I decided to pursue my jewelry and metalsmithing business full time not long ago. In doing so I had to figure out where the heck I was going to sell my items! I mean, it’s not as if I’m going to make them and people are going to fall out of the sky into my living room and just start buying, right?
*eyes the skies warily… hopefully?*
I’ve always loved arts and craft booths. Any booths! I love the street vendors with a single table set up on the side of the road in Berkeley and the Gem and Mineral shows at the convention centers. I have a passion for the street festivals and have always adored themed shows, like Renaissance festivals. I began doing Ren Faires back in 1996 as a boothie working for someone else selling their wares, but I also apprenticed under a master who sold his items at the shows at the convention centers and I’ve helped friends from time to time at the street festivals.
You get the picture. I’m pretty well versed in the world of fairs, festivals, and booths.
Of course, my first instinct is to have a booth of my own. I find it strange to say “a booth” instead of “booths” but the fact of the matter is that it’s only one booth traveling from show to show.
Oh, I looked into various options, which I may still try later. I can put my items in some stores on consignment. I can make specific items to fit into various shops. I already have a presence on the internet, so that’s not difficult and it’s shown a tiny bit of promise. However, in the end the internet and the sales I make there are more of a tool to get folks to see my items who cannot come to the shows in which I participate, or who liked the items they saw there and want to order more.
Obviously, I will be doing shows with my booth.
The first thing I did was plan out what I want my booth to look like. This is kind of a given. It’s like when a chef decides to open his own restaurant. He’s got the entire thing planned out in his head long before he’s even found a space or met his patrons.
I’ve got my EZ-Up, I’ve got a pavilion that is a bit bigger and appropriate for themed shows, I’ve got tables, chairs, tablecloths, etc. I have the basics. My husband built me three jewelry cases a few years ago that are just beautiful. I’m all set to start looking because, yes, I am ready to go to a show and set up my stuff! Ha!
Then the reality of shows set in as I began my quest for enough shows to do through the end of the year.
After reviewing a number of sites I have discovered a few things:
1. Not every festival wants new booths.
2. Some festivals simply do not have room for every vendor and limit the number of, say, jewelry booths they need. If they have enough, they don’t accept any more vendor apps for that type of booth.
3. Some shows want images, not only of your work, but of your entire booth setup. This is hard to do if you do not have images of a booth from a different show. It means you have to spend four hours setting up your booth in your yard and hoping they don’t care about the old shed in the background or that you aren’t sitting in the middle of it in costume. They also could want images three months or a year in advance, during a time when you (read: I) do not have enough inventory to fill up the booth yet so the images will look like a bare shop, or it’s 100 degrees outside and your entire existence is wilting in the heat!
4. If they want pictures of your booth, that means they do not want to see four tables with cloths and stuff sitting on top of it. They want something unique and dynamic. They are not looking for the ordinary, plain stuff. You need to stand out with something different that they haven’t seen before. This can be fancy or simple, but the fact of the matter is that while, yes, you can probably rig something up that is cheap, it still involves MONEY. It could be five bucks for a foam-core board to stick your stuff to or thousands of dollars if you want to do very fancy things.
5. Some shows have very, very picky juries and can be very snobby and critical when you contact them. I don’t mind juries. I don’t mind that sometimes you have to be picky. However, you don’t need to be rude and belittle me when I ask about your show. I work very hard and am hoping to participate, that’s all.
6. Some shows require your items to be turned in for jurying as much as eight months before the next show. This means you have to pay your booth fees before you MIGHT get into a show. Oh, they don’t cash the check if you’re not accepted. I can’t decide if this means this show is awesome and it’s worth it to try to get into or the folks running it are that unorganized or they are that elitest?
5. There is more to consider than just your basic booth setup. For example: Is the show at night? Do you need lighting? Where is the electricity going to come from? Do they charge for electricity? How much? Do you need a 100 foot extension cord? Do you have any lights that you can use? Can you afford to buy lights? Could it rain? Is it windy? Do you need to tie your booth down? Do you need to buy something to tie your booth to?
6. If the show is out of town, do you have a place to stay? If not, can you afford a hotel? Is it during a season you are okay with camping? Is there a local campsite? I actually had a number of shows listed in the next major city over, but discovered that I don’t have anywhere to stay at this time and, being short on cash at the moment, cannot afford to stay at the local Motel 6, so I had to cross those shows off my list until such a time as I can afford to do them. Maybe next year.
7. Booth fees can be EXPENSIVE! The shows I’ve looked at range in price from $100.00 upwards of $1500.00! Plus, there are added fees. Do you need electricity? Are you applying late? Do you want to park your car near your booth? Do you want a prime spot? All of these can have fees added to them. One show offered one 6 foot table for $450.00 for only about six hours! If I can pay $200.00 for a three day weekend in a 10 x 10 foot booth, why would I pay $450.00 for one table and six hours? What is up with that??
8. Some shows are not for you. Either the person running the show is hard to deal with, or the theme doesn’t really work with your style, or the customers that will be there aren’t the kind that will buy your items… whatever. Sometimes it’s just not meant for you to do that show. Don’t be heartbroken, just find another show.
9. Sometimes there are multiple shows on the same day with pretty much the same benefits of working them. You can only work one, so… how do you pick? I made my decision on this one based on a few things: I was familiar with a number of other artists who would be there, the cost was within my price range, I have a place to camp for free that is safe with showers, and I trust the people running the venue.
I’ve learned quite a bit during my research. It was very eye opening. I have chosen to pass up a few shows this year because either I cannot get my booth set up and images made in time, I won’t have a place to stay, or they’re too expensive. If I’ve missed the application date, I will not pay a late fee to apply.
