Craft Fair Prep: Borrowed Tips and My Own Tricks

posted by Diana

My living room has been crafting HQ for the past two weeks. Well... it's always craft HQ... but this time I really let the crafts take over. Sorry roomie!

But that's because I'm prepping for Flea-ville! It's Charlottesville's outdoor flea market at the IX Project. I attended the first Flea-ville as a shopper this past May. It was such a fun experience seeing all the artisan, vintage, and craft booths that I knew I wanted to be a part of the action. I applied to be a vendor and got to work making inventory (the fun stuff) and planning out the business side of retailing my crafts (aka putting my business degree to use). This is my first time exhibiting at a craft fair... here's what I'm doing in preparation.

Instagrammed this weekend after an intensive craft session.

The hardest decision for me to make was my choice to only accept cash. There are several iPhone swipe card reader services I could try out, but the uncertainty factor is keeping me at bay. Since I'll be at a craft fair where I don't know much about the turnout or clientele, I don't want to devote funds to a device that might not be worth it. However, if I find I'm turning away a lot of customers with credit cards, I'll definitely invest in a card reader service. Otherwise, I'll stick to cash and avoid the credit card fees.

I won't be dealing in change, but I'll need a lot of small bills. The amount of change needed varies depending on the craft show and items, but everything I've read says about $50 in 1s and $45 in 5s will be adequate. Which reminds me--I still need a cash box... but I'm also tempted to just wear a sweet fanny pack.

For the show, I have a 10'x10' area. I'm lucky that my dad had a pop up tent that was 10'x10', but unlucky that it smelled horrible. No one had used it in years! I let it air out in the sun, Febrezed it like crazy, and hoped for the best. It seems usable now, but I'm probably going to bleach it for good measure.

Now I need to invest in some weights so a heavy wind doesn't carry it away.

My pop-up tent! 

My table set up is a bit up in the air right now. I currently have a piano bench and a shelf, and I'm going to invest in a card table. Even though I don't know what types of tables I'll have yet, I know exactly what's going on top of them. I thrifted some vintage and vintage-looking floral sheets to use for table cloths. I'll cut them to size when I've finalized my table arrangements.

Cute (and washed)!

I want my booth to feel homey and whimsical, so I found some cute displays for my inventory. These three trays came in a bundle from TJ Maxx and were only $20 for the lot. I'm planning to fill them with flower clips. 

Since I'm a fan of practical whimsy, I picked up these decorative bird cages from Michael's. They'll house my flower earrings and add a bit of dimension to my tables.

I also purchased these velvet bracelet stands from Michael's. Instead of bracelets, I'll use them to display my flower crowns. My other headbands will hang from the jewelry stand that normally holds my personal earring collection.

Another great tip I read was to have prices clearly marked. I just hand wrote signs on scrapbook paper for now--maybe I'll frame them... or just tape them to the table.

Finally, I had some business cards printed up from moo.com. Because, if nothing else, it makes me look super official and feel very fancy. But really, I'll be passing these out like crazy... even if no one buys anything. They might change their minds and venture over to my Etsy shop!

And, of course, in the event that someone actually buys something, I've got them covered with some cutesy wrapping. Who doesn't love cutesy wrapping? Most of this stuff was 50 cents from Michael's.

I've never done a craft fair, so it'll be a learning experience for sure! I'll be back with a post next week letting you know how everything went and how prepared I actually wasn't. Fingers crossed for sunshine and a cool breeze!

Happy making!