Setting out your booth...

[UKRay]

When I first started working with leather and selling leathergoods back in the early 1970s, the world was a very different place. A lot less sophisticated. My best sellers were belts, bags and neck purses. I made hundreds and hundreds of them and stocked three shops. Coming back into the business after this much time is starting to make me feel uneasy. I'm not sure I still know the rules and hope that the forum will be able to help me out a little.

I am planning to sell my leathergoods at country fairs, re-enactment events and other small to medium sized gatherings. I want to create the best possible show and I have a few ideas of my own about what people want. I do think people will still buy hand tooled belts, I don't think they will buy as many thonged bags and I can't really imagine that neck purses will fit into my inventory at all. What do you think? What sells best for you? Do you think it would work for other people?

More importantly, what is the best way to display and sell my stock? I have a couple of belt racks and a flat table but that simply isn't inspired enough. Show me the pictures of how you do it where you come from. Let's talk about 'best practice' worldwide and see if we can learn as much from each other as we did with that fantastic leather casing thread a week ago.

If you sell to the general public in a shop or booth can you please post pictures of your operation here and tell us what sells best so we can all share your knowledge and experience?

[rdb]

For those of us without going shop concerns, or Big City Populations, it's a struggle. We are forced to load the trucks, and wend our way down the highways to the various fairs. So I'm all for this discussion.

Not too mention us old guys starting up again in a new age..sheesh.

Here's a pic of my "test booth" for a local weekend Flea market. Definitely not enough stock here, but a little bit of everything.

Being a former carpenter, I went for simple, and used some saw horse brackets to make the belt racks. They are okay for now, but in a small 10x10 space, they eat up valuable floor space.

I have a small workbench to size belts, and make some things while I'm there.

Most people just walk by, so the front show is very important to draw them in. The belts on the front rack got so felt up, I was ready to call the vice squad...lol

Jordan showed a pic of his setup recently, and looked nice and clean.

I've seen some nice setups before with hair on skins covering all three sides, and things draping down from the canopies. It gets a real cozy feel to enter. Customers like that kind of setup. Lots to look at, and comfortable to be in.

[TomSwede]

I sell pretty much by mouth to mouth rumourwise way. That's why I mostly get bracers orders. When I go to a concert or big party, event etc. I usually take on my show off bracers and people always start to wonder WTF I got those and sometimes they order on standing foot. I just went online with the 1eye1 site to display my work in galleries by category AND I made myself a t-shirt with my logotype and www addy to also wear at events (posted in off topic thread). I used that at a large re-union with my old punk gang and people used their cellphones to get a pic of the addy.

I don't focus to much on selling right now but I do need to get stuff out for PR and to finance my further development. What I wanna do is to sharpen my skills more and more and focus on making special custom made items where all my collected skill is put in. The rod tubes I made is where I stand today and I like to comment Luke here "49 more and you'll get the hang of it" so it'll be a struggle for a long time to come I think.

I don't have any plans on selling at fairs and events since I focus on custom orders but I'd like to, someday, sit at a fair in an own booth just displaying some stuff I made and sit there and work as people watch, that'd be cool.

I just have to wait and see what future holds for me and continue to sharpen my skills. There's sooo much to learn that I get all dizzy in my head sometimes, lol.

Tom

[wildrose]

I sell almost exclusively at fairs. I have 4 identical folding tables, plus some others I sometimes through in for extra work/display space. I use a 10x10 "EZ Up" tent. I had to buy the heavy duty (blue) top for it, as the one it came with (white) was ruined the first year (at NJRK: New Jersey Renaissance Kingdom). I have a variety of "table toppers": display shelving. Ranging from mug racks (a post with spindles coming out) that I use for keyrings, Christmas ornaments and such, to a pair of folding corner shelves. Sometimes I decorate the tent, sometimes not. It really depends on the event. But I ALWAYS cover the tables my work is on, and I try to keep my stock boxes underneath.

Also, I try to always bring stuff to work on. This helps with the "Do you do that?" (Yeah, and not some ol' cowboy ) and the "how is that done?"

I've attached some pics of various displays I've had. My good friend Ann McGrath is in the one. We often shared space when I lived up north - it cut cost and allowed us both to not have to fill the whole tent with stock.

For me, some fairs go REALLY well, and others are meager. It's a matter of trial and error.