There are some positive things I’ve learned, too. For example, if a show costs a large amount of money, but is for quite a few weekends, divide out the cost of those weekends for a real price. Renaissance Festivals are a good example of this. One of the shows I want to do costs $500.00! OUCH! But here’s the thing: it’s an eight weekend show. Most shows cost around $200.00 a weekend, meaning eight weekends would be $1600.00, which actually is acceptable if I was doing eight separate shows over that time period. So $500.00 for eight weekends averages out to $62.50 in booth fees for the entire weekend! What a bargain!
You also have to consider what you really think you’ll sell at a show over the weekend versus the cost of the show, including personal expenses like gas and food. So, say I expect to do a local show and earn $500.00 that weekend. I know that for a local show I will need a tank of gas in my car and food for two meals a day for two days. What am I paying versus what I expect to earn? Booth fees: $200.00 + $40.00 in gas + $35.00 in food = $275.00. That gives me $175.00 in booth profit.
You have to PLAN, PLAN, PLAN! Here are some things I’ve learned over the years of working booths:
1. NEVER work a booth alone. What if you have to pee? You have thousands of dollars of merchandise and you’re just going to leave it or trust it to the stranger next door to watch? I don’t think so. Always have another person you trust in the booth, even if they don’t know what they’re doing. They can always say, “She’ll be right back!” and have a customer wait for you. Your helper can be there just for potty and lunch breaks, or they can be another salesperson who sits with you the entire time! If I can’t afford to pay that person for their time, I offer them a piece of merchandise as payment. Or I’ll make a trade with them, like I’ll help them move or babysit their kid.
2. ALWAYS have a cooler with water and snacks. They say it is very bad form to eat in the booth, and I agree with this. However, you can’t starve yourself for 10 hours because you’re working. Leave your helper in the booth and go eat that granola bar or ham sandwich outside of the booth. Not only do you get to eat, you get to step outside and get a good look at your own booth and those booths around you. Be careful not to have too much soda or sugary food, you will crash in the afternoon and want a nap.
3. BE PREPARED FOR THE WEATHER. If you have a tent, make sure you pack the walls or tarps to put up as walls in case of rain. These are also helpful in case of high winds. Make sure you bring sandbags or cinder blocks to tie your tent to so it won’t blow away on a windy day. Bring ribbon or string to tie your tablecloths to the legs of your table. Bring tape, t-pins, safety pins, an industrial stapler, or anything you might need to secure something down fast. Clear packing tape is an amazing thing to keep with you. Is it going to be dusty? Have dust cloths and a feather duster with you as well as paper towels and widow cleaner!
4. BE PREPARED FOR THE CUSTOMERS! I cannot emphasize this enough! Make sure you have enough change (I recommend at least $100.00 in $1 and $5 dollar bills as well as dumping your change bucket into a bag and bringing it along. I also recommend $100.00 in $20 dollar bills just in case of that faboo customer who throws out his hundred!) If you can take credit cards, then DO IT! You can lose a sale if you don’t take credit cards, it’s happened to me before. (FYI, as I write this, I have to take credit cards through PayPal using my laptop and a borrowed internet card from a friend who has Virgin Mobile. It’s a royal pain in the ass.) Also, make sure you have business cards with your name and email address minimum so customers can contact you later! Make sure you have bags or boxes for them to transport the items you’ve worked on so hard! You don’t want them to drop that during the show and come back to you for repairs or replacement. Also, keep a notebook of customer contacts with name, address, and email address so you can tell your customers via email or mail about your upcoming shows and where they can find you in the future.
5. BE PREPARED to do any repairs on your items that might be necessary! I always carry two sets of pliers and a jewelry file with me just in case. I can’t always do repairs on the spot, for some things I need large tools that are in my studio, but I bring what I can to do quick repairs. Also bring a notepad and a sketchbook to keep information about custom orders items to be mailed to customers after the show.
5. Make sure you have the tools to make it easier on yourself both before, during, and after the show. Keep a receipt book with the money and write down every sale, cash or credit. Take the time to organize your things as you’re packing if you can, or when you get home so that the next time you have a show, you can be confident of where everything is when you need it. If you can organize anything BEFORE the show, then do it. For example, I put my jewelry cases together and pin down each item with a t-pin so that I can just put the cases on the tables and not worry about them.
6. BE ORGANIZED! I cannot emphasize this enough! You can go into panic mode if you can’t find your tablecloths or extension cords. My house may be chaos because multiple people live there, but in my studio and in my booth I follow a strict “A place for everything and everything in it’s place.” policy. I put every item back in the tub it came out of when I pack. During the show, I always know where my business cards are, where my receipt book is, and where my jewelry boxes are, etc. You’re going to spend the day after the show doing paperwork, checking inventory, and repacking all of your things for the next show, so make it as easy on yourself as possible.
7. Keep your money close! I’m sorry, I do not believe in the idea that you carry a money box with you and set it under your table “Where no one can get to it.” That’s ridiculous! First of all, it’s a money box. It SCREAMS that your money is in there! Secondly, most of these shows we use tables and tablecloths. People can just reach under and snag your money! I am a firm believer in putting your money in a purse or pouch and keeping it on you at all times. I use a bag that goes over my shoulder, laying across my body and rests on my opposite hip, though I have also used a fanny pack. In this I keep my bills for change, my credit card receipts (if I have any), and any checks I might have received. My coins I keep in a tin on the table behind my displays where I can see it (I just usually grab a few handfuls and throw them in there). My bag never leaves me, from the time I leave my house in the morning until I get home at night. This is my living I’m carrying around with me and I will be damned if anyone is going to take it! Ha!
I’m sure I will learn more once I start this season’s shows in September. My first show is September 17th and it’s indoors, thankfully! Whew for no tent setup! I’ll keep you guys posted and update when I can!
