<p style="text-align: justify;">If you’re new to the art fair world it can be very intimidating trying to figure out what you will need for the show. There are many things you could and should bring,but there are also things that might just cause you to lose potential sales. In this article,we are going to cover what you should bring to an art fair and tips on what to do before and during the art fair.</p>

<h2>What Should You Bring to an Art Fair?</h2>
<h3>Your Products!</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">One of the first things on your list should be your work. It might be a good idea to tailor your work to the event with either colors or themes to inspire customers at the fair to purchase them.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Bring only your best work since any lower quality work might ruin the theme or stop customers from purchasing if they see lower quality work near the higher quality work.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Bringing a piece that will draw a crowd is a good idea too. It is important to keep the theme with this piece since it sets the stage for what you will be selling at your booth.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Having high-quality boxes to carry your work is a good idea to ensuring it will survive the journey there and back such as plastic containers with packing material inside of them. If you have a lot of boxes it can be a good idea to invest in a cart for hauling them around easier.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Remember to price all of your work,but don’t let the price tag be distracting. Placing a price tag on the bottom of your work is an easy way for someone to find the price without it taking away from the form. You can also display a sign that has the prices listed for each group as well to give potential customers an idea of what your price ranges are.</p>


[caption id="attachment_16352" align="alignright" width="300"]<a href="https://staging.ceramic.school/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/bags-and-wrapping-materials.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-16352" src="https://staging.ceramic.school/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/bags-and-wrapping-materials-300x200.jpg" alt="bags" width="300" height="200" /></a> Bags and Wrapping Materials for Customers[/caption]
<p style="text-align: justify;">Don’t forget that bags and wrapping material are essential for art fairs as well. It is important to have bags in case people purchase multiple items or they will be gifting the item to someone. Having a simple clean bag with your branding on it can be a great way to boost your professionalism and spread your brand name as well!</p>

<h3>Craft Show Displays</h3>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Craft Show Displays should be the second item on your list,since they will be holding and showing off your work.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">If it is an outdoor art fair then you will most likely need a tent or a canopy and weights to keep the tent down during strong winds. Sometimes side walls can close in and make your tent more personal along with protecting your work and yourself from rain and wind during bad weather.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">A chair or a stool is vital to give your legs a break during slow moments and if it is a very long art fair.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Tables are absolutely vital and the size will depend on the space you have at the fair. Depending on how much work and space you have having one to three tables will be a good way to display your work without it being crowded. When you have tables,you will need tablecloths that go down to the ground to hide the boxes that will transport your work. The color of the tablecloths should highlight your work so we recommended black fabrics to make your work pop and look professional. If you have darker pieces then a table runner on top that is a light off-white color might make them pop more so than being placed on a dark tablecloth.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Racks,risers,shelves,and other display materials will be needed as well. Having height and varying levels will make your table more interesting,interactive,and can draw the eye to specific work.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">If you want to bring props to make your work stand out that is a good idea as well. Some props could be fake or real plants in planters,spoons on spoon rests,kitchen spatulas and spoons in a cylinder,lights under ceramic <a href="https://staging.ceramic.school/how-to-make-ceramic-luminaries/">luminaries</a>,and so on.</p>

<h3 class="MsoNormal">Literature</h3>
<p class="MsoNormal">Literature such as booth signs is important for having your customers understand who you are and what you are selling.</p>


[caption id="attachment_16351" align="alignright" width="300"]<a href="https://staging.ceramic.school/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/sign-above-on-your-table.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-16351" src="https://staging.ceramic.school/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/sign-above-on-your-table-300x273.jpg" alt="sign" width="300" height="273" /></a> Sign Above On Your Table[/caption]
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Having a sign on or above your table can be a good way to bring customers in who will at first look at the sign and then your work. Clean and professional booth signs are important for making sure that people will take you and your work seriously.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Business cards are vital for spreading brand awareness and placing a card in every customer's bag after purchase can help remind them of where they got it later on. <a id="amznPsBmLink_3447099" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" href="http://www.amazon.com/MaxGear-Professional-Stainless-Immaculate-Condition/dp/B01DPSL0FM/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=ceramicschool-20&amp;linkId=f1826ec6282927d66b126ac5decc4cae&amp;linkCode=ktl" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Card holders" data-amzn-link-id="f1826ec6282927d66b126ac5decc4cae">Cardholders</a><img id="amznPsBmPixel_3447099" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; height: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&amp;t=ceramicschool-20&amp;bm-id=default&amp;l=ktl&amp;linkId=f1826ec6282927d66b126ac5decc4cae&amp;_cb=1506131259839" alt="" width="0" height="0" border="0" /> go hand in hand with business cards in order to keep your cards neat and orderly.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">If you are going to other shows it can be a good idea to bring invitations to re-invite customers to your next show and draw more of an audience to there as well.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">A mailing list is a great way for customers to stay in the loop of your upcoming fairs,sales,and events through email.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">For customers who want to order a custom-made item or wholesale your work bringing forms for them to fill out is a great way to ensure they will be a customer even if they are not purchasing that day.</p>