[Drac]

I tend to sell inside clubs and "specialty" events, so I have 3 cases... make that "had" 3 cases since I had to add 2 more cases since I've added making many new items. the cases fold closed for easier pack in/pack out and hold everything for carrying AND for display. I have lights with magnetic bases that I can attach anywhere along the top for lighting. you can see part of a couple of the cases in me avatar pic. they're just 1 x 4 frames (3' by 5 1/2') and pegboard, but I can configure them in different ways. I use foam inside to keep everything in place when moving them. for me extras I use a large rolling suitcase with multi-rowed card boxes in it that I can place behind or beside the cases when I'm set up. once I'm in me location, unlock cases, place 'em, open 'em, stick the foam behind 'em and (hopefully) start taking money. to tear down it's place foam inside, close 'em, lock 'em and load 'em up. total time is usually about 5 minutes.

[TwinOaks]

Wow, I feel really under prepared!!! So far, the only advertising I've been able to do is have my wife show off the things I've made for her. That has turned out to be a pretty good idea so far, though. I'm able to sell the 'bic lighter holster' that Hammerhead was so kind to post, right off the counter at the convenience store she works at. She makes it a habit to leave a few things like her cigarette case on the counter. Saturday, a customer placed an order for one. So I'm selling by consignment and word of mouth....and a few tack repairs here and there.

Mike

[CitizenKate]

Years ago I wrote for an online craft magazine. Some of my articles focused on craft fair exhibits and which ones seemed to attract the most serious shoppers. I used to just rove around and ask the exhibitors how their business was doing. Some of them would say, "This is a crappy show," and others would say of the same show "This has been a great show so far!" Go figure! I would also rove around and watch for the booths where the most people were hanging out, and in any case, observing what it was that seemed to be attracting them, or turning them off. Of course, a lot depends on the event and the kind of shoppers that attend, but here are some general things I observed:

- Product types that seemed to attract the most shoppers: craft supplies, food products (like specialized spice mixtures; recipe kits, etc.); they swarm around jewelry of all kinds (but there are a lot of jewelry makers out there); almost anything that has some kind of use like belts, bags, wallets, or hair barrettes, including frivolous use, such as toys, games, musical instruments, etc.

- Exhibit designs: Layouts that allow shoppers to view the offerings without having to be directly confronted by the seller - that's a biggie!; exhibits with a little decor - designed from top to bottom with some kind of cohesive theme; exhibits that have the appearance of being fully stocked with good variety, but with a defined scope of offerings (back to that theme concept).

- Location: Most craft show sellers have a little less control over this, but if you have any choice, try to get well into the thick of traffic, as distinct from the outer extremities, like corners or the very last aisle. The closer to the main entryway, the better.

Hope this is useful...

Kate

[Jordan]

KISS works for me, I have a sometimes uncontrollable urge to go overboard with ideas. You could go broke by going extravagant (spellchk is a great thingLOL) I started with a 10 x 10 EZ UP $150.00 at Home Depot, 3 to 600 on their (ezup web site for commercial grade!) 2 Folding tables $30.00 ea. a folding chair I had laying around. A couple of twin sheets and some table cloth clips. I made some simple display racks from wood bought a cash box and will expand on things if business warrants. I know it ain't the prettiest on the block but so far I think I have gone home with a heavier cash box than some of the more elaborate looking stall vendors. Signage would be helpful but I don't/can't spend the moola right now. Everything fits in my 83 320i and sets up and breaks down fast, probably 15 min. tops. Never know when bad weather will force the selling to stop, that reminds me I gotta get some weights for the canopy. There was a real cool post a while back of a setup with solar panels to run the sewing machine and such. I would like to see and have more details on that one again! Oh yea yesterday was spent making some oak slats to replace the cheapo hollow metal frame struts on the canopy that have broken from wind and such.

[UKRay]

A great start people but we need more!

One of the things that we all face is that people don't seem to recognise the difference between handcrafted leathergoods and factory made items. I intend to combat this by presenting my leathergoods more like a jewellery display on a black background. Like Drac, I intend to use bright lights to make the leather gleam. (Any chance of a full size picture of you and your display Drac - We need to see the detail!). I also intend to use well made display stands to improve the appearance of the products. For example: many of us make stamped wristbands and sell them for very little money because, lets face it, we tend to see them as a by-product of a bigger job. I think we ought to raise their status a little and display them like a jeweller displays bracelets - see the picture below. The stand cost me about what I would get for three wristbands (I love eBay) and personally I think it adds value to the look of my product. I would value your comments on this - will it work or won't it?

