Since we had many absences
in September and this is
definitely the time to be
thinking about craft shows, I
wanted to put my presentation
from September into an article
for the newsletter. I spent an
hour and a half talking, but I
won’t make you spend that
long reading!
Getting into craft shows is
actually relatively easy. Most
are juried, which means that a
committee will ask you either
to come in person with
samples of your work or will
review your work through
photos, slides, or, now more
commonly, pictures on a CD.
My advice is to do only
juried craft shows. The quality
overall is much higher which
pushes you to a higher
standard but also puts you in
a higher bracket of quality.
The Northern Virginia
Handcrafters Guild (NVHG, at
nvhg.org) is a great way to
learn about being successful
in craft shows. They meet
once a month inside the
Beltway on Rt 50. They
sponsor craft shows and have
a very stringent jurying
process, good for five years,
and then you have to be
rejuried. This ensures that
quality stays high. Most craft
shows will just have a show
fee but some will charge a
percentage rather than an up-
front fee. It is always wise to
visit a craft show one year
before you decide to
participate the following year
to see if it is a good fit for
your work.
Presentation is everything.
You must get people into
your booth or they won’t buy.
The secret to success is
Height and Light. Present
your wares at different heights
and have them well lit. You
can use riser blocks, shelves,
pedestals, or whatever will
help you display at multiple
levels. Compare that to
having everything laid out on
a table top – boring! Cover
tables with cloth down to
within an inch of the floor.
That makes those tables look
so much better plus gives you
a place to stash stuff. You
can use display stands, shelf
units, or whatever will allow
you to display your wares in
multiple ways. That all adds
interest to your display and
attracts folks into your sales
area. There is a member of
the NVHG who lives in
Culpepper who makes craft
show furniture such as shelf
units in different sizes, sales
stands, display racks, etc. If
you would like his info, let me
know at tboley@erols.com
and I’ll send it to you.
If you display outdoors, you
will need a tent. If it stays up
overnight, you should have
zippered sides on your tent
even if you remove all your
wares over night. The dew
can make a mess of your
shelves if left open all night so
buttoning up is a good idea.
That way, you can leave your
set-up in place but put your
wares in boxes and take them
with you for the night. Tents
tend to be like big umbrellas
in the wind so be sure to
have anchors for the corners,
either heavy weights or even
tent pegs and line. I made
four 30-lb concrete weights
with eye bolts in the tops as
anchors. I painted ‘em white
to match the tent and they
look just fine. Remember, you
want to attract people into
your display area so you want
everything to look attractive.
If you do many outdoor
shows, you will probably want
to develop some kind of
flooring to use in your tent so
you can have your shelves
and such on a solid and
relatively level surface.
Sometimes even a large
piece of carpet will be
sufficient.
The objective, of course, is
sales. Greet everyone who
comes in your booth and let
them know you appreciate
them coming in. Encourage
‘em to pick up pieces – if they
pick it up, the chance of
buying increases dramatically.
Don’t be pushy, but be
W
hat I've Learned
Making a Good Show at a Craft Show
Tom Boley