Preparing for a Market: A Guide

It's a scary thing doing craft fairs, shows, markets, bazaars, whatever you want to call it. You are sticking yourself out there for all to see, be critiqued, and your report card at the end of the day is how much you sold. No pressure, right? 

I've been doing shows for several years now, and I wanted to share what I've learned so far and how to prepare. Granted, I am by no means an expert in this, but there is something to be said for having experience under your belt. Hopefully in me sharing this, you can have a smoother start to things than I did. ;) 

 

What you should bring:

- all the money stuffs: a card reader, sign saying that you accept cards, change (lots of smaller bills!), receipt book

- Phone and charger

- Calculator 

- Tape

- Twine

- Scissors

- Safety Pins (they go with me everywhere, actually)

- Custom Order sheets

- Price tags

- Pens and Sharpies

- A notebook just in case

- Business cards and something to hold them 

- An inventory sheet with all the product your brought listed

- Paper bags to sent with your happy customer

- Snacks and water

- A small trash can (no, seriously, you need one)

- ALL the display pieces!

- Tablecloths 

- Table and chair depending on what the market suppplies

- A shop logo or banner so people know who you are ;) 

- Breathmints (because sitting there chewing gum isn't keeping things classy, kids)

- Deodorant (self explanatory) 

- Busy work to prevent boredom during lulls, but don't start playing on your phone. It's hard to be engaged in the moment when you're glued to a screen. Besides, people love to watch you making something! They get an immediate connection to you and what you do.

- Your beautiful creations that you're selling (duh)

- A friend to keep you company and help you out! And who doesn't need an excuse to spend the day hanging out with their bestie? 

This is just a preliminary list. As you go along, you'll figure out what works for you, what you have to have, and what you don't necessarily use. 

So beyond the 'day-of' kit and your product, how else can you prepare for a craft fair? 

Let's start with how you plan to display your pieces. If you want to be able to sell your product, customers need to be drawn into your booth and be able to see what you're selling. How you set up your display can make or break a market day. You want customers to easily see what you have to offer at a glance because as they walk by they are making the split second decision to check things out or not. I'm still working on my booth design; granted, I don't think a booth design is ever set in stone. For mine though, I have a unique challenge of blending at least 3 people's worth of product into the space and make it cohesive. It has gotten better as I've figured out better display options. My booth has been described as whimsical and eclectic. I'll take that over what felt like chaos when I first began. Something that I found helpful was to have some sort of piece that just GRABS the attention. For me, it's a vintage sewing machine that I'm trying to sell. People are drawn in, start talking, and usually end up buying something. Magic sewing machine? :shrugs: There are boat loads of display ideas online to help you get a jump start on that (make a Pinterest board to help organize your thoughts). I would recommend not figuring it all out the day before the market. ;)

Pricing your product is hard. Legit hard. People are typically not willing to pay what your product is actually worth. My general rule of thumb is (cost of materials) + (hours to make x your hourly rate). For some things that works out great! If you can whip something out with very few materials, bonus points for you! Other things don't work out so well. I try to have an array of things in my booth running the gamut of price ranges to help balance things out. 

Setting up and taking down are typically the times that I work up a sweat. :P Before the big day, I make sure I have a 'practice booth' to get an idea of what I want things to look like, snap some pictures on my phone, and pack things in an attempt at an orderly fashion so that set up is quick and effortless. Save your energy to push through a long day, not stressing with set up. And a quick note - don't start cleaning up your booth at the end of the day until the allowed time. It's rude to customers mulling about when you pack it up early. It signals to customers that they've overstayed their welcome and they won't shop anymore. You can lose sales, cause others to lose sales, and make yourself not get invited back as a vendor. Just don't do it, kids. 

A special note for the introverts. Most people I know who make things are introverted to varying degrees. They retreat to their craft and flourish making amazing things, but not really having an outlet to share what they do because of their nature. I AM ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE! When I worked retail, it wasn't the work itself that was exhausting, it was all the peopling though the ENTIRE day. Being an introvert and doing craft shows takes a lot out of you. I found this blog article to be really helpful and encouraging. There are a lot of excellent pointers and ideas to help you get through the day. ;)

Hopefully you found something helpful in that brain splat! Do you have any other ideas or pointers that you have found invaluable? Leave a comment below! 

Until next time!

SG