV shows, voice dubbing, theater, and movies. My great-grandfather was a well-known artist, and my mom was a dancer, artist, actress, and then dance teacher at her studio. She does teach more than dance, and at 83, she is still going strong, teaching six days a week at her school in Munich. My stepdad was also an actor, and so was my brother, who plays music, sings, and teaches acrobatics at my mom’s school.

I completed my dance education in Germany and then moved to Palm Desert, CA, to pursue dancing there—easier said than done. I danced a bit there and then taught dance and fitness. Soon after, I was asked to join some dance ensembles for some engagements in Japan and, after that, on a Carnival cruise ship (my dream job!!).
I did meet the love of my life there, a musician, and we relocated to Las Vegas, where I taught fitness, yoga, and dance for many years until I ended up in the craft show world. Being tall is a firm requirement here to make it as a dancer, and since I am not, I had to keep teaching and do other jobs to make a living. After working for an Indy filmmaker and a children’s book author while teaching lots of classes at the gym, I ended up in the trade show business selling children’s books, which then led me to join Miche Bags. As I set up my booths to sell the bags at many craft fairs, I landed at LV Craft Shows. Being a vendor there and many other shows for about five years, I was offered to purchase LV Craft Shows, so I did.

That was in late 2015. It has been a challenge, but I am a hard worker and will do what it takes to succeed. I learned that to be successful, one must give it their all, and you need to grow thick skin because the more successful you become, the more challenges come with it.

I am proud of what I do; I am pleased to be a 7-year Best of Las Vegas Winner, and I am proud to have an incredible following and loyal vendors who love doing my shows. Some of them outgrew me and went on to bigger things, but it makes me proud to have been able to be there for them when they started their crafts.

What sets me apart from others is that I have learned the hard way that advertising is a must in this business. Nothing is worse than sitting in a room with fellow artists and vendors and only a couple of hundred people, IF that, walkthrough, and you wait for it to be over. In some cases, we vendors would spend more shopping from one another to show support than what we ended up making.

I used to be a vendor at every event I could find, from tiny school fundraisers to some small craft shows to the big home shows and holiday shows. I was even a vendor at some events with 20 vendors, and the promoter asked us to tell people about it. I did, and out of the 20 who showed up to shop, seven were mine…I then learned that it is best to pick the shows that work best for me, so I ended up with the big home and holiday shows and LV Craft Shows, and then I ended up buying the latter.

I advertise our shows on multiple platforms to reach a wider audience. I want to be sure to attract the right people. Then, it is up to the artists to wow them with their displays, art, and communication skills.

Since my business has grown so much, I had to add a team of people to help. We even have vendor blender training workshops where new and seasoned vendors learn the do’s and don’ts, how to improve their displays, etc. The speakers are well-established vendors sharing their experience and knowledge.

I am fortunate to have come across a great mentor, who I partnered up with for some of our shows and who is teaching me a lot about running successful shows, learning when to make adjustments, or when to move on.

I am also proud to say that I have my own half-hour TV Show on The CW, which airs every Sunday at 8:30 a.m. In it, I interview our VIP vendors and give you a sneak peek of our events.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

The best way to support artists is to find them at craft shows, look at their displays, ask them about their stories, and help them by purchasing something and letting others know about them. Word of mouth does go a long way. These artists work hard and often are not paid because they can’t factor their work hours into the price they charge for their creations.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I aim to learn more about running the best ad campaigns to attract more people. My mission is to put on the best events for my artists and vendors so they can sell their art, be seen by thousands of people, and become successful. It gets very costly, but I keep trying.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://LVCraftShows.com
• Instagram: lasvegascraftshows
• Facebook: LVCraftShows
• Linkedin: lvcraftshows
• Twitter: lvcraftshows
• Youtube: lvcraftshows
• Yelp: lvcraftshows
• Other: https://venturacraftfestival.com is my new adventure. We are doing a big holiday show in Ventura this November.

Image Credits
Photos taken by us. There is a disclaimer on our website that we may take photos during our events and use as we see fit.