Art Booth At Fairs & Festivals

Have weights for your booth, if something wheather related happens don't wait for someone to tell you what to do, save your art. Some of your neighbors will try to invade your space ( can I put this here) 10 x 10 is what you paid for. A big mistake is explain too much or talking lengthy to anyone, cut it short. Try to see what is selling, check out other booths. My first show was in San Francisco almost 40 years ago. You can always make friends, but you can only make money at certain times and events. I hope you do well. It's better to sell something for 500 bucks than 500 items for a buck and you will fell much better. Good Luck

Thank you Jack! Yes, I am planning on the weights for each pole. My husband has some small buckets with cement poured into them. I'm going to give them a try.
Wow, 40 years ago? Have you been selling in shows all this time? That's amazing!
Unfortunately the extended weather forecast is showing rain, not sure how many people will venture out in that but hopefully it will still be good.

Julie,

Doesn't always rain where you live?

I too, have been doing shows for 40 years, on the East Coast though.

Do have Square?

If not and you have time, download the app and get the Square credit card swiper (still can be used and seems to work more readily than the new Chip Reader) for your smart phone.

This is by far,is the best way to take credit cards.

If you have PayPal ,another way, to get money other than cash is to have buyers use their phones to transfer funds to your PayPal account...I find people don't mind, in fact they seem to enjoy/justify using their phones for something substantial.

Have business cards, to give out after a sale, or if a sale then and there is not possible, or if someone asks...Never leave them out for the public to take.. That only provides an excuse to buy later.

Hi Roger :)

Why yes indeed I am told it does rain all the time here! Unfortunately we have only had a handful of days of rain this summer...
Also, unfortunately, the extended forecast for that weekend is showing bouts of rain. I'm thinking that will cut down on the amount of potential
customers but am hoping for the best...after all, it's a Beer/Wine festival...most people won't care, right?!

I did get the Square card reader so am set up with that. It was very easy to acquire and set up. I highly recommend it!

Thanks for the tip on the business cards, I'm guessing leaving them out for customers to grab is like throwing them in the trash?

No advice, but good luck and let us know how it goes!

Thank you Alison! Will do!

Some of the comments in Toby's McGuire's thread from a few months ago may be helpful. Good luck!
https://fineartamerica.com/showmessages.php?messageid=3550797

Ahh, thank you so much for the link to Toby's thread Diane!! Awesome advice and experience in there!
Very helpful!

"Some of your neighbors will try to invade your space ( can I put this here) 10 x 10 is what you paid for."

Yes they will, most are courteous, but you will run into the occasional space hog, and it seems to happen more frequently to women as they generally won't fight for the space they payed for..

If you want to sell big, you have bring big..

"I'm thinking that will cut down on the amount of potential customers" It can, at least the ones that are there for the art

"it's a Beer/Wine festival"...haha, that can work your advantage

"My husband has some small buckets with cement poured into them" You want at least 40 pounds per pole leg...anything less, can be easily moved by the wind...seen it many times. I made up 4"x36" concrete filled pvc pipes with an eye hook at the top that I bungee to the legs.

Take some smaller stuff - we called those lunch specials - it's how you pay for lunch and sometimes the gas. Big is good - unless it's too big.

Alison, the Festival went very well considering it was my first attempt! I don't know how to post the pictures directly so here's the link to the Facebook post. One of our state reps stopped in at my booth and really enjoyed my art so took some pics and posted them on his web page. Over all it was an amazing 2 days and the weather was nice and sunny!
https://www.facebook.com/juliesenfart/

This was my first fair set up. It's my budget version. If I decide to do more fairs I have to upgrade my booth.
The Rittenhouse Fine Art Show only allows original art work. No reproductions

https://www.facebook.com/iris.richardson/photos/a.10152176529980243.915137.10150154332250243/10159371291700243/?type=3&theater

Tips don't sit inside your booth, people will be intimidated and walk passed you.
Don't ask questions which can be answered with a yes or no
I had two price list and then made the round at fair to see which one I should use.



Best of luck

Julie,

Checked your Facebook photos,.....You're already a Trooper.

From someone who fed off the personal reactions of the public, in face-to-face venues, for forty years now, let me tell you...

This is one diet, you can't stop indulging in.

Being a real person that paints, and proud to admit it, something that far too many are afraid to do, and prefer to remain anonymous, I salute you.

I am sure that this will be just the beginning of enjoying this tasty repast that will continue for quite a while into the future.

As I often exclaim, "Get OUT THERE and HUSTLE!!"

Roger!! Thank you so much! It is an indulgence I will not be able to give up. I absolutely loved it! It was A LOT of work but oh so worth it.
"Get OUT THERE and HUSTLE" is my new motto!
I salute you...40 years of doing this, your amazing!

3 years ago when my friends & family told me I should get out there and share my art with the world, I put on my "big girl" panties and went for it. I haven't looked back since.
______

Iris! Glad to see you stepped out and tried it also. I hope you do more, keep at it!! I definitely learned a lot from this first one and there are changes I will be making, improvements and lessons learned.

Good luck Julie on your sales! Mind if I ask what they charged you for a 10x10 booth? I was thinking of trying the crafts,collectibles and antiques shop near me for a booth that is 4x4. I know its very small but just to try it out for $40.00 monthly.

Hi Randy, this is a fairly new festival, this was it's 3rd year and they charged $125 for the weekend. Some of the other ones I'm looking at for next year are much bigger and have been around a lot longer and they charge anywhere from $200-450. Some even ask for and additional percentage of your net sales. So you want to make sure you are going to be able to pay for your booth in sales quickly, than it is all profit after that. I did cover my fees within the first half hour.

Yes Julie that's the problem, paying for the booth in sales quickly, thinking of short term and see if I make any sales.I got images stack in my closet that didn't sale and want to deplete.