May 24, 2021

Surviving My First Arts & Crafts Show! 10 Successes & Lessons Learned

Liv Evon Designs Artisan Jewelry has had many firsts in its 1st year, but participating as a FIRST-TIME vendor at an arts and crafts show takes the cake for me!

Why Vend?

Starting off my business online was a great way for me to begin sharing - on a larger scale than I ever had - my passion for earrings. It allowed me to test if there was a market for my vision and solidified almost all my beliefs in my products.

Yes, I said "...almost all my beliefs..." and here's the reason why...

...the only thing that was holding me back from being 100% confident, was that even with the amazing reach and interaction business owners can get from an online audience, it is very difficult for one to gauge online customers' initial reaction when SEEING your product for the first time. I knew the only way I'd truly know the impact my jewelry had on people was for me to create a space for potential customers to see and experience them in real life!

So with near to no inventory left, no fully developed ideas for a vendor display look, and just 2 days before event start, I signed up to participate in my first local arts & crafts show!

Yes, child, I know I'm a little crazy, but I was pretty assured in myself and my product!

Overview of Day

When the day arrived I was operating on roughly 10 hours of total sleep over the past 2 days - I made batches of new earrings, went on budget-friendly shopping sprees (yes, plural) for display items (i.e. business banner, packaging, business cards, etc.), and stayed up late to put up a mock display (10x10 ft tent, included!) to make sure I had everything for the day.

(Major thank you's to Office Depot's printing service and Amazon for making this possible with their trusty quick turnarounds! 🙌🏽)

Luckily for me and businesses alike, the event had some vendor cancellations due to an anticipated 30% chance of rain later in the day, so I was able to move to a location with better foot traffic, which was great. Eventually, light and spotty rain did come 1.5 hours short of event stop. As a result of the expected rain and it being the first vendor event in the area since 2019, attendance at the event was resultingly low (roughly a few hundred people). People weren't yet used to neighborhood pop-ups like this again and no one really likes walking in rain, so it was a lot of hurdles to jump over. Luckily for me, this didn't impede what I ultimately came there for, because after 3.5. hours of selling, I received everything I needed from this experience and more...

Results!

At the end of the day, I had what I would call a pretty successful experience, even given the circumstances. Not only did I sell 17 total pieces and sold out of multiple styles, I most importantly saw how well received my pieces were by people I didn't know and who didn't know me. From "They are beautiful!," to compliments on my branding, everyone gave me the ultimate feedback I needed to not just keep going with LED artisan jewelry, but to invest in its growth. I also learned how impactful these vendor shows are for small businesses, and picked up on things I think I did well and can improve on in the future. So, with that....

I've come up with 10 successful practices and lessons learned from my first experience as an arts and crafts show jewelry vendor:

Shop News: Restock June 14th @ 9AM EST!

5 Successes

1. Just Do It!

Yes, craft shows may feel like more money than you'd like to invest in your biz at first, but don't underestimate the power of people seeing and feeling your product in person. If you know you have a quality product and a market for it, with a proper business structure, potential customers will too! Simultaneously, you might find that you made back most, or all, of your money from investing in the show, and simultaneously succeeded in marketing your biz to a new customer base.

2. Fanny Pack with Deep Pocket

Long gone, they say, are the days of a cash box at vendor shows - fanny packs are the new M.V.P.! The benefit you'll find is that your cash is always on you and not on or under a table for people to run away with. You can also hold items like your phone, keys or other things so everything is close and in one place. My advice is to get one that has a deep pocket so that when you open it to pull change out, people won't see how much you're working with as you fumble through your bills.

3. Credit Card Reader Is A Must

In a digital world, cash is no longer the go-to for purchases - only about 20% of my customers used cash. There are many options on the market, but many companies give new signees a free card reader for choosing them (i.e. PayPal and Square). I chose PayPal because it accepted both swipe-only and chip cards, whereas Square's free option didn't accept chip cards.

4. Market Yourself & Biz!

Marketing your business doesn't stop once you set-up tent, you have to show your customers through your display and communication who you and your business are. Have a display that makes it easy for customers to view and interact with your product. Use colors that are on brand, and think about sightlines and textures for your table display, too. When speaking with customers, don't just try to sell to them, but connect with them. Find ways to relate to people, build a relationship and be you! People don't just buy products they buy brands, too. Socializing also helps some of those 6-8 hour shows go by a lot faster, lol. Lastly, display your website and social somewhere on the table for people to find you - some may not buy now, but they will later.

5. Perfecting Your Pricing - Discount Products for the Event

There's not much additional to say here outside of, discounts incentivize immediate purchases and also help reduce the risk new customers feel when investing their money in a new business/product. This is especially true if your business is new, your goal is to build a community base of customers who fall in love with your product and become the sounding board for your products as your business grows.

5 Lessons Learned

1. Display Your Story

In a perfect world, it would be great to speak to each of your customers one-on-one about your business and the story of your products, BUT THERE'S ONLY 1 YOU! Customers can pile up before you know it, and I found from experience that when they do you can feel overwhelmed, and them slightly ignored, as they wait to chat with you. Have your story displayed somewhere, make it digestible and fun - it doesn't have to be in paragraph form. For instance, if you sell jewelry, display somewhere the materials it's made of, care/cleaning tips, names and prices of items, why you started the business, and other characteristics about your items/biz.

2. Enough Workspace

After fulfilling orders I realized I had enough table space to display and sort of pack my orders, but I didn't really have an organized space to hold overflow items of shopping bags, business cards, tools, etc. Like my home workspace setup, I needed a storage area to place these types of items. In the future, I plan to get collapsable storage pieces that are easy to transport and hold everything I need.

3. Prep Shopping Bags Before-hand

Your customers don't want to sit there and watch you fumble through putting your shopping bag packaging together, AND THEN continue to watch you package their item - it makes for awkward silence and a sense of being unorganized. Save yourself from both and put your packaging together in advance so you only have to package their item and slip it in the bag when they purchase :)

4. Weights/Tent Walls for Windy Days

Wind is real - it enjoys ruining your beautiful display. Bring weights, and per the advice of another vendor I chatted with that day, "Make them cute!" Once the wind picked up, my business cards, jewelry stands, and pretty much everything else blew all the way away!... Weights, had I had the forethought, would have saved my whole day, ya'll. Tent walls also help by blocking wind from certain angles - my tent came with 4 walls, but if your's doesn't, stores sell them separately to fit many standard-size tents.

5. Email List for Visitors

If I were to go back to this day, I would tell myself, "Yes, girl, your shop is officially in-person for your customers, but that doesn't mean we stop growing our email list!!!" You're meeting new customers that are interested in your product and more than likely they want to follow you to get updates about new products, restocks, deals, etc. Having a signup sheet or a secure box to collect slips of paper with customers' contact info are great ways to grow your list and keep these new customers up-to-date.