How much did you spend on your first booth set up?

[#1]

Hello!

I'm a first timer looking for advice on how to display my items at a craft show.

I've never done a craft show before, but decided on one I want to try at the end of March. The fee is less than $40, that fee includes a free table and chairs, it's inside, and it's close to home, and I figured why not?

SO- I've got a few months to plan it out and do some buying. (And lots of making!) I'll be selling jewelry. Right now I don't have anything at all to display it on, do have a couple ideas of DIY projects I can do, but still in a planning stage.

If anyone cares to chime in on any of the following, I'd appreciate learning from what you have to say!!!

-How much did you spend on your first booth set up?
-What is something you spent $$ on for your display that you wish you hadn't?
-Do you have any inexpensive/DIY tips for jewelry display?

Thanks!
Megan

[Former_Member]

Important booth setup information in this thread. Thought a bump up would be good for newbie's....especially those coming out into the craft and art fair scene this season.

[Former_Member]

Newbie's try not to invest too much cash into a display, booth or setup until you see if its what you want. The art fair and craft show business can be pricy. Try to borrow setup items form friends or even rent the first show out.

A good canopy, white canopy with side panels can run upwards of $275.00 or more. Especially if you wish to participate in juried events, a white canopy is mandatory.

Often 'rent-a-centers' have good quality canopies you can rent for a weekend. Check those first before making a huge investment in a canopy unit.

[Former_Member]

Some really great advice in this thread and some of the other threads as well regarding booth displays.
I am going to second not spending much on booth displays. We are all creative artists are we not? Why not put that creativity in to full swing for your displays as well.
For instance I have back drops made out of lattice.Spent $20.00 total for 3 6' tall back drops. I have vintage night stands that holds my pillow cases.
Spent $5.00. Old crates were sanded, painted, partioned and stacked to hold my greeting cards. Spent $8.00
I know others are far more creative then I am. But you get the picture, Think outside the box. I trully believe it will only add to the overall charm of your space and will help separate you from your competitors.

[AuraRosesTreasures]

My first tent was used once. It is not an EZ UP. So I need a little help setting it up. It has a deep blue canopy and back side. This is too dark for my taste.
I would gladly sell it to someone who would enjoy it for a little less than what I paid for it: $65.00
It was a good deal. But I am doing inside markets right now....

[RadicalWorks]

I shared a table, so it was $25 for the table, and the set up was probably $20 or so.

So...$50-$60 for my very first set-up.

[AuraRosesTreasures]

Shows are not for everyone. Get your feet wet with as little investment as possible. Then, determine if you like it and if it works for you.

[Former_Member]

I like to think of my booth display as an extension of my home. My personality, my design ethnic and my compliment to my products.

It takes some time to hon in on what it is you want to say about your work. Before long you'll have that display motion down pat. You'll be able to do a setup with your eyes closed.

Doing art fairs and juried craft events is so much more than WHAT YOUR ETSY SHOP OFFERS....in one weekend event you can touch and sale to more people than what your shop see's in an entire month.

[Former_Member]

Bumping again for the weekend.
Only goes to show that you don't have to break the bank to build a booth display.

[Former_Member]

Introducing this thread for all those preparing to head out for their first event.

Stay true to your budget and your work, your booth is a reflection of you.

[NewBagsByAnOldBag]

marking for later read

[Drakestail]

This was a great read, and something I wish I'd had way back when I started doing shows!

For my first show, I had a $20 table fee, outdoors in a park. We did it with no tent (good thing it was sunny!!), a blue plastic picnic-style tablecloth from the dollar store, some foam-fronted wood stands made by a friend's dad, and a small mirror from the dollar store. All told, we spent maybe $40 to be there. It was NOT very professional looking, but we did well enough, and have really evolved a lot over the years.

[AmysThreadworks]

Good info on this thread!
My kids school is doing a fund raiser craft show in the fall and I think I am going to participate. The way I figure it is if I make some money that is awesome, but if I don't at least the money I paid for a table goes right back to the school. This will be the second year so it will be small and I think a good place for me to get my feet wet. I'm a little intimidated by it all, but it also sounds like a lot of fun!

