Got invited to set up a booth, need your thoughts & opinions please
 

What suggestions would you have on setting up a booth at a vendor fair?
I would have just smaller items, baby quilts, burp cloths, quilted pot holders and such. Quilted Mug rugs, among other things. It sounds like fun to do once anyway as I am not concerned about making big money, just more the experience of it. Any ideas or thoughts, suggestions is appreciated. Do I need a peddler license for a vendor fair? I would be new at this and would like to educate myself as best as I can. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

First of all congratulations! You will have fun!
(2) regarding the vendor license, I'd ask who ever invited you what things you need to know like this, as it varies from state to state and place to place.
(3) depending on where it is, or what it's for there may be a booth fee, or a % of sold fee. Be sure and ask a@ this before hand.
(4) you will probably need to bring your own tables / items for set up howevee if it's at a church or banquet hall sometimes they will provide the tables. If so ask if they charge for using them, some places do.
(5) use a solid. Lor table cloth for displaying your it's, as a solid color / print will distract from the colors of the items you have for sale.
(6) if you have a peg board piece you could use place hook on it to hang any item you could, bibs, bags, .....
(7) if you have a baby dool size crib/ rocker ...use this to displays the baby quilts in / on.
(8) condor taking orders if your interested in doing this. If so make some business cards (can be done off home computer without a program, very easy to do) then take a note book for I do.
(9) if a you code to make a custom item, get Atleast 12 of the payment BEFORE you start.
(10) if your interested in doing this take some samples of the fabric you have or know you can get more of
(11h most of all HAVE FUN!

Don't know if this was the kind of advice/suggestions you were looking for but I hope it helps you out!

Thanks, it is exactly what I am looking for! I am not looking to take any orders, nor do I want too! I only want to do this for fun and the experience. I would like enough to cover my booth cost if possible if not that is ok too, there is a small fee. I have plenty of items in mind that I could work up quickly, and I have plenty of time to build a supply of items. Thanks for your suggestions and tips!

Be sure to look into the laws on collecting sales tax and reporting.

I joined a quilting ministry at my church last year. We participate in a craft fair in November to get the money to buy quilting supplies and fabric for the year. We make quilts for the sick. The big hit last year at the fair was table runners. There were 20 some and they sold out quickly. Profits were $900+. Hope you do as well.

Visual displays always help. Maybe a doll crib for the baby quilts etc. maybe table runner,which sell good here to, with glasses or dinnerware on one, Potholders in a cute basket. Sometimes people just need to be nudged in the right direction. How many times have we said why did'nt I think of that.

If there is any way you can get some of your items displayed at eye level, do that! A peg board was mentioned, you can hang stuff on small garment racks or hall trees for example.

Don't forget lunch, & a chair. Find out where it held at before the day of, take enough change with you & have a buddy or relief n case you have to go to the bathroom. this might sound petty, but all of them are important. I've doing a vendor fair soon, after many years. Just watch your merchandise &your cash, & purse if you take one. A fanny pack would be a good idea & dress for the weather. Good luck.

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. :)

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 !!

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.

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. http://www.quiltingboard.com/tutoria...r-t107636.html
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.

I have many years of experience (27years) doing craft fairs...You need to figure out how much each item costs you to make. If it takes 1/2 yard of fabric, batting, thread...add it all up and at least dbl the cost...it should be a lot higher.
If you are only making enough to cover your booth cost, you are losing money. You need to earn plenty over the cost to actually make money at the craft fair.
A solid table cover that covers to the ground is ideal. This way your empty bins don't show.
Illinois requires you to collect sales tax...and report it. You would have to contact Springfield to find out the details.
(Yes, there are people that don't collect it or say that it is included in the cost...risky)
Good luck!! Remember to bring your best smile...the customers love to see it.

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 your expectation is to try it out and just have fun you'll be fine. If things don't sell well you won't be overly disappointed and if they do it will be great.

If there is any way to find out who else will be there that would be helpful too. If there are a lot of vendors selling potholders or burp cloths for example you will have a lot of competition and have to price accordingly and if you are not in an ideal location buyers will have already purchased potholders etc. before they get to you. Having something unique or being the only one or one of few with like products will really help.

Knowing who will be there will help with your pricing as well. If you are going to be surrounded by a lot of high end products (hand turned wooden bowls, metal sculptures, fine art etc) you can price things higher than if you are surrounded by more crafty items.

Quantity discount pricing can also boost sales such as $2 each or 3 for $5.

How you display your items will be key to getting people's attention. If you have Christmas ornaments try to have them on a small tree, have things at different levels. Try not to just have things on a table.

Other suggestions given here are good to follow.

I was just invited to be a vendor at Western Welcome Week in Littleton, Colorado. Guess what? The invitation was late and totally unexpected. I don't have enough items ready to sell. If I worked day and night for the next three weeks I could probably have enough. I am too old to work that hard. So take heed; if you ever think you might, maybe, if only, want to do a booth in the near, or far future. For goodness sakes, have some inventory ready. Sigh...

Appreciate all the great advice, the things that don't sell I will gift at Christmas or donate to a local charity fundraiser. a win win. You got some great ideas and advice that will be very helpful. Thank you.

I do have a hard time keeping inventory, between my friends and me we can always use a gift for someone's birthday or who is ill so into my stash we go. I do have several months notice on this, and since it is to be for fun, I am not overly concerned on stocking piling too much. My attitude is if it sells it sells if it dont it don't, if I run out I run out. I want a nice amount of items there yet I don't want to look like I am running a factory LOL. We shall see how it turns out.

Just an update. I did it. I had my first vendor fair. I made my booth rent back and plenty more. I met great people too. All and all, a good experience. Got lots of great tips from here and ideas on what to do and what not to do! I feel so lucky and blessed.

Wow, such amazing advice from everyone! Glad you had a brilliant day at the fair!

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.

Congrats on a successful vending experience! I am glad to hear that you did this. Something tells me that you are also outgoing, friendly, approachable! Nothing worse than seeing someone hide behind their booth and never interact with the shoppers. It makes it easy for shoppers to just look and walk away.

Sandy

Take along a friend so you can get a potty break or coffee. Also bring LOTS of change, especially in the beginning. It's tough making change for a $50 when you brought only change for a $20. Also friend can watch booth while you shop.












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I appreciated reading everyone's comments. I am about to do my first bazaar tomorrow. DH (wood turned bowls & little wooden boxes) and I will be sharing a booth. He is my best friend anyway, so we should have fun. It should give us a feel for deciding if we ever want to do it again. :D

dSandy,thank you! yes, I do like engaging with people....I like seeing how the other vendors set up. I did notice some vendors were more outgoing than others. I got a whole year to prepare this time. I have a journal for notes and ideas too.

I hope you do well, and have fun and enjoy the day. Please keep us informed as to how things went for you and yr dh.

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.