Are you searching for craft fair booth display ideas?
Are you planning for craft show success?
Exhibiting at a craft fair was a new adventure for me in 2013. I always feel excited and tentative with each new step of development with my home based craft business. Sourcing gemstones of quality and negotiations over supply was initially nerve wrecking, then it was the anticipation and feedback of listing my own designs on sites like Etsy, Pinterest and Facebook. My next step in development was to show my creations at a few craft shows. I’d read horror stories from others about the expense and even loss at such events. So I was determined to make the experience a success on a budget whilst looking cool at the same time.
I took advice from a few people with experience and focussed on finding creative solutions to the problems ahead. My planning paid off and it was a mini hit for me! So I have compiled the 5 Steps to Craft Show Success as a bullet point list of what worked so well for me. Hopefully these five steps will show you the way forward in how to make the most of your local craft show display ideas. Let me know if these following tips help bring you success and a wonderful experience:
- Do not rent a tent canopy, instead buy your tent/booth canopy -
Now the idea of buying your tent might sound more expensive than just renting one a day or two, but trust me it is not. I must have called at least 10 in my area and they all told me that to rent a tent would be around $110 for the weekend. This might not sound like a lot of money but every little charge starts to add up. I was feeling a bit dismayed so I went on-line to see what it would cost to buy a tent. I was pleasantly surprised when I went to a big box store website and found a 9×9 tent that I could buy for $49. I was so happy because not only could I use the tent again if I was going to do another craft show, but I could also sell the tent on Craigslist. I chose the later and sold my tent on Craigslist when I was done with it because I didn’t know when or if I would be doing another craft show. I sold the tent for $35. Instead of paying $110 to rent a tent I paid $49 to buy one and then sold it for $35. That is a savings of $96. - Make your own displays for the items that you are selling -
You are already a talented, creative, and industrious person which is why you’re doing a craft show in the first place. Instead of buying displays why not make your own. Not only does it show buyers how talented you really are but you will save money and get exactly what you want. I wanted a very specific bracelet display. I wanted it to be high enough that people didn’t have to bend over too much to look at my bracelets and I wanted it to be 3 staggered tiers so all the bracelets were visible at the same time. The average cost of one displays I was looking at was $15 and that did not include shipping and it wasn’t even something I was crazy about in the first place. So I decided to make my own displays so I would get exactly what I was looking for. I went to my local hardware store and bought wooden closet rods for the arms and a long piece of wood board for the base along with small wooden dowels for the arms to stand on. I also bought some nice wood stain for a more natural look. For the cost of $60 I was able to make 5 bracelet stands to my specifications. There are lots of tutorials on line on how to make your own jewelry displays and displays of all kinds. Take a little time out and do some research and then let your creative juices flow. The stands were made so professionally that I was able to sell them for $25 each online after the event. - Burlap, It’s in and it’s cheap -
Another money pit for craft shows is decorating your booth. You don’t want to be standing there with just a bare table and your items. Put in some effort and make your stand look nice, but don’t detract focus from what you are selling and spend a lot of money. Burlap is great for this. I bought a bolt of burlap at Joann’s for $25. It was a lot of burlap. I had enough to make a great tablecloth that went to the floor for my 7′ long table and I had extra to make burlap garlands and other cute items. My stand looked cute and tidy. When people walked by they knew exactly what I was selling. When I was done with my show I used the burlap to make cute bows for my tree and my Christmas presents. - Bring Support -
This might sound like a no brainer but you need to bring someone with you for support. Not only emotional support but physical support. You are not going to want to put up that tent up all by yourself. Plus they can be a critical eye on how your stand looks. They can chat with potential buyers why you are helping another customer, they can hand out flyers and keep your spirits up if you are in a slow period. - Have a Prize Draw to Collect email addresses -
A prize draw is a great way to bring people to your stand and collect email addresses so you can promote your shop or your next craft show to potential buyers. You don’t have to give away an expensive item but the item should be something that someone would actually want, something of value. Make up a cute box to put the sign up slips in and display your item that is going to be given away so people know what they are going to win.
These Five Steps To Craft Show Success helped me experience two fantastic local craft show events. I managed to create a modern and natural looking booth for a very small budget compared to some others around me. With such a low outlay for my overall booth, I was in profit very quickly from just a handful of sales at the craft fair. This helped me relax and enjoy the whole process more as the fares’ visitors looked over my display, asked questions and tried on the bracelets. My partner came along too for support and bolstered my enthusiasm during the lulls. The prize draw resulted in me expanding my audience with a list of potential customers in promoting my new creations to.
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