How to Plan a Private Pop-Up "Home" Party

How to Plan a Private Pop-Up "Home" Party

Ah! This is a good one! In my search for better and more independent selling opportunity for artists, namely myself, I have always loved the private party concept. This type of sales party has been around forever, mostly for commercial goods. But artists are doing this type of selling as well, and I would love to see it become popular again.

If you haven't tried one, you definitely should! Especially if you have creative friends you can work with, to offer multiple crafts for sale. You can take turns finding new hosts, and make it a fun filler thing to do between craft shows. In my experience, the private pop-up sale works great for the artists, the host is happy to receive gifts for their efforts, and the guests have a great time shopping for unique handmade goods while visiting with friends. We all win!! 

What I love about the Private Pop-Up Party:

• - Easy to organize, especially with friends. 
• - Zero $$ up front! No cost until you sell.
• - Everyone comes to buy, so you don't need a big crowd to do well.
• - SO much fun!! Seriously, every single one I've done was a blast.

The biggest difference between our artist "pop-up" and the old school "home party" is the style of selling. The commercial "home party" style has always been to do a formal presentation about the stuff, and a couple games. Then the guests can buy a few things right there, but there's mainly a catalog order to be received in a couple weeks.  

For our handcraft "pop-up" style of selling we treat it more like a tiny craft show, with open hours and each vendor selling on the spot. It's less formal and more of a party vibe, where people come and go, visiting and shopping throughout the show hours. Much more casual and comfortable for everyone involved! 

The one challenge I've had in pitching this idea to hosts and guests alike (even some artists!), is convincing them it will NOT be like the old style that may come to their mind. But rather a tiny personal craft show for their friends. That's how you should frame it to potential hosts and in your marketing. I also point out that these are not items they can buy just anywhere!

It's a special event with unique handmade goods presented just for them. As well as a fun opportunity to support small local business. What's not to love??

How It Works

Okay! Let's get into the nitty gritty of how to organize your own artisan pop-up party. Woop!

Here is the basic layout of how I've done it myself. I try to keep everything as simple as possible, especially for the host. The biggest reason people refuse to host something like this is they worry it will be too much work for them. So I try to make their job as easy as I can.

• - The Host provides:  Space for tables or booths (indoors or outdoors), simple refreshments, guest list of their friends.
• - The Artists provide:  A professional and nice looking setup, everything needed to process their own sales, a percentage of sales to the host in dollars or trade (I do 10% cash or 15% trade, host's choice.)
• - The Organizer provides:  Either a Facebook Event or email invitation for the host to invite their friends. It should contain the date, hours, location, and info on each artist, including photos and links to their own pages. 

That's it! Simple. 

Here are some tips and things I've learned from my own experiences.

Number of Booths should be based on the quantity of guests expected, not the amount of space available. As I've mentioned, you don't need a lot of attendees to make this work since people who come will come to shop. But! I have made the mistake of fitting as many booths as I could into a nice big yard... and having too few shoppers show up in the end. Some booths did fine, others not so well. It can be hard to estimate how many will come, but I set a rough guideline now of 1 booth per 20 invitations sent out. Only a portion of the invited guests will actually show up, and you want to have enough cash to go around to all the booths. Just keep that in mind when planning. 

Match the Art Style to the Guests. This is much easier when you are working with friends. You know their style and most likely they already buy things from you. If you are working with someone new, you want to show them samples of your work to make sure it's something their friends will be interested in buying. You should probably think about gender a little as well. True, it's usually women who attend these things, but sometimes couples want to come together and might stay longer if hubby isn't getting bored looking at jewelry. Including things like pottery, soaps, garden art, or photography can appeal to anyone.

Set the Date.  I remember many of the old school events happening on a weeknight. Personally I don't like to do much after work! I think Saturdays are better, as people are already out and about and it's easy for them to stop by. Check to see there are no other big events happening that day that might lure away your guests. Set open hours when people can come and go as they please, I like early afternoon 11-3 or similar. I know it's tempting to set long hours, since you're all setup anyway. But shorter hours creates more urgency to not miss out, and cuts off the dead time guaranteed after 3 or 4  o'clock. 

Refreshments Matter. Really. This is important. The whole thing that makes our event unique is the "party" aspect of it. Similar to a craft show, a festive atmosphere is great for sales. So I make sure to tell the host that, and encourage wine or beer as well. Personally I looove some drunk ladies shopping! Ha. But even just some simple crackers, cheese and lemonade on a table creates a meeting place. It might sound funny, but it really takes the "salesy" pressure off of the guests, as they have a place to gather and chat and snack. So easy! I feel like this is one of the most important things to set the party mood.

Don't Overdo the Posts, but Post.  If you use a Facebook Event to invite guests, you will want to post about your artists and remind everyone about your event. But too many posts can be annoying and people might just tune it all out. I shoot for one post per day, in the 5 days leading up to the event. I'll feature one artist, or one type of item with a couple good photos and detailed description, including price. We want to entice them, but not bug them. If you use email invitations, one reminder email a few days ahead is a good idea. If you aren't getting many responses, the host can personally contact their closer friends to encourage them to come. Again, I think it's helpful to push the party element, rather than the sales... the fun, the friends, and the beautiful goods.

I would love to see these home events become a popular and cool thing to do again! Holiday time is obvious for indoors, but summer is great for outdoor Garden Party Pop-ups! I love how easy it is, and that the artists are in control. I encourage you to try a few of your own private pop-ups and see what happens. Or maybe you have done some, how did they go?? What did you learn from your own experiences? I'd love to hear.