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My First Craft Fair


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You've got some good advice here already. One thing I don't like is a cluttered looking display. And that can be almost impossible to avoid if you have a lot of different products and you're very limited on space. I found the best thing to do is keep your table covering (I use sheets) covering the front and sides of the table, along with the top, this hides all the extra jars of candles you have stored underneath. Keeping your extras under the tables leaves more room on top of the tables. The cardboard shelves work great, and it's so easy to throw a piece of fabric on them to cover them up. Anything that adds height to the display helps. With each show you will find something else to change. It's a ongoing process, but you will eventually end up with just what's right for you. Good luck with all your shows.

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Nope, it doesn't touch the ground. Hmmm...no one's ever said anything to me about that. But I did notice that most everyone else's did.

Empress-

I like your set-up. I'm wondering if I can find something like that at Ac Moore?

At the show I did, the table covers had to reach the floor. I had bought 3 of those plastic ones at the dollar store just to cover the table.

I really think I had too much product made up. I had no idea what to expect.

Thanks all!

Violet:D

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Hi Violet,

I understand this was your first show and as you do more shows your ideas for setup will continue to flow, especially after you see other companies setups.

Your table looks clutter and this can overwhelm your customers. Here are a few suggestions:

Displays

Wal-Mart or Michael's - wooden crates that can be used to setup your candles - fee varies from $9.99-$19.99

IKEA - wood shelves that range from $9.99 and up. Many of their shelving can be pieced together to suit your size booth.

Table Cloth

JoAnn's Fabric & Craft Store or Wal-Mart- Purchase fabric for your tables and/or to cover up (if you choose) display props. I prefer black because your candles stand out more.

Ebay - I bought 8 ft black table covers that are PERFECT. These come all the way down to the floor to cover up anything under your tables. Type in: Trade show table covers or click here: http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?sofocus=bs&sbrftog=1&from=R10&_trksid=m37&satitle=Trade+Show+Table+Covers&sacat=-1%26catref%3DC6&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D2&sadis=200&fpos=30005&sabfmts=1&saobfmts=insif&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&fsop=1%26fsoo%3D1&coaction=compare&copagenum=1&coentrypage=search

Other Suggestions:

Place your price list in an affordable picture frame. Picture frames can be purchased at Wal-Mart.

HTH,

Jameel

Kandle Indulgence Company

www.kandleindulgence.com

info@kandleindulgence.com

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Violet,

Right now I'm jealous of the fact that you've got loads of stock already made! I'm looking at two craft show in December and know that I need to start buckling down hard.

As for the display, there are different thoughts on the way to go about it. If you don't have any risers to give height to your display, then I would group by scent and create a kind of rainbow of color across your table. I did that at my last show and it was very visually appealing.

About risers -- remember that a riser can be as simple as a 2 x 4 covered with a cloth / napkin. Keep your eyes open at Wal-Mart or Target, Kmart for spice racks, cabinet risers on sale. Some of those are nice enough that you don't even need to cover them. Also, you can find beautiful scrap cloth at JoAnn's -- just buy some stitch witchery or heat-activated adhesive strips and you can hem with your iron (it's a wonderful thing!).

If you're that concerned about being seen, then a director's chair is a must, despite the cost!

One point to make is that craft fairs are not quick $$$! It takes time and the right materials to get the best presentation, otherwise it is obvious that you (general you) are just trying to rake in some $$$ instead of providing your customers with a quality product.

I say the above because I made that mistake in the beginning. I packed up myself, my stuff and a white tablecloth and proceeded to try and sell. That first year didn't go so hot... had about $70 of sales with a $10 booth fee. But it's gotten better every year and part of that is because I'm doing a better job showing off my products like they deserve!

You've got the right idea by trying to get into another craft fair. Since this is your job right now, keep hitting the pavement and trying to find those shows! As you get in some return, think about getting more and more of those "tools" that will allow you to create an awesome display! Best of luck to you.

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Spacegirl is right......presentation is everything. our first two shows this years went soso....... then we added the black sheets and everything just looked better...... by our 5th show we add the shelves to give us some height. ..... things are really going well now..... with 7 shows down and 6 more before the end of the season we still learning and making things better.

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I called on 5 fairs in this area this fall... one is full but they can put me on a waiting list. One sounds good since I have the stock already and it's only 2.5 weeks away- just have to work on the display a bit. Another sounds good- it's right before x-mas and it's the 12th annual.

My sons are quite crafty with wood so maybe I should enlist them in making my displays.

Luckily I have an SUV! My blazer was packed full this past Saturday.

I'm still playing with the idea of an open house though... IDK...

Have any of you done well with that?

Thinking of printing out a ton of flyers (now that I have ink) and just putting them out there on every windshield, passing them out to local businesses, neighbors, etc.... making up signs... (the signs for this fair were minimal and sad in comparison to what I would make up).

I rely a lot on your opinions... tell me what you think of an open house.

I'd do it in two weeks.

Violet

Thanks!

Spacegirl is right......presentation is everything. our first two shows this years went soso....... then we added the black sheets and everything just looked better...... by our 5th show we add the shelves to give us some height. ..... things are really going well now..... with 7 shows down and 6 more before the end of the season we still learning and making things better.
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  • 2 weeks later...

Try this link for a look at the shelves I love! (Of course, when I ordered them they weren't on sale!)

http://www.containerstore.com/browse/Product.jhtml?searchId=10760890&itemIndex=1&CATID=185&PRODID=60290

If you're lucky, you can also find these at Wal-Mart. I found several there but when I needed more a year ago I couldn't find any, so I found these online. The smaller size is great for jelly jars and the larger ones work for apothecaries and larger containers. They're only a few dollars more expensive than the cardboard ones and hold up much better in my experience. They don't go very tall, so I usually put one on the front of my table (with a row of jars in front of it, giving you a total of 4 rows per shelf), then cover some boxes with fabric and put another shelf on top of those boxes, for a total of 8 rows.

I thought I had a picture of one of my show displays but can't find it on my computer--anyway, hope you can get the idea from my description and hope it helps.

Jane

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  • 4 years later...
  • 2 weeks later...

dbsummer....you can get an inexpensive spinner rack here:

http://www.storesupply.com/c-850-spinner-racks.aspx

I've been using mine for 5 years and it still looks new but breaks down into a huge tote bag that I have (the big ones like the TJ Maxx has)

I like this one because you can also take the bottom pole out and use it as a table top one if you have a really small space.

Edited by mparadise
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  • 4 weeks later...

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