Monday, July 6, 2009

4th of July craft show

So the 4th of july weekend has come and gone. My first craft show was saturday July 4th and despite the rain I think it went real well. I had a ton of fun and slept really well that night!

Here is a list of things I learned since doing my 1st show:

*leave enough time to organize your products and have them in your car ready to go the night before the show. It took me 2-3 hours to do this! but saved me tons of time the next morning.

*definitly have floor length table covers--I borrowed some from a friends mom. They definitly make it look more professional and put together. Plus its great for storing all the boxes you bring along.

*make sure you have extra supplies to make additional crafts. I sold out of all my Cubs themed stuff and was able to make extra during the show and sold them as well!

*even if you are tired stand and smile and greet everyone that passes by. Boy was this tiring but well worth it--I had people stop in my booth even if they were just scanning/walking by just because I said Hi to them. Also this helps prevent thieves from stealing since they know you have seen them. I had a chair with me at the show but never used it to sit on instead I held my recipets and bags on it.

*Give yourself plenty of time to set up. Fortunately mine was very simple and I was able to set up in 2 days--I set up tables and peg board the day before and merchandise the morning of. Also make sure you set up merchandise where its not cluttered.

*Make sure you have something to drink during the day-you'll be surprised how dry your mouth/lips get! snacks aren't bad as long as they are not smelly or messy.

*Have someone man your booth for bathroom breaks. I tried to ignore this but when Pat brought over some supplies I forgot at home I was glad to get a bathroom break!

*Do NOT pack up early--even if the show is slow, there are still people walking around and they don't want to be rushed. I was surprised to see many booths starting to pack up 15-20 minutes before the show ended. I stayed open and made a few last minute sales. People appreciated that I wasn't packing up.

*Never tell people how much you made at the show--I had a few RUDE people do this--I just smiled and told them I did well and more importantly I made contacts and had fun.

* I rounded my prices to dollars which worked great for not having to deal with coins less of a hassle

*even if the person does not want a recipet write down what they bought/price for your own records. It shows what sold at the show and a quick way to tally up sales.

*Make sure you get email information from customers and people interested in your products and had out price lists and business cards. I went through about 100 business cards during the show!

*collect and store other craft show applications and do not lose them--I think I picked up applications for 4-5 other shows!

I'm sure there are more tips that I learned and I'll post them as I remember them.

Be on the lookout for show and merchandise pictures coming soon! (hopefully tonight)

Happy Scrapping :)

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