[CrystalIcing]

Wow! I need to take some lessons from you guys..! My first show I didn't spend too much on my jewelry displays, but over time, I've spent thousands... Oh, and I've only done four shows...
I had to purchase an EZ Up canopy for outdoor shows, a car battery and charger for night and day shows, a dolly, tables, a chair, displays, but mainly I've purchased around a thousand dollars in LED lights. Proper lighting is a MUST for my jewelry. In fact, it's EVERYTHING. It's the one thing that I'm still tackling too.
My jewelry sparkles a LOT, but not much when it's hidden underneath a canopy. My best show that I did was at someone's house. It was an open house that was three hours long. The lighting was perfect, and everyone that came by bought something. Maybe 30 people total, but I sold around $1,000 worth of jewelry..! I also had quite a few custom orders too. I sell MUCH more in person than I do on Etsy. Pictures just never do them justice, and that sucks..!
One thing that I stopped doing was pricing everything on the back of the pendants and all. No one would look underneath it..! I hate having tags everywhere, but I don't know what else to do..! If I go to the bathroom, and the pendants only are marked by a box, then whoever is helping me wouldn't know what price the item is, so they have to all be priced out.

I really need to find easier ways to set up, too. It usually takes me three to four hours, and that's way too long..! Even if I have around 700 pieces... lol.

Best of luck to you!!

[BohemianHollow]

I spent NOTHING!!
It's been about 6 years and I've still spent about $200 on my whole setup. That's the beauty of thrift shops and yard sales. And already having a canopy that I "inherited" from my dad lol! And using what you already have. :P

[cleverbirdboutique]

I spent next to nothing as well.
I borrowed the tables, dolly, and sea shells collected from Florida.
Mine: My husband made my bracelet displays(which he'll be selling soon..there's a pic of them on my FB fan page), I got one of those felt covered jewelry displays as a gift on my birthday last year. I got a few pieces of rolling luggage for free, and I have a display that I got from someone for free that I painted and put sand in it(was a flat votive candle display that I painted black).
I bought a large rubbermaid tote to put pretty much everything in, a king sized sheet to cover my 6 foot table, went to Goodwill and bought a black window curtain for the smaller table, bought a tiny bird cage at Michaels crafts, 2 clamping lamps, and a roll of burlap I got at Walmart 50% off after Christmas.
I plan to add more to my display, but I will visit thrift stores first.

[Former_Member]

For our first show, we spent pretty much nothing. This show was at a local church & we used their table & chairs. We did bring a table cloth to cover the table. Then, we started doing an indoor weekend show at a mall in Ocean City, MD. Just prior to doing this show, we bought our own tables (2 – 6ft) & chairs (I think Cindy got them at Walmart), but still used a white table cloth to cover. I had made a single riser shelf from a white board & riser legs that I got from Ikea. You can get the riser legs in a variety of different lengths. Just screw them into any board & you have an instant shelf. We then covered that shelf with a white lacy cloth. The rest of the products were placed directly on the table, but that would change soon.

After doing this show the first time & seeing what other vendor’s were doing, we decided to invest in our own table covers. We bought a few 1 piece pleated table covers from Premier Table Linens. These are really nice covers. There’s no Velcro to deal with, no real “assembly”. Just place the covers over the table & it slides on & covers all 4 sides. Easy on & easy off. On one of the long sides of the covers there are slits on both corners so we have easy access to under table storage. If I recall, we paid less than $40 for each cover, they’ve very well made & we got them in just a few days. Lots of colors to choose from as well.

So at this point, the tables were looking much better but I was still looking for a better way to display our products. I did some research online & found a nice suggestion from another vendor. He made a 2 tiered rising shelf system by using boards & mini milk crates from the dollar store. So, I went to the dollar store & bought 9 mini milk crates (designed for holding CD’s). Then, I went to Home Depot or Lowe’s & bought a 12’ long pine board about 8” wide, that I had them cut in 2. That gave me 2 – 6ft boards which fit perfectly on the mini milk crates & table. Over these shelves, we drape a white lacy type cloth to cover the boards & crates.

