Don't do this at your next craft fair.
You can see there is no organization. When I put everything out, I tried to make it visible, but I was too close to the table to see how crazy busy it looked.
Use a variety of levels. I did have some levels. I used crates and covered them with my purple cloth. You can see the crates in the older pictures below.
That wasn't good enough. I did buy some acrylic stands. They were tiny, and I used them for some of my smaller items, but they still got lost. I can't even point them out to you in the picture.
Sorry, this picture is blurry, but it's the only one I have on this side of the tables. You can see it's so busy. If not for the acrylic boxes, I got those from Michaels in the storage section (p.s. I used coupons cause they were expensive.)
So here is a game you can play try to find the following items in the two pictures above.
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| I'll give you a hint it's in the blurry pic front. |
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| This is a picture from a practice setup showing you the crate I used. |
Well, here are some more close-up pictures of other items. Good luck finding them.
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| This one should be easy, but I would understand if you can't find it. |
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| I gave a hint as to where they are below. |
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| You might see these if you look carefully. |
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| These actually won't be found; they are in an acrylic tray on the far back of a table. |
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| This is a hint as to where you might find one of the items. |
Well, how did you do? See, It is ridiculous we make so many things that really should stand out, but if you are not thoughtful in the setup, they all can get lost, and nothing really stands out.
So what should one do? I was thinking of just putting some items into a bin and having one or two samples sitting outside the bin to get attention. The idea is to get people to pass by and look. Having something catch their eye. The Purse Pal wallets were all in one bin, and they did get noticed.
It seems to me I should also present some items so that ideas of what to use them for are apparent. Sometimes I don't think people know how to use the bags. Some things are obvious, like cosmetics, but I bet you didn't see the pencil cases. I had a whole stack of them in the picture.
If I put the pencil cases on a book which is how they were intended to be used, they might spark some interest, and once people start to look, they notice other things.
Below are a few of my other setups at craft fairs. You might be interested in comparing them or critiquing them. I always enjoy seeing other crafters' setups and seeing if they have some ideas I could borrow. I don't think we should be gatekeepers with these things.
Comment below and let me know what you think. For clarity, I have done many craft fairs; sometimes, I would only be able to get a small space, sometimes too large of one. I have made my own jewelry and was a member of different direct sales groups. That is why the products might be different in the pictures below.
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| Ft. Lowell craft fair, first time here. |
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| Tried to get some takers to join a class I was teaching at an art school. |
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| Still used levels even though the space was small. It works |
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| This has to be my favorite setup. Everything looks organized and clean. There are levels, and it just looks good. |
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| The levels were good here; the foot traffic was slow tho. |
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| I was okay with this setup but not happy with the covers. |
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| You can see everything, but the tablecloth bothers me so much |
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| I eventually put up the side table. It's not apparent here. |
