Market Day opens this Saturday, so I have a scant two days to prepare my booth. These are my thoughts on the stages of craft show set up. 

Preparing a product

You've already gotten into a craft show so you have some semblance of a product line, but the pre-show period is a really good time to try to look at your stock with fresh eyes. Get in the headspace of a shopper passing your booth. What will they think they are looking at when they come upon you? What part of your booth will catch their eye? What will make them want to get a closer look? 

This is also a good time to: 

• make signs
• cull stragglers from your product line (one painting from a very long-past series that sticks out like a sore thumb? A couple designs from last year? Maybe it's time for a CLEARANCE!)
• price items

Catching a passing shopper

So you're going to be in a room full of other crafters' booths. You are going to have to convince a customer to come your way. They should be able to see you from far away -- a large sign, a tall display, or a colorful set up will help with that. Once you have them hooked, you have to reel them in. As they get closer, they should start being able to read smaller signs or recognize something interesting that convinces them to step in the last few feet. 

When a shopper is standing in front of your booth, she has definitely become your business. But what do you do? This is a stranger, who may want to buy your things but also may wantt o be left alone and anyway she probably doesn't like your stuff so ugh

Well, there are lots of ways to handle a shopper standing at your booth. Try to remember that you are there to sell your wares, and that she is there to shop. It is socially acceptable for you to make an attempt to convince her to conduct business with you. Say hi to her, as if you are in a very tiny shop and she just walked through your door. Say, "Let me know if you have any questions." or share a fact about your work ("These are made of real leather!") or offer a compliment ("Your head wrap is a lovely shade of green.") or encourage her to sign up for your mailing list or take a freebie.  

Making the sale 

Be prepared for this. Have change, bags, wrapping paper, pens -- anything you think is necessary. If you have set up a way to accept credit cards (like Square) be sure you are logged in and understand how the program works. 

The Home Stretch 

Okay, so hopefully you've made sales, but you are not done just because you got rid of some product. Now you have to wrap up loose ends. 

Be prepared to pack up. Presumeably you are because you had to pack to get to the show, but...I have seen some booth dissassemblies that stretched into three hours! So I thought it worth mentioning. 

Log your sales in your accounting books and inventories. Remove sold items from your Etsy shop. Add collected emails to your mailing list. 

Just a little prep goes a long way in getting ready for a craft show. For me, the most important step is completely mental: stepping into a public persona. Remembering that I am "at work" helps me immensely in keeping up the hustle all day long. Good luck! 

Thanks to Kathy Landin, who produced this video for us, start to finish. She is one of our favorite makers around.

They are super handy for handing out to friends when you talk about Market Day. There are seven different designs within each file.

8.5x11

8.5x14 (legal paper)

I am sorry I set them up sideways please forgive me ^_^

Just in! We picked up seven new posters to promote this month's event. Help out Market Day by sending me an email (catrocketship@gmail.com), picking up a coupla posters to hang in your church or school or grocery or wherever. 

You can also click on each of these posters for a very large, printable file. Enjoy! 

I culled this list from a great post on blog I love a lot, The Next Web.

1. Surround yourself with people who make you happy
2. Get rid of people who make you unhappy
3. Set yourself some goals for the next 10 or 30 years
4. Fuel up on inspiration
5. Don’t try to live up to expectations
6. Say no more often
7. Don’t feel guilty about not working
8. Learn to live with chaos
9. Don’t try to be perfect
10. Know when to quit

Right on, The Next Web! Read the whole thing here. It's great -- especially the last paragraph.