Getting Ready For A Craft Show -- Part Two

Today our guest poster, Jodi Williams of Crafts by Jodi,  is back to share more great info on doing craft shows  with you.

Hi, I'm from Western PA. I've been crafting for over 20 years now. I am married and have an 11 year old daughter.  At Crafts By Jodi, we are proud to say that everything is handmade in my country home. We make wood signs, seasonal wood decorations, fabric crafts and we also do vinyl lettering.



Getting Ready For A Craft Show --Part Two

Checklist for Craft shows

Here are some items that we take to the shows with us. It's nice to keep a list handy from year to year and you can add to it. It is usually so busy by the time the shows come around that you may forget something. I like to keep a little plastic tote with a lot of these items in it and then I just pack it with my cash register.

tent
display
chairs
tables
desk
fabric for covering tables
broom /dust pan
bags- we have regular sized bags and then we take garbage bags in case it's raining out and they buy larger items.
tissue to wrap fragile items
extra price tags-for mark downs or items you missed
cash register/ register tape/ batteries or electric cords
Change- always take lots of extra change. Every year we write down how much we took and if we ran low on anything, then we know to adjust it the following year.
calculator
tax number to display- I use an old picture frame
tape
notepad
pens
business cards/holder
flyer/brochures
scissors
glue
wire, tools, and nails for fixing broken items
paint/brushes- for touch ups
paper towels
wet wipes/ antibacterial soap
aspirin
hand lotion
cooler/drinks
snacks in case you can't leave your booth
sponge- I keep a damp one in a plastic soap dish so that I can dampen my fingers while handling money to keep dollar bills from sticking together

These are the basics. We also take items for decorating our booth. We get a lot of people asking if they can just buy our decorations!! In the fall we just use grapevine and some fabric pumpkins that my mom makes and at Christmas we use grapevine, clear lights and pip berries. We don't like to put too much up because you want your crafts to be the main focus.

When we set up our booth we put all the fall items together and the winter/Christmas items together. I got a great display that holds 9 baskets and we put our ornaments and bowl fillers in it. Make sure to keep your booth looking neat. Anytime we get a few quiet minutes we go around the booth and fill any empty hooks and move things around. It's funny when we move something that hasn't sold all day, it always seems to sell as soon as it's in a new place.

You might want to print out this checklist and keep it with your supplies, and add to it after each show.
Good luck at your shows!

If you have any questions about craft shows, please leave a comment.
Have a great week!
Jodi

To visit Jodi's website, click on the banner below.