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Hello everyone! As you might have noticed, the posting here has slowed to a standstill, as we here at Crafty Scout have been busy packing up for our big move to the Pacific Northwest. A den of art, music, and creativity, Crafty Scout is excited to relocate to the Portland area, with all its crafty splendor! We will be resuming our normally scheduled post-gramming (like ‘programming’…) in September, and look forward to getting back to bringing you the best coverage of crafty culture from around the world!

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A poorly merchandised booth will blend into the general chaos of the show without encouraging customers to make a purchase and can make for a very long day!  But never fear- below you’ll find a clear guide to planning out the merchandising for your booth!  You can click on any photo to visit its merchandising mastermind.

A well merchandised booth does the following things:
- It conveys the brand in a glance.
- Invites customers from across the room.
- Creates an emotional connection with the customer.
- Compels shoppers to linger, touch items, spend money, tell their friends, and come back for more!

The following are elements present in table-space rentals and booth rentals, and should be tackled one at a time, always keeping the big picture (your brand) in mind.

The table- the easiest table to use is a flat folding table, which often has a handle for easier carrying and can fit in the trunk of your car.  You can use a 5 foot, 6 foot, square, or round table, depending on your needs.  A 10 x 10 booth will require more than one table, or one table and several other pieces of furniture, such as cute shelves, plant stands, etc.

Pollyanna Cowgirl uses vintage suitcases and a child’s chair to utilize space more effectively.

The tablecloth- Whether you use a simple bed sheet or have a custom made table cloth, you’ll want to choose fabric that fits your style and brand, but doesn’t compete with your product.  Many people use the front of the tablecloth as a place for their company name.  Make sure that your tablecloths are neat and even, and that they cover the table legs completely so that you can store extra merchandise and packaging items out of sight.

Display items- These should consist of lightweight, easy-to-store/travel items that will show off your merchandise at a variety of heights.  This is where you get to really use your creativity! You can use ugly plastic bins hidden underneath the table cloth to create much needed height, or use beautiful vintage trunks to create the same effect on top of the tablecloth. Don’t forget all the space above and below the tabletop!  You can string t-shirts at the back of the booth, banner-style, hang purses from S-hooks, place large baskets directly on the floor, etc.  Remember that your booth fee covers more than just your tabletop!

My own booth, using a hidden plastic tub and shoe stand!

Merchandise- Put your most eye-catching items within 3 feet of the aisle; pulling customers into the booth is the first step to making a sale!  Even if you’ve had the same 3 ft. tall Swarovski-encrusted teddy bear sitting in inventory for a year, bring it and put it front and center!  Other items can be displayed in a variation of ways:
- By usage- cell phone cases near cell phone charms
- By color
- As it would look in the home/ in use.
- By price point- least expensive, mid-range, and most expensive, grouped near each other
- By theme- cowboy aprons, cowboy bibs, and cowboy blankets together.
- Or by any other aesthetic means, as long as it is well thought out!

Signage- You’ll need a sign with your company name as well as signs with prices and/or item descriptions.  These should be simple and straightforward with information that illuminates the nature of the product or invites the customer to experience the item for themselves.  Make sure that they fit in with the look of your booth, because this is part of your branding!  Simple, handmade signs can do the job if necessary, as long as they’re legible and fit the brand.  Signage can also be used to sell an item that you don’t even have in stock!  For example, if you offer custom work, a sign with pricing and a few examples laid out can be an excellent way to secure a custom order.

Roscata uses witty signage to curb parents from letting little hands make a mess of her table!

Tent, Lights, etc.- Tents come in a variety of styles, but the most common tent for vendors is the 10ft. pop up tent.  First Up is a popular brand, which is easy enough to put together in about 10 minutes with two people.  Tent canopies come in a variety of colors, but you’ll want to make sure that the inside of the tent is lined with sun blocker (a silvery lining) so that the tent color doesn’t interfere with the color of the light inside your tent.

For outdoor shows lighting is rarely an issue, but when working indoors the lighting can often be icky fluorescent, or just dim.  Some show coordinators will advise you to bring your own lighting, but it’s a great idea to keep some backup lighting in your show kit.  When electrical outlets are unavailable (or if you just don’t want to pay for the use of electricity) you can use battery-operated lighting.  (thanks to Elegant Sparrow for the tip!)

A last piece of advice is to keep your booth tidy throughout the show!  You can use the moments in between customers (or while you’re chatting with an especially enthusiastic, non-shopping customer) to tidy things up and refresh your table.  This is a great opportunity to keep note of which things are selling out and which items are left untouched.

