Small booth anxiety

[WhimsyBits]

Does anyone else have this?? I have one show where we only get an 8x6 booth (and it's not cheap so I can't get a double space) and it gives me so much anxiety each year! This year I finally took the time to set it out in my driveway and figure out a solution but so help me god, if i get there, do that setup and i'm still smashed with no room to move I will be so mad! lol

I can't even think about doing a show less than an 8x6 space because I have no idea where I would put all my stuff! (I utilize mainly gridwalls and this year I have some shelving units and at one show I have enough space to use a 4 ft table. )

[weekendjewelry1]

Dawn, I feel your pain. I always had small items at shows (mostly earrings, this was before I sold supplies) so at least a limited booth space meant I could still show a lot of stuff - when I went vertical anyway. You're going vertical some kinda way, right?

I hope it's a great show for you :-)

[CoquetteBath]

I hate poky spaces like that!

and I hear you, the less space, the less you can display and thus, likewise, the less income you can theoretically generate.

If you can rig some stands on top of a table, you may be able to get enough vertical to make it work. Hope you can.

[WovenByKim]

Can you also pull some grid wall in the way Carol does? I have done that and I have also added a 2 foot section of gridwall on each end of the table for certain things.

Keeping plenty of stock under the table is a good idea as well. Since you can sell a piece and plug something right back in that hole.

[JustMeToo]

I figure we pay for the floor space but it goes right up! I love gridwall too! If I have a walk in booth, the gridwall is all along my back wall, and side, if I can. If I have a booth where I am behind my table, two gridwall are right up against the back of the table, leaving two feet wide for me - which barely does it, haha! Sometimes, I use three, wrapping one around the end of the table as well. At my biggest show, I have a 15 foot x eight foot booth. I have fifteen feet of gridwall, and eight feet of gridwall down one side! Go up! Use it all!
I wish you great success at your shows, Dawn!

[Former_Member]

Dawn, I can't stand the small spaces either. Our display is designed for a 10x10 space. We've done a 10x8 with not too much problem. An 8x6 wouldn't work for us, probably. We have so many products that we need a specific amount of space for the tables that hold all our product.

However, we can sometimes get by with a smaller space, IF, we have the corner/end. If it's an inside space and less than 10x10, forget it. BUT, if it's on the end/corner, then we can set up in an outside L and usually can make it work.

All of the major shows that we've been doing for the last 4/5 years, we have an end/corner location. They're all 10x10 and with the corner, we have plenty of room behind the tables for everything. We've done other shows with smaller spaces, but end/corner locations that worked out well.

So for us, if we can get a corner/end space, we can usually make it work at a variety of booth sizes. But if we have an inside the row location, it's gotta be a 10x10 or we'll take a pass.

[PaperButterflyForge]

I have an ongoing table issue with this. I never know which space I'm going to be assigned until I get there. (yes, it's worth it.) Each of the spaces is also a slightly different shape. I found by building a modular display that I can easily rearrange helps. Thinking of it as a lego building set vs. a perfect static display helped me a lot. If the space is too small for everything that day, I take the least performing products out of the mix for that day.

[WhimsyBits]

Last year i used only gridwalls because everything I had was hanging. This year I need more table top space so I was able to find some cheap, small and tall plastic shelving to help with that and I bought some shelves that attach to the gridwalls.

There is one "trendy" show I will call it... lots of major crafts do that show but the space they give you is TERRIBLE. and I can't believe people pay the price they do to be a vendor there with a tiny area. I think it's like a 4x6, maybe. Possibly smaller.

That's the plus side to most outdoor shows... you get a fairly decent booth size plus some space around you (or at least that was my experience in my 1 season of outdoor shows.

Plus it takes me FOREVER to set up so that gives me anxiety as well if my layout plan isn't working lol

[BlueTurtleCrafts]

I'm with you Dawn!
My Christmas show just cut down from 10x10 to 8x8 - eek that's a big difference! 6x8 would be insane - that's practically one table!

I'm torn whether to loose a table or just let people squeeze in :)
Luckily I have narrower tables (2x4) so that is better than the 2.5x6 I had before.

It takes me forever to set up too - I'm not a big fan of figuring it out on the fly. I'm working on some pre-loaded displays for this year that will hopefully make it much easier.

[HummingbirdCraftsLLC]

I do not like small spaces either, but just work upward as you and other have stated....Hope it is a wonderful show for you besides all that! :)

[WhimsyBits]

So I thought I had my small booth all figured out and I felt good. Until I set up for my first show this past weekend, which is an 8x8 but I was allowed to do 1.5 booths since some people cancelled. Most of my stuff is not an issue but I have quite a few prints that I need to have displayed and even condensing them A LOT I have no idea how i'm going to have gridwall space to display them all at the show with the tiny booth. And I'm already minimizing my table top space down to almost zero because there's no room for that either.

My only hope is that the person next to me sets up their booth like they did last year (I already know it's the same vendor) so then that entire side of my gridwall will be open for me to use as well. *fingers crossed*

[WhimsyBits]

good luck kathy! I'd probably have a heart attack if a show made my booth smaller lol

This show could utilize so much more space if they would offer some different sized booths vs just one booth or double booth. I would even pay extra if I could get like 1.5 booth spaces!
But I suppose I shall make it work ;)

[Former_Member]

I couldn't even begin to setup in an 8 by 6 foot space. For all of my indoor shows, I always get double 10 x 10 spaces . . . one show I even get 3. For my outdoor shows I can get by with one space because they're bigger than just 10 by 10.

I've passed on some shows that look pretty promising because of the size of their spaces.

[WhimsyBits]

I wish I could get a double booth but that eats into my profits way too much. A few years ago I could have at this show but my sales haven't been very consistent for the past few years.
I think on the eval this year I might mention it... the show has been around for awhile and it's very successful so I doubt they'd care but arggg it's so frustrating! lol I pay $100 for the 8x6 and my other large show (this weekend) I pay $150 for a 12x9 and that show is by far more successful and a longer running show so I'm not quite sure where this school got the idea they could charge so much for a small space. But obviously it worked because they fill up easily. And some people even have to set up in rooms up or down stairs - no elevator (not quite sure how they get away with a school having no handicap access) so i just count my blessings that I was able to get a spot on the main level. (phew - early morning rant lol)