I want to invite perfect strangers into my home

Well, friends and friends of friends. I've been keeping an eye out for tips about hosting trunk parties and doing craft fairs. The Etsy forums are invaluable for this. Again, one of the reason's I'm such a huge fan of the site, the community there is unbeatable.

I've also found a few blogs that have posts about selling out of home or in the neighborhood coffee shop. which I think is a great way to ease into selling at fairs or approaching a brick and mortar about selling my creations. One of the more recent posts I've come across in my search for real life selling ideas was on missmalaprop, She has done at least two craft parties, one in her home and the other at her local coffee house which sounds like a great idea to me, what with no house cleaning involved and refreshments offered by the proprietor of the coffee house. It's a win win situation and one that a local business would more than likely be excited to be a part of.

Of course, me being me I'll waffle a lot before I take the plunge. The harsh critic in me likes to point out all the negatives that could happen and of course I listen for awhile and then either forge ahead or abandon the idea until it's ready. And of course there are blog posts about the reasons not to as well as reasons why it's a good idea too. I also don't feel comfortable with asking friends and family to come and buy my things but I also know that I'm making some great things that have to be seen in person in order to show off their full beauty. So I'm considering packing all my finished items with me when we head to our home province in May. Who knows maybe I'll hold a party at my Mom's place and pay for our trip out there.

Anyone out there done a craft fair, held a trunk show or approached a brick and mortar? What got you past the harsh critic to just do it?