How do you display things like wristbands? Do you put them in baskets? boxes? leave 'em loose? We need to know!

I do like the way rdb displays his belts. Nice and easy to see what is there, but those are chunky stands and I can see limitations if space is an issue. Anyone else got a good belt rack design to show us? Having stopped to look at rdb's front belt rack, the single table leads us into the display area with the promise of more stuff on the end rack. A good job, but I'm not sure you are doing justice to that lovely big bag and the two others underneath it.

I do think rdb has done a nice job of displaying those key fobs. I can't see if they are on hooks but it is obvious that they can be easily seen and accessed. Personally, I am exploring rotary display stands at present but maybe someone else has a better idea?

Over to Sweden - It sounds like it is only a matter of time before Tom gets his own set-up and hits the punk circuit with a massive range of bracers and rod tubes - do punks go fishing a lot Tom? grin!>

Oho Wildrose - you look well sorted out with that EZ Up tent. I have to say that I like the top layout best of all because the shelves either side add useful height to the displays and the lovely smiley Ann McGrath looks very welcoming. I think this all makes your stuff look more attractive somehow. Your nameboard is cool and the garlands are fun. There seems to be rather a lot of white cloth on display in that middle picture but that could just be the angle the photo was taken from. The last pic is very interesting as you obviously have a LOT of really nice stock there. Would it look better with a few taller display stands to raise it up from the table - I'd like to hear your thoughts guys?

One really good point Holly makes here is putting cardboard boxes out of sight under the tables and behind/under the table covers. I always feel it looks untidy to see packaging material lying about - but sometimes it is hard to know what to do with it. I also like the idea of working on something whilst waiting for customers - Holly's rationale for doing this makes good sense and adds a lot to the value of her products.

Kate's ideas are all superb and worth reading several times over. I completely agree with her assessment of best selling product types and her suggestion that we follow a theme when we design our stalls rather than just put everything on a flat table is oozing with merit.

I'm not sure how I feel about location as although I like to be in the middle of the action I don't always like to be too close to the door/gate. Any other thoughts on this?

Jordan's stand looks really neat and spot that EZ Up tent. Great idea about the canopy weights as those things can really fly! What do other people use as weights - big rocks, lumps of timber, what?

I can't quite make out what you have on that board Jordan but you obviously have a good range of stock which is very nicely displayed. I can see belts, pouches, knife sheaths, holsters, bible covers, pendant crosses, sandals and more - a huge range for a small producer. Do you think it encourages people to buy if they have a large range to choose from?

How about choice - do we need to display lots of the same thing to give the buyer the opportunity to select their favorite colours or patterns?

One thing worth noticing here is what looks like some custom work to the left hand side of the table. How many of us actually make a point of putting a really nice piece of custom work on the table with a note to say we take special orders?

Apart from the signage, only one thing seems to be missing from this table Jordan, how can people contact you after the event? Do you have business cards on the table? What about a three-fold flyer with some stuff about custom designs? How do you guys tell people about yourselves?

It would be helpful to have a few more booths to look at and discuss - anyone else got a picture to show us? What happened to Luke - I know he has some great pictures of his trade goods stall...

[UKRay]

As he is having some problems uploading images Luke has just sent me some great pictures of his trade goods display (see below).

As a 'mountain man' re-enactor, Luke's booth really captures the spirit of the early traders and his historic leatherwork gives people a lot of food for their imagination. He uses a loose woven hessian material as a table covering which reflects the time period he is re-creating. I'm feel sure you will agree that this fascinating stuff is "Awsum!" <grin!> even if Luke would never say so himself...

I particularly like the way a lot of unusual looking things are hanging from the cross rail. They add a huge amount of interest to the stall and make me want to explore further. I bet they are great for business and I can't wait to use that idea myself.

Edited July 29, 2008 by UKRay

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These are just a few pictures of the way I have been setting up my booth at various shows in the Utah area.

