Making The Most Out Of A Craft Fair

The name of my Blog and my Etsy company may be Bounty of Beads, but most people locally refer to me as "The Jewelry Lady".  My full time job is setting up anywhere and everywhere I can to sell my jewelry and I do tons of Festivals and Shows.  I thought I would share just a few pointers with you that I have found work for me. 

First off, I always to try to make my booth look as professional as I can.  I use multiple types of displays, table cloths and boxes for lift, just depending on the type of show and where I am.  Giving different heights and angles all over the table truly gives your set up a unique and eye catching look.  I don't mean, clutter your table up with as much as possible, I mean to go for a "staircase" effect in your display where some things are at the height to catch someones eye.  Use colors that flow and don't drowned out what you are selling.

When I first set up for a show, I will put it all together, back up and take a look, then start rearranging.  I will constantly be shifting items and changing out displays all during the show.  I have customers that have already looked, will come back and say "that wasn't there last time I Looked" and that's because I change it throughout the entire day.  Always make sure to fill in that hole or empty spot when you sell something. Always be sure to constantly "straighten" up your booth after customers have come in and looked at your goodies.  DON'T BE LAZY ABOUT IT!!!  Just because you set it up in the morning doesn't mean you are done for the day.  I see people in other booths that sit in their chairs all day long and complain about not making sales.  That's because nobody wants to go look through something that looks like a huge mess.

Have a figure in mind as to what you hope to make for the days show.  If you hope to make $300 for the day and only have $500 in inventory to sell.........then you will probably be very disappointed in your day.  If you are going to do a festival, I want you to add up the price on all your inventory and see just how much you are taking with you and then figure out a realistic number from that.  Since this is what I do full time, my numbers may seem high to some.  I usually go with $3500 to $6000 in inventory and try to hit $1,000 to $1,500 per show day.  That doesn't always happen but, it's what I try for.  Sounds like a lot of money but when you only do that once or twice a month...it's not.

I always set myself up behind my tables.  To me, there is nothing more intimidating than to try and go into someones booth and have to get around the artist just to look at what they are selling.  Also, don't take your whole family with you to a craft show.  People really don't want to intrude on your "family reunion" to get to what you are trying to sell.  To many workers in a small booth will actually work against you.

OK, that's enough for you to digest for today, I will add more over the next few days.  So many of you have asked me for pointers that I hope this helps you out and you will check back for.... "the rest of the story"