Sellin' Stuff in a Fixed Location

Craft shows are kind of weird.  You lug your stuff somewhere, set it out on a table, and expect people to come up to you, pick through your wares, and hopefully buy something.  It's kind of primitive when I think about it - but in a good way, like recreating history or something...

This past Saturday I attempted to sell my luggage tags at the Independent Designers Market Boston.  While this is a fledgling market and the rain kept many people away, I was able to sell a few things. And by a few, I mean literally, a few (that's 3, right?).

The positive thing that came out of this show is I found a few new ways to display my products.  After I layed out my new table display, I was sooo excited and was quite please with myself for a good 12 hours.  After 12 hours, the show was over and I was then a little disappointed that I didn't sell much...But! Since I made so many ready-made tags in preparation for this show, now I have a bunch of new things to list in my shop, so hopefully someone will be happy about all the new selections to browse. :)

 

Glossing over the fact that the show didn't have a high turn out, I will focus the attention of this post on my table display.  The first show I did was in November.  I had no idea how to display my tags and was a little worried.  Luckily, my Dad is a carpentry genius, and he quickly created a neat wooden shelving unit that allowed customers to easily view my leather tags.  But at my first show I only used this shelf and the table itself to display my wares.  So, the night before my second show, I decided I needed to have a more stimulating display.  Below are my solutions to this "problem".

 [Please pardon the less than stellar photo quality of the photos taken at the craft show, I forgot my camera and had to use my phone.]

My new methods of product display. I got these at Good will for $15!  

 I think this smaller case was made to hold cassette tapes.  It didn't need much cleaning- only a little tape to pick up some dust/lint bits. 

 My luggage tags fit perfectly and the dividers help to support the tags and keep them standing up. Plus, luggage tags + luggage = win in my book.

 I printed out a sign on bristol paper, attached a custom tag photo, and stuck it in the lid of the case.  I used a folded piece of paper that I stamped with my logo to display the price, and stuck it in a crack at the front of the case.

 I got this larger briefcase at Goodwill for $8, holla!

 The inside was in pristine condition; no stains, dust, or damage to be found!

The outside was not as nice.  One of the locks didn't close that well, and the suede exterior was covered in a weird dust.  I took a wet rag and rubbed it all over the case...I think it helped, or maybe it just looked clean while it was wet and returned to being dusty after it dried...I didn't inspect it later to confirm this, though.

 I used the briefcase to house my darling cat heads.  In the pockets I placed sheets of paper that identified the shop name and the prices of the items.  

As I was taking this picture, my boyfriend was like, really? You're taking a picture of that?  At the time I thought someone would like to see the behind-the-scenes of my table. Haha!  However, I now realize it shows how I utilized bed risers to make the table higher and thus, bringing the products closer to the eyes of the customers. That's somewhat informative, right?

As of right now, I only have one more craft show lined up, in November (can we say holiday shoppers!).  Luckily, now that I have my table display somewhat figured out, the next show I do won't be as stressful.  I would, however, like to find another fabric to put on top of the white table cloth. The brown suede lace dust gets all over the place and makes the white table cloth look a little dirty. :(

Cat Lady side note: Being interrupted during the briefcase photo shoot: 

While my products are made in a home with a pet, at least you don't have to worry about cat fur...