I can't say I have sold a lot of my invintory but from previous years and setting up my booth differently than what I am doing now netted me less sales. You have to take in the clientel and what it is that they would actually spend there money on. Setting up a booth is very important as you really want to catch the eye of potential customers. When I first started out I used some old rotating displays that I got from a little curio shop. they were to small for what I was using them for and did not show off my items very well. that is why I now use a grid wall system to set up my display. it is easy to set up and to take down and really takes less room to store than did the display racks that I had used previously the grid walls also can be set up in different ways to attract attention to certain items that I would like to move. I hope this helps.

[Spider]

This is what I just did as a display...

A little different...

[ArtS]

I'm curious if yawl setup a certain way to help prevent theft. Is people stealing items even an issue with anyone?

ArtS

[rdb]

Look, People are people...good and bad in everyone. As far back in times as the medieval days, the little beggahs were swiping things off the town vendors.

The only time I worry about "misappropriation" is when I am in the booth alone, which is more often, nowadays. When the wife, and I, and friends did bigger shows, a few years ago, there was a lot of interaction with customers at the various stations within the tent. They still got a few things, but mostly smaller, keyrings, etc.

Alone, all it takes is one distraction, and they gotchya. Now that I've started in at a fairly big flea market type show, I'm going to have to somehow tie down the bigger articles.

Mostly, I have lost the little things, a keyring here, a bracelet there. Not too bad, but it's pesos out of my pocket. I shrug it off, though. Just the price of doing this kind of business.

Instant Karma's gonna get you.

[UKRay]

Art, you obviously had a good reason for asking the question - maybe you lost a lot of stock? - but what I really want to know is do you have any good presentation ideas that could stop people stealing? Have you learned anything useful from thefts?

We all try to lay out or goods in such a way that they attract people to covet and buy them so it is no wonder that a few bits go missing. I tend to share RDB's view that pilfering is something we have to defend against (hence my request for suggestions) but in the long run we have to add it to our overheads and get on with life.

Some ideas I have seen recently for displaying goods safely include keeping loose items on those sturdy metal rings much loved by market stall keepers - I guess we now know why they do it!

Hanging stuff out of reach but where the punter can see it. It is much easier to see a hand reaching up in the air.

Keeping goods under glass - a flat counter top cabinet for buckles and expensive hardware can save a lot of angst especially if it can be locked.

Keeping bags and expensive pieces hanging up behind the counter/table with a sign telling people to ask if they would like to see the goods - it stops all the mauling and sticky fingers too.

Hope this helps.

[CitizenKate]

You could be making some trade-offs in sales to keep your stock theft-proof. The points between where the shopper spots something from a distance, and where they examine it closely enough to make a buying decision is already a huge chasm, from a selling standpoint. Being able to touch it, smell it, and see it close up is all part of that decision. I personally would want as few obstacles to crossing that chasm as possible.

Some shoppers love interacting with sellers at shows, and love the process of being "sold to", but others prefer to explore each exhibit with little or no interaction with the seller until checkout time. It's that latter group that will not bother to ask to see something in a booth that is designed to discourage theft, and may just avoid that booth entirely.

Every seller can decide for themselves which is more important, but for my own booth designs, I would place a higher priority on shoppers' experience than theft-prevention.

Kate

[Jordan]

They all love to touch and smell the leather, have not lost anything yet but it goes with the territory, PBAB and Bad JUJU will come back to bite the perp.

[ArtS]

Most of what I make I give away. The few I have sold were requested items. So I've never had a booth - yet. I just had to layoff a guy last Friday at work. I'm sure more are coming before the end of the year - maybe me. I figure I better start getting ready to sell items and making them faster. Thats why all the questions.

What does it usually cost to have a table at a craft fair etc.?

Thanks,

ArtS

[CitizenKate]

It varies widely from one show to the next. It could be anywhere from $10 for a 10x10 space for the weekend, to $200 or more for a spot at shows that are either very well attended or juried.

Kate

[UKRay]

...well attended or juried.

I didn't know what you meant by 'juried shows' Kate, and had to check out Google. I found the following URL that is very helpful and explains the craft show selection process:

http://www.getcreativeshow.com/craft_sew_b...d-nonjuried.htm

I hadn't given it any thought at all, but it is quite obvious when you read this.

[ArtS]

Thanks Ray!

ArtS

[wildrose]

Okay, so here are some "fresh" pics of my booth, and a little backstory.

