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Yes, if you are working by yourself, you do need to bring a lunch and a chair. I always used a fanny pack. Keep small bills in front and to put the larger bills in back. Bring plenty of change. Good luck and HAVE FUN !!Originally Posted by willowwind
Last edited by ManiacQuilter2; 05-28-2014 at 05:37 AM.
A Good Friend, like an old quilt, is both a Treasure and a Comfort
These are fun. I have done many, and they can sometimes be lucrative and other times not. It so much depends on the weather, who shows up and the phase of the moon (LOL). If you are doing table runners and home items, try to make them in prints for the season, ie brights and patriotic for summer, autumn prints in the fall, holiday later in the year. People do tend to buy what they can use right away as opposed to something to be stored for a while before using.
Ditto to the change, chair, lunch. I also have a cooler with water.
The advice on displaying items is right on point. Think of levels and separating items vertically so they can be seen. You never know what will catch a buyer's eye. Pegboards are great, and I use skirt hangers to display flat items.
Yes! Height is important and will help people notice your stuff from a distance and will make your booth look more interesting overall. If your booth has a canopy of some kind, consider hanging coat hangers or stringing a bungie cord from the bars inside with some of your small & bright goodies clipped up (clothes pins are cheap and appropriate) so they can be seen from far away even if you have people in front of your table.
In addition to change & a chair, etc - consider having some hand sewing projects with you to work on. Some customers want to be talked to, some shop more comfortably if they feel they have a little privacy - try to sense what your customers are like and if they want to feel left alone you can stitch away on whatever you're working on and they won't feel rushed or awkward. Don't ignore them - try to glance up and smile now and then so they know you're available, but don't feel like every person needs (or wants) 100% of your attention. Plus it helps reinforce that the things in your booth are hand made. AND it'll give you something to do when it's slow!
Plastic bags are a good thing to bring too, if you're selling cloth goods that could become dirty.
If you're going to be outdoors, bring something to weigh down lighter items in case it gets windy.
That's all I can think of off the top of my head! GOOD LUCK! I hope you do well.
I like to have most of my items priced with tags either tied or pinned on. If I have a large quantity of a certain item I'll make a sign with the price. When I'm at a craft show I hate to have to ask the vendor the price of an item.
Don't feel bad when someone says "nice work" and then walks away without buying.
make up some cards with your contact info. I've gotten some good customers from them picking up my card and contacting me later.
I Quilt Therefore I Am
Pat
All great tips! I used to do craft shows with my MIL many years ago. It was a fund-raiser event at her church and she always picked up the tab for the $20.00 table rental space. I didn't do quilting way back then. Most places where we live now charge a lot of money to rent a booth, and I'm getting too old for that stuff now.
In addition to all of the above tips which are great, here are a few of my own.
Have several in expensive items that will help to draw customers to your table. If you've got lots of scraps, you could make several pocket tissue holders to have in a basket. Here's the tutorial that I used. Super super easy tissue holder
You can easily make 30-40 of them in an evening if you chain piece them. I work at three different schools each week and made about 40 of these for each of the ladies I work with as a small Christmas gift. You could sell them for $1.00 by themselves, or $2.00 with a package of tissues in them already. They are so easy to make and look adorable.
If you plan on selling any bigger ticket items, you may want to set up an account at https://squareup.com/?sro=1. If you set up an account online, they will send you a free square reader to use with your tablet or smart phone to accept credit cards. You can also get these at places like Best Buy, but you will have to pay $9.99 there. They charge a small processing fee only when you use it. If I was selling a $300.00 quilt, I would much rather pay a 3% fee and know that I don't have to worry about a customer's check bouncing on me. The customer uses their finger to sign for the charge on your touch screen. My daughter has one and it's worked out great for her. You just download their free app to your phone or table to use the device. Many folks carry only a limited amount of cash and may be willing to spend more money if they can use a credit card.
If you are going to use one of these credit card adaptors or would simply like to have access to an electrical outlet to add lights to your table or whatever, you may want to ask if you will have access to an outlet or if there's a charge for it. Be sure to bring one or two heavy duty extension cords and a power strip if you think you will want/need electricity. It also comes in handy for charging your cell phone during a long day.
Depending on how many things you can reasonably put on display at one time, you may want to consider taking pictures of each of the quilts or larger items you're selling and put them into a photo album or sheet protectors in a 3-ring binder. If your information includes prices, dimensions, etc, your customers can look through the binder to see if you have any other items they would like to take a closer look at.
Consider offering bundle prices such as choose one free hot pad with every table runner purchased. Get 3 free tissue holders with each baby quilt. Buy two table runners and save $5.00 off your total purchase. I think you get the picture.
If you have a very comfy lawn chair, you may want to bring it instead of using one of those uncomfortable metal folding chairs that are usually provided. If I have to sit in the same chair for 8 to 12 hours a day, it needs to be a comfortable chair.
A folding snack table always comes in handy to have next to your chair.
I hope you have a very successful sale!
I did it once -- had baby items for sale, burp cloths, receiving blankets, christening bonnets, etc. Every one said things would sell like hot cakes. Didn't sell a thing! Discovered I didn't like the process at all even before the sale -- didn't like having to work on those items instead of a quilt I really wanted to work on. Ended up giving most of the items as baby gifts for the next year.
thanks everyone for the great advice, all this sounds like a lot of work for someone who just wanted to have fun. I decided against doing it this year afterall, although I will certainly keep this info handy for another time. I just don't have the time to put into it, to make everything and take the time to set up etc. Maybe someday when I retire perhaps...sure sounded like fun though. One thing about it, I will have much more appreciation for all those who do booths.
i have changed my mind, I just really want to try this. So I have taken the plunge. Just doing one show only for fun. I will print off all the great tips and suggestions here so I am better prepared. Thanks everyone for your help!!!
If you think you would like to go to this event another time, try to go this year and look at as many vender booths as possible and see how they are displaying, what kind of items they have for sale, and the size of the display. my sister and I rented a double space the last two years which was 10 by 20 ft space...that seemed like such a large area, but when we started setting up and them when people started coming into our space it seemed crowded.
thanks Barb_MO for the advice. I am actually heading out in a few minutes to two diffrent crafts show. Meeting a friend and plan to have a great day. I hope to find some goodies to buy and take mental notes for next year. I do enjoy these shows.
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