Comments on: Setting the table

By: Lisa

Lisa — Sat, 01 May 2010 00:23:15 +0000

I’m glad you reminded me of that point – having bought my fair share of handcrafts from bloggers I admire, I know the theory from the point of view of a buyer, but I sometimes forget it as a seller. I do always put my blog address on the business cards I hand out, but I don’t make a point of mentioning it. I think I will talk it up at my next event!

By: Lisa

Lisa — Sat, 01 May 2010 00:15:16 +0000

I thought of that, too. Although they tend to be pricey (and maybe a little too “slick”-looking). I have to keep an eye out for one that’s inexpensive and neat-looking, or at least, alterable.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Sat, 01 May 2010 00:13:28 +0000

That’s true – I was liking the shutters idea, but I never related to the “cottage” theme before. That makes it even better!

By: Lisa

Lisa — Sat, 01 May 2010 00:12:42 +0000

Definitely. I used to have more low-end/cheapish items on my table, but I’d been phasing them out. Probably a mistake! Thanks for the tip.

By: bzzzzgrrrl

bzzzzgrrrl — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 02:06:51 +0000

So, less about table displays (which I know little about), and more about marketing and worth-it-ness:

Remember that some folks are window shopping.
The worth-it-ness may come not from sales at the craft fair, but from folks who like your stuff, pick up a card, wander off, and go shop on the internet without the craftsperson staring at them. Make sure you have a way for shoppers (not just buyers) to find you online later.
And tell people who do pick up cards that they should be sure to visit (or subscribe to) the blog as well as the shop, since you sometimes have giveaways here. You have sold me SO MUCH MORE stuff since I started reading the blog than you ever did before, and it’s not because I didn’t know about you, or like your work; it’s because this blog is fun and entertaining and pretty much an excellent ongoing relationship-builder for prospective customers.

By: tina

tina — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:55:19 +0000

re, work-in-progress photos, how about one of those “frames” that show a slideshow of pictures? you know, the ones that grandparents like…

By: Jenn

Jenn — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:39:29 +0000

Definitely going to agree with those who are suggesting punching up the cottagey feel of your booth. One thought I had is that I’ve seen so many people use shutters to display pieces – I think they would integrate well into your layout, as well as help to construct your retail “cottage”

Take this with a big grain of salt, since I don’t have the guts to go out & sell much of anything. =)

By: Angela

Angela — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:13:20 +0000

I agree with all the comments shown above and just had one thing to add. My mother is a very crafty person and we have a very diverse selection to sell every Christmas.

One area we always try and have is something small for kids. Something cheep that they’ll find fun to play with and will drag them and their mothers to our table. The profit margin on that stuff isn’t usually much, but while the kid’s deciding how to spend his/her allowance, Mom’s looking at the rest of our table. It’s worked very well for us.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 15:14:50 +0000

Thanks for the link – I especially liked their link to a discussion about color.

By: Michele

Michele — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 06:44:56 +0000

There are already some great responses here so mine might be redundant, but after a Google search I found this link that might help. It’s “How to Set up a Craft Booth that Customers Can’t Resist”…hope it helps (:

http://meylah.com/blog/104/How-to-Set-up-a-Craft-Booth-that-Customers-Cant-Resist