I Signed Up To Be A Vendor At My First Craft Show. Now What??

Hooray!  You've signed up for your first craft show!! Now what comes next??? 

Thankfully I had done my share of craft shows and have all of the details for you! 

It can be overwhelming when you are preparing for your first craft show. I know that I was a little overwhelmed preparing for my first show! 

The first thing that you need to do is read over any requirements that the host/venue have sent to you. This is where you are going to find all of the technical and logistical information that you need to know for the day of, like what time you an begin set up and what time the show is over.   

Once you have figured out the logistics of the specific craft show, here are the items that you want to make sure you have before the day of the show:

• Tables: Be sure to read the information that was sent to you form the host of the craft show first as some shows provide tables for you. Personally, even venue offers to supply tables, I  bring my own. I have two black 6-foot tables. Some craft shows only have space for each vendor to have one table, but most of the ones that I have participated in allow two tables. 

  
  

• Tablecloths: you will want to decide on a look for your booth. I chose to use all blank items because I sell hand painted mugs and the color of the paint and the white mugs really pops against the black of the tablecloth. I also used this opportunity to purchase a customized tablecloth with my business name on the front so people could see it as they walked up. 

  
  

• Pop-up Tent: Again, I purchased a black pop up tent to match the black tablecloth. A tip from me to you - if you have never used a pop up tent before, I highly suggest that you open it and set it up at least one time before the day of. I did not do this and was a little embarrassed that I could not set up the tent by myself and had to ask another lady there for help setting it up. Depending on the weather and location of the craft show, you may also want to purchase tent weights so that if it gets windy, your tent does not blow away. 

  
  

• Payment: You need to decide on how you want to take payment. I suggest that you use PayPal or square (something that has a card reader) and then also accept cash. You will want to have $20-$30 in small bills so that you can make change if need be. 

  
  

• Bags/packaging: Depending on the product that you sell, you might want to consider having bags and/or some sort of packaging for when someone purchases your product.