I recently participated in a craft show at a local church and did everything wrong!!!  Can you relate? 

• I planned too many different kinds of crafts.  I tried to stick to the rule of having different priced items from the low end to the high end.  I purchased too many supplies and I never even got to half of my stuff.  I just couldn’t finish everything that I had planned.  This just left me feeling overwhelmed and unsuccessful before the craft show even got started.

• I may have over priced my items.  This is really a hard one because a lot of people will look at your items and go “I can make that” or “I can buy that at “wherever” fora lot less.  People don’t understand all the hours, blood, sweat and tears that go into your craft items!  Not to mention the cost of supplies.

• I forgot to have an email signup list so that I could keep in contact with new customers and let them know when I’ll be at another craft show.  Also, keep them aware of new items that I’ve added to my Etsy/Website Shop.

• I forgot to have a drawing for a FREE gift so that people could give me their information. Everyone likes to get something for FREE!

I was so stressed out and worked to the very last minute. It was so stressful and had a hard time focusing.

Week of the Craft Show Disaster

It all started on Monday evening (the week of the craft show) my dog, Maggie (80 pound Australian Shepherd) stepped on my right foot while we were playing in the backyard.  I have no idea what she did or how it happened but I believe that she broke my little toe and badly bruised my foot. 

Tuesday afternoon after working all day on craft items, my foot was swollen and throbbing.  So I thought I’d take a rest and prop up my foot for a while but unfortunately, I never returned to my craft room to finish up a few projects.

On Friday morning, I’m trying to fix a resin wood slice ornament by cutting off the drips on the back with a Xacto knife.   I kept thinking to myself “you are going to cut your finger” and sure enough…I did!  I may have needed a stitch or two but quite frankly, I just didn’t have time.

On Saturday afternoon, after I got everything packed up from the craft show, I realized that I never took a picture of my booth setup.  I did a Facebook Live but everything was close ups of my products…not the booth itself!

All this to say, I should have planned more efficiently and not try to do “all the things”. So, I decided that I’d share with you “Ten Tips For Having A Successful Craft Show” and learn from my mistakes.

 Ten Tips For Having A Successful Craft Show

1.    Decide on your craft items

• Don’t try to do everything

• Have a variety of priced items from $ to $$$

• Plan for your audience – if your craft show is at a church then maybe have a few Christian themed items

• Purchase supplies for a few items and finish them before purchasing everything you think that you are going to need, unless you receive a price break for a certain amount

• Work on your items as soon as you purchase your supplies so that if you need anything else you are not in a rush at the last minute. Don’t procrastinate like me!

• I wanted to do make all these fall items but unfortunately I didn’t get to them. So now I have all these fall leaves, ribbons, acorns, pine cones, etc. Now I have to figure out where to store everything until next year.

2.    Be organized

• I purchased eighteen $1.00 plastic shoe boxes from Walmart and put all like items in each box.  This way everything is easy to locate.  After the new year, I’ll swap Fall/Christmas items out for Spring and Easter.

• Try to have everything organized so that you aren’t spending most of your time looking for that item that you know you purchased but just cannot seem to find. (I purchased some wire to use as a hanger about three weeks ago and I still haven’t found it!!!)

• At the craft show, if you are selling ‘made to order’ items don’t forget to bring your order forms.  I suggest that you use a clipboard with a pen attached with a string.  You can find order forms on Etsy or just make your own.

• Be sure and check your packing list and make sure that you have everything that you are going to need. You can download a “Vendor Checklist” in my FREEBIES section.

3.    Remember you are not the buyer - Don’t just make what you would purchase

4.    Plan out your vendor display

PRESENTATION

• Presentation is everything!  It’s the first thing that buyers see in your booth. This will determine if they want to check it out or just move on the next booth.

• If you are selling clothing or wearable items, be sure to have a mirror so that the customer can see what the item looks like on them.

• Things need to look neat and well put together.  Arrange like items together and have things on different levels.  Remember this is your ‘store’ so make it visually appealing.

• Don’t put everything out if possible.  If people see that you have five or more items of something they want, they may decide that they will come back later because you have so many extras and then unfortunately, more time than not….they never do!

DISPLAY ITEMS

• Tablecloth – solid…not a busy print.  The best thing to start out with is a flat sheet from Walmart. I found this one online but you can usually find them in stock at Walmart.  A lot of people are using the spandex tablecloths that can be purchase on Amazon.  They come in all different colors and table sizes. Remember start small and then if you are successful, purchase items to make your booth look more professional.  Remember….the goal is to make money!

• Crates or Shelving – you want to add height to your table display.  One the cheapest way is to purchase wooden crates from Michaels.  Not only do they look good but you are able to store items in them when you are done. 

CHECKOUT STAND

• Have a checkout stand so that you aren’t sitting behind a table trying to awkwardly take their money and package everything up.  Have everything in one place.  This doesn’t have to be anything complicated.  My friend, Christian, at Makerie Day, has an awesome checkout stand that she made from 4 crates from Michael’s and a wooden top. She added hooks on the side for her shopping bags and had a place to put all her personal items out of sight. You can find all kinds of ideas on Pinterest.

•  Be sure and have shopping bags.  These do not have to be expensive.  I purchased these plastic bags from Amazon and they come in a variety of colors. I purchase a larger size so that I could use them for all my merchandise.

5.    Price all your items. 

• People don’t want to have to ask how much something is. 

• Use your business card as your price tags. 

• Make Tent Card signs that had prices for people to see.

6.    Don’t overbook yourself

• Don’t feel like you have a to a craft show/fair every weekend unless you know that you are going to have enough merchandise for each one. 

• You don’t want to do sloppy work because you are trying to do too much

7.    Money

• If possible, accept Credit Cards. I use the Square Reader for my credit cards.  I have the contactless Square Reader which runs about $50.00. According to their website - “every dip or tap payment is just one flat rate: 2.6% + 10¢”.

• Have cash/change available. I was amazed at how many people purchased items with cash.  I never carry cash but I was glad that I had brought $150.00 in small bills ($50.00 in ones, fives and tens) 

8.    Charge Tax or not

• I found it much easier to increase my prices so that I didn’t have to figure out tax.

• I kept everything at $5.00, $10.00, etc.  This way I didn’t have to bring a calculator or coin change.

9.    Advertise

• The number one complaint that I hear from vendors is that the promoter didn’t advertise very well.  My question is “what did you do to advertise”?  Don’t rely on someone else.  If you want to be successful, you have to do your part as well. Post on Facebook a few weeks ahead. Create an event and invite everyone on your contact list.

• Have business cards for people who like your items but aren’t ready to purchase yet.

• Have a sign that has your logo so that people know who you are.

• Make a sign with your logo so that people can stand behind and take pictures with their friends.  This way they won’t be just tossing out your business card as soon as they get home!

• Don’t forget to have business cards.  I made my business cards on canva.com.  I was even able to order straight from them and received 150 for less than $25.00.

10. Take pictures of your booth so that you can get a clear picture of any changes that you need to make for the next show.

Signing up for your first craft show can be exciting and intimidating.  Just think small for the first one or two shows so that you can figure out what people are buying.  Also, take notes of things that went well and things that didn’t.  This will allow you to improve the next time you have a show.

Good luck on your craft show and I hope that these tips gave you a bit of inspiration.  If you have any questions, please comment below and I’ll be glad to help in any way that I can.