Saturday 9 May 2015

PREPARING FOR OUR FIRST CRAFT FAIR


Hello! I've been a little absent from my blog and social media lately, since me and George have been preparing for our first craft fair. While we've been hard at work, I've been taking some snaps of our progress so I can share some behind-the-scenes images with those of you who are interested in our Etsy shop, or if any of you are also attending craft fairs and need some inspiration.



Products

The first thing we considered was how many items we wanted to take. As our products are usually made to order, it's a very time consuming process to create a certain amount of stock in one go. Time management is key here, so we started planning a good six weeks before the event. It was also difficult to figure out how many pieces we should actually take, seeing as this is our very first craft fair and we literally have no idea what to expect! We settled on making two or three of each design, with a couple more of the best sellers, and in different colours to show the customisation and choice of fabrics that our shop allows. We definitely aren't expecting to sell everything (we'd be grateful for one sale!) but we want to have a good selection on show. It also doesn't mean everything will be on the table at once. We'll initially have our favourites on display, with the duplicates ready to replace any sales that are made.





Table cloth

The next task for us was planning the table. Whilst we want the products to do the talking, it's hugely important to have them well presented in order to catch people's attention, and to make the most of our exhibition space. We decided to buy a very large, plain table cloth to cover the entire table, as well as a length of striped, neutral coloured fabric to lay over the top. We used this fabric as a way of presenting our logo, which has been embroidered on with a contrasting chunky purple wool, and will be draped over the front of our table. We prefer to keep our branding fairly subtle, using small and discreet labels on our products. so thought this embroidery would be much more tasteful than a large, obstructive banner. We will also have plenty of business cards to hand out so people can follow us online after the event.



Platforms

As well as laying table cloths for the base of our arrangement, we also wanted to add various heights and platforms so nothing can be hidden behind and our space can be spotted from a distance. George put together a couple of these wooden platforms which work perfectly in giving our products some elevation, while also corresponding with the rustic theme and wooden buttons on our items. We think having a professional and well thought out display is just as important as the products themselves. These shelves work exactly as we wanted, by complimenting and enhancing are items but not distracting from them in any way.


Order book and forms

As we like to encourage customisation in our shop, we wanted to have an option for those who may wish to order an item in another colour, or in case someone would like to purchase a product that has already sold. We have put together an order book which features all of our products, with descriptions and their best photos. We also have forms for customers to fill out when ordering, as well as receipts for them to keep.


Packaging

To package purchases we have bought some simple brown paper bags and made some "thank you for supporting handmade" swing tags, which we will attach to the handles with twine. We will also be including coupon codes so that returning customers will receive a discount on their next Etsy order. Packaging has always been important to us, and while we take much more time to wrap our Etsy orders, we wanted to be able to package craft fair purchases much more swiftly, while still giving customers a memorable experience and hopefully a good impression!


That's about it for this behind-the-scenes peek at our craft fair preparation. This is our first craft fair experience so I'm excited to see how it goes and will be taking lots of photos throughout the today to share with you afterwards. Let me know about your own craft fair experiences and if you have any helpful tips and tricks for us!

Amy x


No comments:

Post a Comment