<h3 class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Supplies</h3>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Supplies such as pens and pencils will be needed for customers to write down their information on mailing addresses and other forms.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Having a clipboard for them to write on can ensure that they have an easy time getting their information down and extra paper in case it is needed for notes or other uses.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Scissors and tape can be vital for any last-minute fixes at the fair along with rubber bands and paper clips.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Don’t forget to bring a card reader to process card payments. If you don’t have one then you can lose out on a lot of potential sales from customers who don’t carry cash. For the customers that do carry cash then having lots of change and a cash box will be needed to ensure that your money is contained and safe.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Bringing your phone is important if the card reader runs off your phone along with having access to a calculator on it.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">If you want to keep track of your sales then bringing a sales book is a good idea or using a card reader app that will track your sales such as Square. For the bigger art fair events you might need a sales tax certificate to present to the head of the events,but keep it in a safe and secure spot so it does not get damaged or lost.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Remember to bring extra batteries for your phone,a charger,or a wireless charger that can charge your phone and other technology on the go. This is vital if you are processing card payments through your phone and you want to be able to take card payments until the very end.</p>

<h3 class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Personal Use</h3>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Bringing items that can enhance your experience is important to stay happy and sane during a long art fair.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">A second pair of clothes can’t hurt to have if the weather is bad and other items such as bug spray,sunscreen,and raincoats can also help if you know the weather might be rainy or hot.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">A cooler with snacks and drinks is extremely important to staying hydrated and keeping your energy up for the whole day.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">If you need to take medications for the day then bringing them there along with Aspirin will ensure aches and pains will not stop you at the fair.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Tissues and hand lotion are good for allergy season and keeping your hands from getting too dry.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Other than that,having a small blanket can be nice at cold events and a notebook to take note of what is and isn’t working for you at the fair to look back on later.</p>

<h2 class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">What to Do Before the Art Fair</h2>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Staging your booth can be the best way to figuring out how you want to set up your booth before the fair. You might just find that once you set up your booth beforehand there is too much going on,the displays are too short,there is not enough light or other potential issues. Consulting family and friends by showing them your booth set up beforehand can give you an idea of how potential customers will view your booth. Try different setups,fabrics,and display methods to see what will work best for your work and intrigue the customer enough to step into your booth.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">A test run can give you an idea of how prepared you actually are for the art fair. Make a list and pack everything up to see how much you will need to move to the location and then unpack to see if everything you actually wanted to bring is there. You might notice that some things can get lost or misplaced on the way which can give you an idea of how to prepare and ensure that everything you need will actually get to the fair. Once the test run is done then you should try packing everything into the vehicle to see if it will fit. If it does not then either using a different car that has more space or not including some things might have to happen. It is best to do this before the art fair so you can adjust and rearrange your booth staging if you can’t bring as much as you would like. Once you know you have everything and it will all fit it is a good idea to pack it in the day before the art fair so you will be ready to go early in the morning and spend less time packing the car before leaving for the event. This also ensures a less stressful morning for you which can improve your mood at the fair overall as well.</p>

<h2 class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">What to Do During the Art Fair</h2>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Bringing your best mood to the art fair will be one of the best ways to draw people in. Customers can tell if you are feeling sour or grumpy and it can repel them from even stepping into your booth. Remember to smile,be friendly,and talk to everyone. Some customers will decide immediately that they won’t purchase your work if you can’t even be bothered to greet them.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It is customer service just like at a normal retail job that is needed to make people feel welcomed and interested in purchasing your work. If you have never worked in a retail job before that requires you to interact with customers it might be a good idea in order to know how to interact with potential buyers better. Researching online how to interact with customers is also another good idea.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Remember to always be professional even if a customer is not being professional or nice to you or your work. You are the face of your business and how you act will reflect how your business will be perceived. If you act rude and mean to customers then they will tell other people and it will be a bad reflection on your business. Always staying professional to customers despite how they may act will help to keep your business perceived positively.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://staging.ceramic.school/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Setting-Up-a-Tent-foran-Art-Fair.png"><img class="wp-image-16355 alignright" src="https://staging.ceramic.school/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Setting-Up-a-Tent-foran-Art-Fair-200x300.png" alt="art fair" width="200" height="300" /></a>When you are at an art fair it is important to also have fun and enjoy each moment. Talking to others about your work,sharing your love and inspiration with others,and seeing someone fall in love with your work should be the moments you cherish most from the fair. It is always a great experience to talk to the artists around you and you can end up making a lot of dear friends this way!</p>

<h2 class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In conclusion</h2>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Setting up for an art fair can be confusing and overwhelming for those who do not yet know what to do. We hope this article helps you understand what you should bring to an art fair,what to do before the fair,and what to do during the fair. Know of anything else to bring to a show? Let us know in the comments below!</p>

Setting Up a Tent for an Art Fair

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Setting Up a Tent for an Art Fair

Setting Up a Tent for an Art Fair

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