Pictures of craft fair setup - Please post!

[beetlepose]

Here is a picture of my latest set up.  It was a 5 day art/craft show. 

[rachelyra]

hawkwolf i love your work!  lots of dimension in your display.

beetlepose, i think your display is good on the unity front.  i think it's often helpful to have the display look unified - i've found too many things or too much variety comes out looking junky even if the things themselves are not.

[PirateKisses]

wow. these are all so cool. Were most of the displays handmade? I am about to do my first craft fair....I have to either buy or make a clothes rack, though, since I deal in handmade clothing, among other things (jewlery, purses. assorted trinkets)

[ilsunbum6]

I WISH I HAD MY CAMERA I NEVER THOUGHT TO TAKE PIC OF MY BOOTH, BUT FOR MY JEWELRY DISPLAY......I DID THIS I GOT A FEW YARDS OF BLACK VELVET FABRIC FROM WAL MART AND TAPED TOGTHER A BUNCH OF THOSE PRIORITY MAIL PACKING BOXES TO MAKE MY RISERS DRAPED THEM IN THE BLACK VELVET AND IT TURNED OUT REALLY NICE, CHEAP TOO (POSTAL BOXES ARE FREE) BUT IT DID NOT LOOK CHEAP...........JUS T MY 2 CENTS

[Smaction]

I've been employing bulletin boards for my jewlery displays. I found some cheap ones, spray painted the border silver, then stapled a piece of black fabric to the corking. One small board sits on a small easel for showcasing necklaces. The large board, for earrings, is actually attached to to the table. There are two long pieces of wood that supports the bulletin board, and those are attached to a flat piece that sits on top of the table (perpindicular to the board). Two c-clamps from the hardware store attach the perpendicular piece to the table. We actually extended the two support pieces to rise above the bulletin board and attached a sign to it with velcro. Anything else we use for our misc. products goes into whatever I can find cheaply or around my house...a fruit bowl for some scarves, two small crates for photos, a plate for some pin cushions shaped like food, a stuffed animal holds some keychains...

[rachelyra]

I've started doing something that is working out well - i have ponytail holders and scarves that are always hard to display because people never know what they are.  I have a cigar box and a suitcase-style purse that i've ripped all the guts out of.  The inside of the lid has "handmade scarves - $25" and for the ponytail holders there are also a couple of pictures of people wearing them.  they pack up lickety-split and travel super well - protecting my work and minimizing hte stuff i have to carry at the same time!  i do a lot of my sales with a hand truck on foot from my house so compact is key.

[calicoon]

Great ideas, everyone. My friend who I share booths with is always having issues with a top-heavy clothes rack. Any ideas, besides getting more racks?
   

This pic is of a festival that Amaryllisroze and I did in September. It had POURED rain up to an hour before starting time. I brought my Astroturf sheets to keep from gettng muddy.
   I hang my potholders from clothesline, which I've knotted at 8" intervals. It is cheap, easy, and eye-catching. The ropes would also work for you purse gals.

This photo is from a much drier, hotter time--Gypsy Caravan. My friend bought the Astroturf, as we were on a blacktop parking lot, and wanted to keep a bit cooler. It worked quite well, and may have even brought in more customers, as it was different.
  Also note the cinder blocks tied to the tent pole legs. Don't be one of those folks whose booth blows over and takes out all your neighbors!
  Please ignore my sweaty, messy hair. It was so hot that even though I drank lemonades all day, I didn't have to pee. St. Louis weather blows.
   Looking at the first photo, I really need to make/buy a better tablecloth that goes over the sides.
   Any other suggestions?

[rachelyra]

a unified look is always good.  if you love that astroturf (sounds like you need it!) then maybe a tablecloth that coordinates better?

[little button]

don't have pics, but must have learnt a bit from my parents 

As most have figured out presentation is important, to draw people and thus potential customers - flick (I'm mean just a quick glance) through the pages in this post and which pictures catch your eye? - those that do, ask yourself why.

Some general pointers I have:
Don't over display  - too many products are likely to confuse and make it difficult to see what is actually for sale.
 
Don't do too many lines - my parents just sold 2 main lines at the beginning, concentrating on getting them right, then introduced other lines to see what worked or not.

Display name (& contact #/webpage) prominately  - dependant on name, gives an idea what is sold, associates your name with your product (eg customers don't mix up you with another similar supplier), potential customer may take note of name to contact later date.  A lot of the pics have large blank space to rear of stall or on the side of the gazebos where a name could go (hanging off the side of a table is fine if nobody is standing there, but hopefully that will not be the case  )

demos draw crowds in - have another person to take the money for sales

I'm not too keen on the see through display walls - seeing what is behind the wall distracts from the product.

price - sellers worry about things being too expensive, but also being too cheap is an issue.  1. you are not competing with walmart etc & 2. people may think there is something wrong with it

hope this can be of help 

[tattooedjess]

I finally had my first big show this past saturday (3/3/07).

My dad found three sets of tall, thin, bi-fold doors and we put them to good use. He anchored them on a 3'x3' piece of thin plywoodmaking one set stationary in the center with a set flanking each side. The end door was not secured so it could be pushed out or pulled in depending on the size of bag that would be hanging. We then got all of the metal hangers from our workshed that hold up our non-exsistant tools on a pegboard and just drilled holes to put them in.

It worked really well and is easy to take apart and transport.

I also had a small table for stationary, mailing list sign up and my business card. On an old record player table I had a wash tub with hats and a small tv stand with zippered pouches. My main colors were green & orange and it seems to bring people in despite me being stuck behind a pillar. It was an akward space. Instead of 8'x8' like most spaces were, mine was closer to 7'x14'. But we made it work.