I am currently selling at the Radford (Virginia) Farmer's Market. This is REALLY small - there are maybe 10 vendors there (and that includes non-artists, i.e. produce vendors) every week. It grows and shrinks regularly. And we see some customers every week too. But I often hear "oooh, I might like a new wallet as a Christmas gift" and folks look over my things pretty closely. So I give out lots of cards and sell little. Hopefully, those orders will come through, and it DOES get me noticed.

I'm doing a bigger event in October: the Highlander Festival. Radford University students/teams are the Highlanders. It is a big Celtic themed show and I'm hoping to do really well there.

My current problem, I believe, is that I don't accept credit cards right now. When I had a separate business bank account in PA, I had a company through which I processed credit card sales. This, I found, more than doubled business. Most people, like me, do not carry enough cash in their wallets to make an impulse buy of over 10.00 at a market (or even show) setting. I'm in a vicious circle right now though: until I make enough, I can't open my own account, and I can't make enough without taking cards!

So here are those pics...I should mention it was raining when I took them.

If anyone has more questions, feel free to fire away. Some other things I should probably add:

My table lay out (inc. shelving) changes from show to show.

I have a really nice blue velvet table cover, but I usually save that for "big" events

While I might not be the most professional leatherworker on this site, I do have years of experience at festivals!

[wildrose]

I read back to the past few posts, re: jurying and costs. Here's my .02 on that:

I've paid at most almost 500.00 to be in an event, and at least 20.00. What has kept me out of events has not been the entry fee (if it was an event I wanted to be in) but the need to have insurance. I'm such a small time vendor, that to ask me to keep insurance for the few events/year I do is ridiculous. Fortunately, some events will let you be on their "rider". I experienced that at the NJ Renaissance Kingdom. For an extra fee, with my application, I was covered by their policy. I did at one point have my own policy, but that cost me over 100.00/year. That may seem like small change to some of you, but to me, it was alot, especially with the monthly fee I was paying for being able to process credit cards.

Jurying: this is a process wherein you must send photos of your work, and your display, to the committee running the show. This can be great because it (theoretically) keeps out the "beanie pet" sellers and such. But it can also be a hassle if you don't have quality photos on hand, or you aren't certain exactly what you plan to bring. Personally, I've not had a problem with it yet, and I like juried shows. You sometimes have to pay and extra fee for the jurying process itself.

I think, overall, crafters are "fee-d" to death! It makes me wonder sometimes how these little mom/pop knitters and woodworkers make any money when I see them underselling themselves at shows!!!

[UKRay]

Classy looking stall, Wildrose!

I'd really appreciate knowing a litle more about taking credit card payments as I can also see the time coming when people simply won't carry enough cash to make a purchase. Like Wildrose, I rely almost exclusively on cards and other folk will doubtless be the same but I hadn't given any thought as to how it would affect my sales.

So what is the procedure? How do I get started? How much does it cost and are there any 'hidden' costs? What are the problems we face taking plastic instead of cash? Who actually loses when a card scam happens? This is all very worrying!

[rdb]

Classy looking stall, Wildrose!

I'd really appreciate knowing a litle more about taking credit card payments as I can also see the time coming when people simply won't carry enough cash to make a purchase. Like Wildrose, I rely almost exclusively on cards and other folk will doubtless be the same but I hadn't given any thought as to how it would affect my sales.

So what is the procedure? How do I get started? How much does it cost and are there any 'hidden' costs? What are the problems we face taking plastic instead of cash? Who actually loses when a card scam happens? This is all very worrying!

You need to set up a Merchant Account at your bank. They will set it up, and charge you. Probably around $200 or so between the fees for the acct, and the card slider. Then they charge you $15 a month or so monthly. There is also a fee from the card co. say 1.5 - 3%.

Theyll have booklets and such to show your options, including being able to accept online. Generally, they have several tiers for this acct, depending on your needs, or wants. Each one is a different cost. I have the cheaper one...for each sale to be protected, I have to call the 88 number, and register the numbers before I give the card back. It takes a minute, but it protects me, and the card owner.

This really is the proper way to do it. There are some options online that maybe preferable, but if you have a relationship with your local bank, at least you can deal face to face.

Ever since I got it this time, Ive only used it twice. So, it can be an expensive, and running cost, if your cliental is mostly cash, or checks. But when you need it, you need it. It makes the customer feel as though you are safe to buy from, for returns, and merchandise problems.

You will be able to take cards over the phone, which is a plus.