Special Saturday Post: Money

Ah yes, money. Kind of one of the bigger reasons for doing a craft show other than trying to attract new people, right? Well, today, we're not going to actually talk about how to get more of it, we're going to talk about how you should price, er, display that price I mean.

There's a couple of ways to do it. One is the no brainer of individually pricing each item. But that's time consuming and uses all of your stickers and price tags and can even effect the look of your packaging in a not so good way. I like the idea of grouping items by price and then putting a sign near that group stating how much it is. You could just print a sign off of your computer on just regular paper but that's not very eye catching. My favorite idea of doing this is chalkboard paint. What ever you paint with chalk board paint (cute frame, cookie tray, whatever) it can be reused forever. Where the printed version will get messed up and end up in the garbage creating more trash in the world. It's much more eye catching and draws attention to your booth. It also let's see passerby's your prices which could draw them and see what's so special for it to be priced that particular amount.

Speaking of money, make sure you have some cash on hand to make change, including bills and the kind that jingles in your pocket and somewhere to keep all your hard earned cash safe. Last Saturday I had a yard sale, and I myself used a cigar box that I kept hidden behind a chair in an area that no customer should need to go. Another way of keeping it safe is in an apron with lots of pockets. It also helps to have a good friend helping you out so that you can have an extra pair of eyes to ward off those with sticky fingers and to help with customers fill out papers, place orders, and hand out pamphlets.

Special Saturday Post: Displaying

Hello friends, I know it's been a little while since I've done the Special Saturday Post since I went on vacation from blogging for a full week, so here's a little refresher...

Last time we talked about planning the event, when a good time is to have it, where to have it and a list of things you'll need. I also promised to talk more in depth about some of the items on that list and among those items was a way to display, which, in my opinion, is the most important.

As artists, we know that appearance is everything, it draws attention to your item and makes it look nicer, than say, just sitting like a lump on a table next to a bunch of other lump-like-sitting items. Here are some examples I found online.

I like how the items in this one are put on risers, it draws the eye up forcing the one to notice all the different creations. If they had just been laid out on a table a potential buyer might not notice an item or two and walk away from something that they might have bought if it had drawn their attention. I also like that they chose a simple, solid cloth to drape over the risers. The simple background makes the items really pop.

 What I like about this one is the shutter, It has so much potential and can be used to display jewelry, drape scarves, if you attach twine from end to the other you can display cards. The possibilities here are endless.

Here's another example of using a shutter for display. I love how they painted it to match the paintings beside it.

This is so nice. Everything is laid out nicely and neatly, I'm really diggin that stand.

Love how it's organized and I like the signs, isn't chalkboard paint the best?

 

This is great, again, great for jewelry, cards, you can even use it to display your business cards along with some pamphlets, I love this idea, I may use this in the future.

Pretty. Great use of some crates and helps to create its branding.

I hope this gives you guys some ideas and gets you excited about doing your own show in your own town. Next week we'll look at different ways of pricing and creative ways to keep track of your cash. Stay tuned.

Special Saturday Post: The planning

How cute is this? I would definitely head over to this booth at a fair

Planning your own craft show should probably be done WELL ahead of time, you don't went to start making items right at the last minute (although knowing me I would probably do it anyway).

When planning, first thing you should do is figure out the date or at least the month you plan on having your show so that you can give yourself a deadline which will keep you motivated. I think the best time's to do it is right before a holiday like Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day and Christmas and it should be on a weekend at the very least. If you do well in one weekend and you have time before that holiday you could extend it to another weekend.

Okay, so you've got the date set. Now, where will you have it? To keep it on the cheap, you can hold the show inside of your house or the house of a friend. If the weather where you live is nice when you plan on having it you could have it in your backyard or your friend's. If you don't have a place to hold your show, you could try renting a place or ask some local shops that could benefit from your show to set up there. But make sure you choose a place that won't be competing with your products, but compliments it. For example if you make and sell jewelry don't go to a store that sells jewelry, find one that sells handbags. You get the idea.

Now you have a place set, wonderful! Now it's time to compile a list of supplies to collect before the big day:

Tables (You can rent these often from party places or you could borrow them from your church or friend)
Business Cards
Information sheet (ask customers to put their name and email so you can send them a newsletter. You can also use this information to tell them that you're going to extend your show)
Pens (for the information sheet)
*Something to display your items on to make them even prettier!
*Some way of pricing
*Cash box
Change for those with big bills (remember to keep track of how much change is yours so you can put it back once the show is done)
*Bags
*Wrapping paper/ tissue paper
*Flier
*A friend
*Refreshments

Not all of what's listed are must have's, some are just suggestions. The items marked with an asterisk will be talked about in detail in another article. So stay tuned!