Inventory to sell- I keep all my jewelry inventory organized in trays in a gray travel bag
Display Components
- Table - if not supplied by the venue
- Tablecloths - I layer a few different colors to make the table look interesting and have my base black fitted tablecloths in 6 and 8 foot sizes so I'm ready for whatever size table the venue gives me.
- Display racks/components - Luckily jewelry displays are pretty small. I have a mix of store-bought and handmade displays. If you sell other types of items, you may need to get creative about how you make your display. Think vertically, too - everything laid out flat gets boring.
- Banner/Signs - make sure people know who you are! I haven't gotten a vinyl sign yet but I made a pretty nice one with a 11x14" sheet printed at Kinko's that I mounted to poster board and sealed with acrylic spray. It works just fine for smaller indoor shows but I'll have to upgrade when I graduate to larger shows.
- Clipboard with sign up sheet for mailing lists
- Business cards & holder
- (For outdoor shows) - Canopy & sidewalls
Packaging For Sales
- Boxes, bags, etc - make sure to put your branding on them! I use clear address labels with my logo and website printed on them.
Business Forms, etc
- Copy of business license - important, especially at bigger shows where there might be inspectors coming around to check that you have all of your paperwork in order with the state.
- Extra price tags
- Extra price stickers
- Spiral notebook
- Sales list - make a table that you can write what has sold, for how much, and how much sales tax you collected
- Custom order forms
- Extra paper for signs
- Photo album w/ pictures of past projects, behind the scenes
- Craft show information sheets - print out or gather up all the flyers and vendor info sheets the venue has sent you
- Receipt book
- Ball point pen
- Phone charger
- Pens (lots)
- Pencil
- Sales receipt book
- Sharpie
- Stapler
- Twine
- Binder clips & paper clips
- Scissors
- Tape
- Glue stick
- Box cutter
- Lint roller
- Enough cash for change. The amount varies depending on how much you think you will sell. I aim for $150-$200 in small bills and coins. I guarantee people will pay you with $20 bills, so make sure you have enough $1's. I'm pretty sure the teller at my bank thought I was going to a strip club the last time I got cash for a craft show...
- Square and Paypal Here credit card readers - there are so many people who forget to carry cash (me!), or spend all their cash, then fall in love with one of your items and only have plastic to pay for it - so being able to take credit cards will bring you more sales. The transaction fees on both of these are pretty low and they are secure and easy to use. (I bring both because sometimes my Square reader malfunctions)
- Small bag for trash
- Wet wipes
- Napkins/paper towels
- Hand sanitizer
- Bottle of water
- Granola bars
- Other simple snacks/food - go for non-messy, non-staining, non-sticky foods... no meatball subs or Cheetos
- Coffee in spill-proof mug
Personal Items
- Makeup for touch-ups
- "Feminine items" just in case of emergency
- A few band-aids
- Contact solution and case - I got dust under my contact in the first hour of one of my previous shows, and spent the whole day squinting with my eye watering because I didn't have my contact stuff with me. Now it goes everywhere with me.
Extras
- An in-progress project to work on during down time - I usually bring supplies to work on chains. It gives me something mindless to do, is portable, and people usually come over to my table just to see what I'm working on. It also displays that I really do handcraft all of my items.
Thanks for sharing! Only thing you forgot was painkillers! Aspirin or Tylenol or Advil or whatever!
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