Getting Ready For Our First Craft Fair!

I have never sold at a craft fair before.  I have attended many craft fairs over the years, but I have never personally been involved in selling at one.  That is about to change.

For years my daughter has been urging me to sell at the craft fair where she lives. Every summer they have a community fair to raise money and every year she reminds me that I should rent a table and sell all my handmade 'stuff.'  I usually say no.  I am not sure why, but I guess I just really never knew what to make that people would want to buy.  And what if they don't buy it?  It is very intimidating to try something new like this, but I finally just said YES!  After all, the worst that can happen is my stuff doesn't sell but I get quality time with my daughter and I get to spend a weekend on Fire Island in the summer! 

And then after saying yes, I thought, uh oh....what have I gotten myself into?  I am not the type of person to just wing something like having a craft sales table.  I have to have a plan for exactly how and what I am going to do and that is what this post is all about. 

There were some criteria about selling at the fair: I rented one (1) 8' x 30" banquet table and two chairs.  Anything and everything I sell would have to be on top of that one table. No other stands are allowed.  I also needed to get everything onto a ferry - it is not a craft fair where you can pull your car up and unload.  Everything has to be lightweight, portable, and literally carried by hand.

Here are the steps I took to get ready for our first craft fair ever:

1. I Researched...

• I 'Googled' and looked and literally hundreds of pictures of the way sellers set up their tables and booths at craft fairs
• I 'Googled' and read nearly as many blog posts about anything and everything having to do with advice for selling at craft fairs

2. Made A List Of What I Wanted For My Table...

• Bottom fitted banquet tablecloth (most tables at fairs are banquet size)
• Second decorative tablecloth for on top of the fitted one - in a complimentary color
• A spinning table-top display for my pendants 
• Signs with prices and descriptions
• Signs with our company name etc.
• Business card holders (with business cards of course)
• Sign showing that we take credit cards (I read that being able to take credit cards is a must!)
• A container to do a FREE giveaway raffle to collect e-mail addresses
• A mirror so potential customers could try on the pendants
• Baskets to put display products in

Completed tablecloth set together for fair!

3. The Tablecloths
I didn't just want tablecloths...I wanted them to be special and stand out!

• ​Purchased a fitted tablecloth from Amazon (affiliate link).
• Purchased a square tablecloth from Amazon (affiliate link).
• Personalized the tablecloth with a crochet border - Read about it here!

4. Signs
​I didn't want to simply order signs from someone else...I wanted mine to be handmade like all the products I sell!

• Chalk board signs with chalk paint for individual signs (affiliate links).
• Sign for credit cards - simply displayed in a photo frame
• Crochet Sign for table - made and sewn onto tablecloth front (video below on how these were made!)

5. Spinning Table-top Display for Pendants
​It was at least $90 to buy one and I didn't like any of them anyway, so of course my husband and I decided we could make our own and put our own handmade crafty 'spin' on it - pun intended :-)

• This is my favorite! It is a combination of *peg board with *hooks, cotton scrap yarn to hold it together, a lazy Susan (affiliate link) bottom, a foam board top with a simple cotton crocheted 'hat', and chalk-board signs written with chalkboard paint (affiliate links) on the top! Check out the video below to see how we made it :-)
  
• *peg board 2' x 4' common at $10.47 and hooks at $10

6. Bonus Hair Scrunchy Display

• There was left-over pegboard from the spinning display so we used it to make a quick and simple display for my crochet hair scrunchies! We simply cut the left-over piece in half, painted it up to match everything else and used the crochet yarn to hold it together at the top and bottom.  Add a few hooks and a chalk-board sign to the top and it's the perfect little A-frame display!  

7. Miscellaneous

• Business card holders $2 (affiliate link)
• Mirror 6.5" for $15 (affiliate link)
• Baskets (already had them!) - note: my wonderful husband cut up and drilled holes in some of the chalkboard signs so I could attach them with colored yarn to the front of the baskets!
• We made a special display for the Little Lamb Lovey Blankets using a plastic soup container, a half of a paper towel cardboard center, and hot glue!

Simple stands for the Little Lamb Lovey Blankets!

Little Lamb Loveys on their special stands! It works :-)

8.  And of course, before we packed it all up, we had to do a    practice table set-up in our living room!

Thanks for visiting!

If you are anywhere near Ocean Beach Fire Island, NY the weekend of August 13th - 14th 2016, stop by our table and say hi!

Please follow us on social media!

​Sincerely,