Crafting for Profit: What to Bring to a Show
After some ridiculously long amount of time I’m resuming my Crafting for Profit series — as you can probably tell I’ve been real busy with other stuff! But I do enjoy doing this series when I have the attention span to spare for it.
This installment is, again, about craft shows — I’ve been focusing on them a lot, and I do plan to talk about other things, but there is so much to talk about when it comes to craft shows…
This one’s a simple list of things you might want to consider bringing along. Some of them I’ve mentioned already, elsewhere — some of them not so much. Some of them perhaps obvious, some of them, not obvious at all until you suddenly realize that wow, I wish I’d brought a one-of-those…
Advertising Materials:
- Fliers — explaining your products, advertising upcoming shows, talking about your home show program…
- Signs — small ones explaining individual products, big ones talking about the philosophy of your business, and one that simply lists your prices
- Business cards
- Web site promotional material
- Signup sheet for your email newsletter
Order processing:
- Credit card slips and machine
- Order slips/receipt book
- Cashbox with enough change
- Pens (seriously, like five or six, it’s amazing how often these will simply disappear)
- Bags/gift boxes/tissue/wrapping paper/tape
Display Materials
- Table
- Tablecloths
- Table risers (to go under the feet of your table and raise it a bit)
- Whatever you put your products on — shelves, risers, boxes, racks
- Sign holders
- Banner
- Tape/rocks/clothespins/string to keep things where you put them
- Price tags
Personal/Other/Random
- Water or something else to drink, in a thermos if appropriate
- Lunch — craft show food is expensive!
- Tissues, especially if you’re not sick and are pretty sure you won’t need them
- Wet wipes/paper towels
- Scissors/tape/string (yes, I am repeating myself here; there is a reason)
- A chair if your back is picky
- A handtruck, dolly, cart, or hefty minion to help with getting the heavy stuff in at the beginning of the day and out again once you’re done
Anything else you can think of? And since I’m beginning to suspect I’ve done this topic to death — what else would you like to see me discuss here?
As a child, I enjoyed watching artisans craft innovative art works, and I often was inspired by them. Handi Works
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