What I Learned After Doing a Year of Art Festivals

I was able to be a vendor at the 25th Potter’s Bridge Fall Festival located in Noblesville Indiana. It was a great opportunity. Once I was accepted I spent the better part of two months preparing.  With this being my biggest and most established event I’ve attended I had to really amp up my art display. 

I wanted to create a place that was welcoming, clutter-free, and appealing.  I wanted to share some of the ideas and insights I collected through blog readings and other things I figured out on my own. The purpose of this blog is not only to share my experience, but also be a helpful resource for other creatives when they are planning their vendor booths/space at other outdoor events. 

To do this I had to research, explore and try new things. I want to share with you seven tips that helped me meet my goals. These are additional tips bouncing off the pervious tips I shared on my pervious post. 

Tip number one: Always be prepared. (I’ve stated this before in a previous blog.) This was the first time the vendor had blocked in two hours for set up and we used up most of the time. We had some difficulty getting the tent up so that took more time than expected. I always try to remember to bring extra supplies such as: 

· Rope 

· String

· Velcro straps 

· Grates 

· S-hooks 

· Wire 

· Tape

Tip Number two: Be creative in your display. One of the tips I received is adding height to your display. Meaning you don’t want to just have your art or products just laying on the table. I had the idea of using a room divider that had 15 slots of pictures in other words a picture frame room divider. I was able to find one on Facebook Market place and spent several days painting it. This was a way I could display 15 different art pieces in a neat and clutter-free way! If I didn’t use the room divider to showcase my art prints, I would need to hang them all or have them on tables. I brought a total of 29 pieces. I was able to set up the room up front in a way that encouraged people to walk into the booth and not just pass by. An outdoor rug gave our tent a more welcoming look. 

Tip Number three: Create a seating area. Some people set up where they either stand behind a table or even a chair in the front of the tent. We created a space inside the tent so it was like some little place visitors could come and hang out. I found sometimes people are more willing to visit your tent if they don’t see you right away.

Tip Number four: Provide shopping bags. Almost everyone who purchased at our booth wanted a bag to put their items in. It’s also another way to market yourself. I use black bags with professionally printed stickers with my name and logo placed on them. When other people see the black bags or when they take it home they have a reminder. Plus it’s another way to serve your customers. 

Tip Number Five: Rearrange/Refresh your booth several times during the event. My aunt had read in a blog, that refreshing your display is a creative way to create the illusion that you have added new products throughout the day. Especially for those who had walked by before and then notice a change and came exploring once more. Doing this can bring attention to some items they may have missed before. 

Bonus Idea: I have to credit my cousin for this idea but she suggested bringing a Bluetooth player and playing music in the booth. I thought this was brilliant and will definitely being doing this at future shows!  

Bonus Tip: Go to festivals and fairs and take notes. See what booths have heavy traffic and make some observations about their set up. Each vendor looks different and has unique ways to create their booth. See what you like or how they display certain items. You might get great ideas of your own. 

Tip Number Six: Display business cards in the easy assessable way. I created, what I thought, was a clever way to display my business cards. Over the past few months I’ve discovered my awesome idea was a little too abstract. The display was seen as too pretty to remove the business cards or just over looked all together. So for my next show I’ll multiply the places for business cards to display. I might even create a “take one” sign for my display. 

Tip Number Seven: My most important tip, celebrate the small victories! It can be easy to become discouraged when you don’t sell out your booth or make record sales. So celebrating every victory will encourage you to keep going. Did you set up your booth at an event? Congratulations! You are taking steps and getting yourself out there. Did you remember everything for your set? Awesome work for being so organized! Did you sell one item? That is amazing! Great work you impacted another person’s lives with your craft. 

Remember it’s about people not sales. Sales are just numbers, and yes we want to be successful and make enough money to call this a career, but we can’t forget the real reason why we do what we do. We create and make art to change the lives of others, to inspire, to improve, and to serve.  Keep creating, keep getting out there and remember to encourage inspiration in the hearts of others.