Fairs and expos to sell my camping Yurts

Hi folks,
I am new here and I am looking for "green" shows and expos to show off my camping yurts. The business is new and sells yurts that are lightweight, portable and can be loaded onto the roof of your car.  I also want to do yurt building workshops and need to know where to advertise and what organizations to contact. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Here is my website: www.campingyurts.com

Richard

Yurtman you should say where you are located and the distance you are willing to travel.

I am in central Oregon Near Bend. If there is demand I could travel to Washington, California, Idaho.  If it was worth it, I would travel even further.

Richard

Hi, Richard. I took a look at your site--I've been looking for an affordable, quality camping yurt, and yours look very good. I particularly like the options of the basic kit and full kit. I believe that if you're going to sell in California, state law requires that the canvas be fireproofed. How much more expensive would it be to sell a full kit with water, mildew, and fire resistance treatments? With the flame retardant canvas, you might also consider offering a metal stove jack in the roof canvas, like in a wall tent, so people can use the space in their yurt more efficiently.

You might consider primitive skills and rewilding gatherings.

Hi Kerrick

Thanks for the info, I will keep that in mind if I sell any down there.  We are currently sourcing a fireproof canvas as we are concerned about being sued if we sell one with a stove and the tent catches fire.  We are also looking into special fireproof material to be sewn into the roof canvas so that the stove pipe can go through it, and as double security, see if there are any insulated pipe sections that could go through the roof part.

Making a yurt is pretty easy really if you have some plans. Doing it from scratch is very difficult. The only hard parts are the ring and canvas and this is why I sell the basic kit. I will be putting some more photos up of the ring soon, I am just waiting for some good weather to take more photos.
If you have a table saw and a drill stand, you can easily do it. The drill stand isn't vital, you could use a hand drill, but you MUST drill straight.  The reason is when you have ripped all the wall slats, you need to drill 7 holes in each slat (that's about 500 holes in total). I clamp 10 slats together and drill them all to save time.  If you go in at an angle, the holes won't line up when you make the lattice.
I am working on the "Building a Yurt" instructions right now, but let me know if you are interested in a kit.

It does amaze me the interest people have with yurts. When ever we go camping we always get half the campsite coming over to have a look. I suppose it's just so different.  The best bit for me is the head room and space. 
Thanks for the feedback.

Makers of canvas wall tents, such as Davis, usually include a stove jack made of steel that is a simple square sheet of metal with a circular hole cut in the middle. You could probably come up with something else, but that seems simple and effective. Reliable tent uses a flexible silicone-coated fiberglass--that would probably be an advantage in terms of weight, but I'm not sure if it has any other benefits; maybe it doesn't disperse heat like the steel does and so provides additional protection. I would think it would be more expensive as well, but I notice they can be purchased separately from the Reliable website for $24-28. (Blogger compliance note: I don't have any relationship with these companies or personal knowledge of their products; I've just been researching wall tents since I couldn't afford a yurt!)

You could also check with these tent makers to find out what their experience is with customers' tents catching fire. I notice that all of them have warnings about the proper use of tent stoves and the fact that flame-retardant canvas is not fire-proof, just fire-resistant, and will still get holes in it from flying sparks and will still catch fire if any of the canvas is actually touching the stove or chimney. Those warnings are probably legally important as well as helpful.

I don't have a drill press and I don't have more than average experience with hand tools, so I'd likely be going for the full kit when it becomes available in California--and provided I have the money for it then. But it's exciting to see a new yurt-maker that's much closer to my price range!

Richard,
Solwest in John Day has been a successful show for my wifes solar ovens, even though it is geared towards renewables it might be a place to meet like minded folk.
www.solwest.org
Jennifer Barker is who you should talk with. It is always the last weekend in July.
Eugene has a green show but it was just in the past few weeks I'm not sure how often they have theirs.

Robert
Thanks for the info. I intend doing the Solwest, I think it would be good. I hadn't heard about the Eugene show, I will look into that - Thanks

Kerrick
I appreciate the input. A stove manufacturer gave me a supplier for the flexible silicone-coated fiberglass so I will look into that.  I am getting my canvas from a suppler in Portand, OR, but would love to know where the tent guys get theirs.

Making a yurt
Sounds like the full kit would be good for you. Apart from the Roof Wheel, you don't need too much in the way of woodworking skill to build one.
As to selling in California, I don't know the laws about selling to CA residents. I would think as I am in Oregon, I wouldn't be affected.  If I am, I suppose people will have to come to Oregon to buy.  We are not that far from the CA border so if you ever wanted to come out and camp in one for a night or two, you are welcome. There is a lake at the bottom of the road and next door os a RV park with all the facilities. We care in the hifg desert of central southern Oregon.  Where are you?

Currently, Oakland, and the only legal concern I know about with shipping them to CA is the flame-retardant treatment; tents without that treatment cannot be sold in California whether or not they originate out of state. Not that I would make an issue of it ("ooooh, telling!"), but I'd prefer to have flame treatment anyway. Sounds like you're on top of the stove jack channels, which is good to hear.

Do the tent guys maybe just buy the treatment separately from the canvas and apply it themselves, I wonder? I hope you find a good, hassle-free source.

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