Art Fairs are an excellent opportunity for you to meet with your customers and get to know other sellers in your niche. Even if it is a casual setting type of event, there is still a need to look professional and present your booth in the best way possible.
Learn about things to avoid in order to make you more successful at events!
1. Items other vendors are making too
The sole purpose people are visiting Art Fairs is to look into local and one-of-a-kind items, made by creators who have their own sense of creativity and originality.
Offering items that others can easily make too, or are already doing so, makes you not stand out and kind of makes your work seem dull and unoriginal- we do not want that!
For example, at an art show a few years back, I saw a vendor making book sleeves out of illustrated fabrics that seemed really cute- that was my first impression. Then, after walking around, I saw 3 or 4 other vendors who made the same items out of the same fabrics. There isn't anything inherently bad about this practice, but it still left kind of a sour taste in my mouth and did not really make me want to buy anything.
When you are not aiming at creating something that has unique traits, then you are not offering your customer a unique and memorable experience. It is then much easier for them to forget about your booth and move forward. It is much better to niche down and serve a particular and concrete need and type of person, than trying to sell items that would be liked by everybody and don't have anything that exciting about them.
My personal example on that note is whenever I used to make tote bags or clothing designs, I really tried to serve a large crowd with the type of design I make. After a while, I learned what kind of person my customer is, and I also learned to trust my own sense of aesthetics. Instead of making something that would then fall flat and soulless, I would niche down. After a while the Cottage Stories Series line was born - forest animals and magical themes that aren't really for everybody, but I really enjoy those and I have found a crowd that does too. Niching down could sound counteractive, but it is truly a way to be more successful and also personal towards your customers with the products you offer.
2. Use a bunch of your household items as fixtures for your table
I used to take apart my living and kitchen every time I would go to an Art Fair, empty all the wooden crates and baskets, jewellery stands etc. It is not only exhausting to do that, and then have to put it all back together, but it's also obvious. And makes you seem unprofessional.
Now, having supplies that I have bought and only use for my booth allows me to have those items specifically chosen for their purpose, serving my brand. They all match and go together, which makes my table look much better. Also saves me the hassle to empty the veggies from that cute wooden box in order to use it to display stickers, and then put the peppers back in when the event is over.
I have seen people use bed sheets as tablecloths for their booth. Sheets with patterns that have nothing to do with their brand! Lazy. Putting together a display like that does not send a strong message to your customers at all.
Don't get me wrong, I don't mean you have to spend thousands on props and fixtures, you could always get them relatively cheap items and repaint and repurpose them. The idea is to make something that would look cohesive and not like a randomised patchwork. A bad display could bring down the value of the products you are selling, and you surely do not want that!
This is from last October, the display was still a little too busy in the beginning, but I am using fixtures I got specifically for my market display. The clothing rail, the wooden crates, boxes and stands, the mesh to hang my art prints on- I feel it all looks cohesive, with wooden elements and my brand colours, with sort of a DIY feel that doesn't look unprofessional.
3. Have a boring display
I think I made it clear how important your display is for your Art Fair's success! Having an amazing display has the power of increasing your products' value in the same way a bad display could do the opposite.
Having a display with no story or nothing interesting going on, no volumes or decoration or branding is just meh to look at. People might not get a bad impression of you, but it is not memorable and they would probably just completely forget about your table. I don't know if that is worse or not.
To explain what I mean, I found a photo from my first-ever Art Fair! You can see that my display has absolutely nothing going on for it. My little handwritten sign is just... let's just say we could've done without it. I remember thinking the fairy lights were the absolute rock and roll of a display.
This is from Christmas that same year, or the year after, I don't really remember. There is some progress here, we've got some volumes at least but the display is packed with stuff. There were cards, bookmarks, Christmas tree ornaments, brooches, wooden decorations, prints, framed prints, linocuts, watercolour illustrations, there was some stuff on the floor in front of my booth, it was just so crowded with stuff. Half of those don't even match my brand at all. It was all very eclectic and busy.
4. Having nothing to say
That is a tricky one! I categorise myself as an introverted person and it's been such a pain to get comfortable talking to people at Art Fairs, and it took me a long time.
Read my other article on How to avoid awkwardness at Art Fairs as it is quite suitable for this topic.
Standing there, being quiet is weird. And awkward. To both you and the customer.
Ignoring them, doing something else or talking to another vendor is rude.
Starting a conversation with your visitors builds a connection and creates a positive impression that could potentially convert into a sale. Or an Instagram follower, who knows?
In the article linked above, I go into detail on how to do just that- driving a more meaningful conversation that would segue into your products' benefits. Stating obvious facts ("this is made of green fabric") about the items is useless and doesn't give your customers any meaningful information. It is much better to share something unique, like where you got your inspiration from if there is a fun (but short!) story behind it, or if there is a feature about your product that isn't obvious. I like to let people know that I print my own merchandise by myself using a screen printing method, and a lot of people find that interesting and ask more about the process.
5. Selling EVERYTHING you could possibly make
I mentioned niching down earlier, and I know I am repeating myself now but it is the better option for your small business. One of the most important things you need to do is to define who your customer is and serve them specifically.
I am definitely guilty of making cluttered and busy displays that could make people feel overwhelmed and confused about what to look at. Offering a huge variety of products could dilute your brand's message and have a negative effect.
I hope my sharing my personal experiences going to Art Fairs with you is helpful and that you would learn from my past mistakes too! Don't hesitate to ask questions or contribute with your own experience in the comments!