During this time, we didn’t have nearly the variety of soaps that we have today, so I was looking for a way to make our soap table look more “full”. After more research on the net, I found another soaper that was using baskets he got from the dollar store. So, another trip to the $ store & I bought a bunch of baskets. I’d place the baskets on the shelves & the front of the table, then load different soaps into each basket, sure made the table look full. But as we grew, our varieties of soap multiplied & I had to stop using the baskets due to lack of room. Now, I place the soaps directly on the shelves. The last show we did we took 47 different varieties of soap, so I had just barely enough room for all of them when spaced about ½” apart.

Last year, Cindy wanted to upgrade “her” table so we bought a nice wooden riser system from Wudls on Etsy. This is a 3 ft long, 3 tiered wooden riser that assembles & breaks down like a puzzle. Takes all of 10 seconds to put together, so she uses this to display her sugar scrubs. Then, she was at the grocery store & saw a nice wooden shelf unit that totally folds. There’s no assembly. I just take it out of the box, unfold the sides & the shelves fold down in place. Again, takes about 10 seconds to set up. She uses these shelves for her Body Butters & stuff.

Last year, we did our first outdoor show, so we had to buy a canopy. More research on the net & we selected a Caravan canopy with steel frame (heavier than aluminum but more sturdy & less prone to flying away). The canopy came with 4 sides, one side has a zipper in the middle so this one goes in the front of the canopy so customers can come in during bad weather. To further keep the canopy from flying away, after more research on the net, I made a set of tent weights using 4” PVC pipe & concrete. These things are about 40lbs each so I have one for each leg of the canopy. We certainly don’t want our canopy flying off in the wind & damaging another vendors display.

The next thing I’m working on is a lighting system for our displays. Although we usually have decent light at indoor shows, and had enough light during our outdoor show, I think having lights over our products would really set them off more & make it even easier for customers to see all of different varieties. So that’s my next project.

The main thing that I’ve learned so far with our craft show booth, is that it’s definitely an “evolution”. Our display has evolved over time, along with our products. At every show, we learn something. I’ll take some time to walk around to check out other vendors & Cindy will do the same. We’ll see other vendor’s displays & get idea’s to make our own display better or easier to set up & tear down, or better ways to move our products from the car to the venue. It’s a never ending “tweaking” process.

For instance, at our first outdoor show last year, I mentioned that I made weights out of PVC & concrete for each of the legs of our canopy. That took quite a bit of work, i.e., research, planning, going to the store to get materials, then the time it took to mix the concrete, build those weights & let them cure, etc… BUT, at that show, the vendor directly across from me also had weights to hold her tent down, but she used 35lb hexagonal dumbbells. Duh!! Why didn’t I think of that?? What a great & simple solution. The dumbbells are MUCH easier to carry than my hand made weights and since the bottom of the dumbbell is flat, it sits perfect on the ground & don’t have to worry about it rolling around or fastening it to the tent poles. They would also take up much less space in the SUV than my handmade weights. Hmmmm…

IMHO, it’s a never ending process. We started off a few years ago doing small local shows at churches & schools. We still do those because we like to support our community, but we’re now also doing much larger juried shows & festivals with 10’s of thousands of attendee’s. So, I don’t know if our display will ever be “done”. It’s in a constant state of flux. We continue to tweak & upgrade along the way as we get great ideas from other vendors & from doing research on the web.

Knock on wood, we’ve been fortunate in that we’ve made $ at every show we’ve done. We make & sell handcrafted soaps, body butters, sugar scrubs, bath fizzies, etc., so they’re in the basic necessity category & everybody is a potential customer since everyone bathes, or at least I hope!

If you’d like to see some pics of what I’ve been talking about, we have a bunch of them on the timeline of our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/SweetAirSoap.

I like to take pic’s at the shows that we attend & also use our Facebook page to promote our upcoming shows. Scroll down the timeline & you can see how our display has evolved over time.

[Former_Member]

We were fortunate for our first shows; a local shop let us borrow their unused displays, tables and racks. We were able to try out various types of displays and see what worked.

First display set-up, cost less than $50. Visited the 2nd hand store a lot and also watched craigslist.com. So far, we like what we have purchased.

[Former_Member]

I love that these old threads get bumped up for reading and lurking.

Here's another great thread from this awesome team:

https://www.etsy.com/teams/8070/craft-fairs-its-a-living/discuss/10897943/page/2