And just for fun, here’s some booth porn that I hope inspires you to get creative with your merchandising!

Finally, I leave you with the image of the perfect craft show . . . teeming with eager customers! Click on the photo to see which fair this is!

Red Rabbit Spring Arts and Crafts Market is looking for 75 vendors to sell at a very hands-on crafting and selling event in Glendale, Ca.

Saturday, May 15

Glendale Civic Auditorium

$75 booth fee

Visit the Red Rabbit website for an application and more info!

The South Coast Roller Derby is looking for 25 vendors to come sell their goods at the team’s first home game on May 22! Here are the deets:

Saturday, May 22

2 Via Positiva

San Juan Capistrano, Ca 92675

6 PM- ?

$25 booth fee

Contact BrookOwens@gmail.com (aka Marilyn Monrollher) for more info!

The world of indie crafts is getting bigger and bigger all the time.  Craft shows abound and it seems like all you need is an Etsy shop to get invited to do one show or another.  What this means for the newbie vendor is that you’ve really got to do your homework before signing up for any show!  Many, many of us seasoned crafters have either started out at absolutely the wrong fair, and most of us have done a desperately bad show at one time or another.  Think of Margaret and Polly as your worldly older sisters, showing you the ropes and sharing our lipstick.

The Minor Leagues- Smaller shows usually have a low show fee ($20- $65) and are a low-pressure way to enter the crafty scene.
You’ve just received a request to participate in a craft show and you’re thrilled!  You didn’t even have to go out of your way to find the application, they sent you a link! This is a really common scenario and it can be the gateway to an educational, even a profitable show!  Then again, it could be the keys to six hours of boredom, misery, and regret.

There are definitely some things you’ll want to know before you sign up for that show.

• Did you receive a mass email/convo, or was the message specific to you and your shop?
• Does this show have a website?  Is it decent, or does it give you that Grandma-made-a-website vibe?
• What happens when you Google the show?  Is the show making its way around the world wide web?  In what capacity?
• How do the show promoters plan on getting the word out?  Will you be expected to help promote? (note: you should be doing this anyway!)
• Most importantly- what kind of a feeling do you get about this show?  Instincts are important!

The Big Leagues- Big names, big crowds, ($100- $400)
You’ve shopped them, you’ve drooled over the vendors, and now you want to run with the big boys (and girls).  So where do you start?  First things first- you’ve got to want it.  I mean WANT it.  You’ve got to want in on that big, bad craft show so badly you’ll take a day off of work to re-take all of your product photos and fill out the application.  This requires a certain level of confidence in your product.

When Margaret started doing shows her theory was, “I don’t want to work my way to the top, I want to start there”, so she started with one of the biggest craft shows out there- Renegade.  She had a modest amount of goods, but her f-ing adorable product line, combined with a determination to be badass did not go un-noticed by the Renegade application reviewers.  She’s been doing the Renegade shows ever since.

Here are some things to consider before applying to big name shows:

• Make sure all of your product shots online and in the application are fantastic and consistent.  Flash photography or fuzzy images are an absolute NO-NO.
• Write and proofread a short bio, no more than 4 or 5 sentences.  Have a friend or honey proofread it as well.  This never hurts.
• Keep your bio and photos in a file so that you have easy access to them for all of your show applications.  This does not mean it’s okay to recycle the same exact bio for every show, but it is handy to have everything in one place.
• Do you have enough product to sell?  Will you have enough time to make products to sell at this show?  Big shows can be two days or more, so you’ll want to stockpile well in advance.  This is especially true for holiday shows.
• In addition to the show fees, will you have to put up money for a tent, table, or chairs?  How about travel expenses and displays?  Do you think you’ll make this money back, or are you willing to accept part of that as business startup costs?
• A handful of home-printed business cards really won’t cut it.  You’ll want to have a fat box of business cards printed well in advance.

It’s important to note that you never know how well your show will go, or how great a fit it might be until you actually vend there.  Margaret and I have done the same shows on many occasions and had totally opposite experiences in some cases.  What might be awesome for one vendor can be mediocre or downright crummy for someone else.  It’s important to keep that in mind when shopping around for applications.

Margaret and I really hope that these tips help you find the right craft fair for you!  Keep your crafty ears perked up for any crafty opportunity and stay tuned for more on this topic soon!

You can see Polly Danger and Paper Pastries in person June 5+6 at Renegade Brooklyn, where they’ll be sharing a booth!

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