Best Practices for Your Craft Booth Display

Best Practices for Your Craft Booth Display

I visited a new local festival the other day, and it got me thinking. Who is teaching these vendors how to make an effective display? Nobody from what I saw. Lots of nice artwork and handmade goods there, nothing against their efforts. But walking around as a shopper (for once!! I never get to do that!), I was a little appalled by what I saw. And it hit me that maybe they just don't understand how bad that is for sales, to have such a dismal display for their wonderful products. I didn't visit many of those booths really, and not to be mean. There just didn't seem to be any reason to go in. I couldn't tell what was for sale, or they were staring at me behind a tiny table with nothing else around them. I don't know... some of them were pretty bad.

It's so important to have a nice looking display. It really sets the tone and expectations for your customer. Think of it as your packaging, your store. What kind of store do you want your beautiful hard work to be shown in? What type of setting tells your customers that your work is high quality and awesome? I know you want your creativity to speak for itself, but if your setup looks like a garage sale... I'm not expecting much, and I probably won't even stop walking. It's just the human reaction. It also helps dictate the "perceived value" of what you have for sale. When I visit a flea market booth, I expect the prices to be cheap. So a nicer display helps to raise the price you can charge for your work.

After the show, I thought about it more... how can I help? If I was running the show, how could I help my vendors make a better display and thus make more money? What about offering them a list of display best practices? Essential items every booth should have to look professional and inviting. So that's what I'm going to do here, whether you are new or have some experience under your belt. Because getting people into your space is the first step. You can't sell things if they won't come in!!

Beautiful bags, but it's hard to see them.

1. Your canopy needs to be white. 

I saw so many black canopies at this thing, made me think they were on sale somewhere. But guess what? Those are for shade. They make things dark. That is the opposite of what you want for your booth. You want light!! I know the blue and red ones are pretty... but they can cast a blue or red glow upon everything inside, and still they are too dark. If you go with a cheapo tent (which is perfectly fine), try to find one that has straight legs, not the wonky ones that angle out weird. It looks kind of shwacky and cuts down some of your booth space.

2. Don't forget the weights. 

I think this is an easy one to forget about until you get there sometimes, but definitely get tent weights. I live on the coast, so wind is always a factor. This show was right on the water and it was very very windy, I saw lots of vendors scrambling and struggling to keep their tents in place. For my booth I use heavy steel gridwalls, so I can just strap them to my canopy. But weights are easy to find or make yourself.

And it's not just about keeping your tent and goods safe, it's about your neighbor's booth too. If yours goes flying it can do some serious damage to others. I've seen it happen. Don't be that guy.

Nice Parking lot. Hello neighbors!

3. Use Backdrops!!

This is really one of my big peeves and something many many booths overlook. Go google Craft Displays for a minute, and notice how many do not have a back wall or curtain. Most of them. It is so distracting! I can't see what is happening in your booth if all the background stuff is showing too. This festival, most folks didn't have any walls at all and many were back to back. So I have to look at all the booths behind you and beside you, while trying to figure out what you have for sale. It's too much. And it looks kind of amateur honestly. Such a simple thing.

Use your canopy walls (stark but do the job) or better yet get some curtains in a neutral tone, or a nice color even. You can make them easily, or find them ready made they are not expensive. Use a long bungee to attach to your tent, top and bottom so they don't fly around in the wind. Boom done.

Filling the space well, but ugly storage area.

4. Tablecloths MUST reach the ground.  

This is a hard rule. Period. You can add more fabric over the top to make them cuter. But your tablecloths need to hide table legs and all the junk you will store under the table. Just trust me. Again they are not expensive. Look up Trade Show Tablecloths on Amazon. 

Nice tablecloths, but flat flat superflat.

5. Go Vertical. Be Seen. 

I know I am like a broken record with this one, but it's so important. Find some way to use the full height of your space. Shelves, walls, curtains, signs. Whatever you can do to make your display bigger and more visible. That one table with nothing around it, flat stuff sitting there... I'm sorry to tell you it's just sad. Make it interesting and people will want to look more closely. 

Great levels and use of display wall too!

6. Communicate before they enter!  

Tell me what you have for sale before I get into your booth. If I don't know from over here, I am probably gonna keep walking. A big sign or banner that includes a tag line, like Bohemian Mermaid hand dyed clothing. So even if your booth is full of people, I know what's inside. Put up large photos if your items are small, jewelers do this a lot. Again, go vertical so I can see your work no matter which direction I come from.

Stand back from your booth and see if you can tell what you are selling. Not just random bottles of something, but can I tell what is inside them? Do I know you are local or hand cut your stones or use natural ingredients, or whatever you need me to know to get me inside?? Be visible. Communicate.

And inside the booth too! 
Even inside these booths sometimes I had trouble telling what things were. Don't make me work so hard, seriously. If it's not clear what a thing is used for, have signs or illustrate use with props. Price everything! People won't necessarily ask.

Nice! Tables a little flat but the large photos make up for it.

7. Don't block the entrance. 

Make sure there are no physical or visual barriers blocking the entrance to your booth. Don't make people squeeze between tables or racks, because chances are they won't. In my experience, most people are reluctant to enter a booth with the artist at the entrance. So I wouldn't put my chair in the front. I definitely wouldn't stand guard at the entrance with my arms crossed watching the crowd go by. Nobody is going to push past you, and nobody can see your booth if you're blocking it. 

I have a few more, but they are more related to interacting with customers. So maybe that's a different post. Hopefully these are some good things to start with, and you can tweak your setup a little to help your sales. Let me know if you try some and how it went!!