My First Show!!

[hmlove1218]

This is my set up I just finished. What do you think?

 

[lsg]

Nice setup.

 

[Seawolfe]

That looks nice Clever use of the burlap.

 

[navigator9]

Congratulations on doing your first show! Looks like you have lots of wonderful soaps. If you don't mind a few suggestions, I would remove the burlap. Your labels are brown, your baskets are brown, I think the baskets with the soaps would show up better against the lovely blue of your table covering. I would work on getting some elevation into your design. If you have some crates that you could put on the ends of your table and put the b&b items you have at the ends up on them. Perhaps cover the crates with the burlap? Also, I love your chalk board, really nice lettering, did you do that? The only thing is it's a little hard to read. If it were me, I'd move it to the back of the table and raise it up, maybe on an easel, and you could either list prices or the virtues of handmade soap, and then across the front of your table, I'd use a banner with BIG lettering, with the name of your company on it. Let them know who you are, get your name out there BIG, so that they remember you for next time. Yay, for you!!! :clap::clap::clap:

 

[Aline]

Agree exactly with Navigator! Raise them up, use the burlap somewhere else and maybe have the sign up against a crate on the table My first fair was a bust - wrong venue, not enough variety of products, set up not great. I learnt such a lot though!
Hope it goes well! Let us know....

 

[hmlove1218]

That's for the pointers. Ill try too implement some of them next time. I didn't want go spend a whole lot on my first show because I didn't know how it would go. But I think I did rather well. Ill put a little more thought into through layout of the next one.

And now that you point it out there is a lot of brown. It doesn't look like that when you're standing right beside the table.

 

[grayceworks]

I think if you put colorful cloth liners in your baskets, that would offset the brown-on-brown-on-brown look... your brown soaps would then be in the colorful baskets, on the brown burlap, on the colorful tablecloth. Right now, the soaps blend in too much to the baskets. They need some separation from the brown of the basket.

Either that or paint/dye the baskets maybe?


When you're right beside the table, you can better see the variety and detail. But when you're at a booth like that, people are approaching from a distance. And they will see a brown blur until they get close. You want them to see eye-catching variety! Be drawn to the table.

Other than that, I love the setup!

 

[hmlove1218]

I have some fabric that almost matches the color of the table cloth that I may see if I can use to line the inside of the baskets. Or maybe I'll paint them teal to have a blue/brown/blue/brown affect. What's the best way you've found to put the baskets at a better angle? I read somewhere to use binders, but I really didn't want to $30 just to buy binders for a show that I wasn't even sure was going to go well. It was rainy all day today, but during the breaks people came out of the wood works. I made back more than tripled my booth fee

But I agree with a lot of what y'all have told me. I will have more products at my next event and will put a little more thought into arrangement. Perhaps I'll be able to have some kind of sign stand or even a product stand.

 

[SoapyQueenBee]

For a first time, simple setup, I think it's cute. Lining the baskets would be a good idea for a splash of coordinating color, I agree, as would elevating/angling them so that people passing can see what's in them. Congratulations on such a successful first show!

 

[grayceworks]

I would think it would be simple to make some angled ramp type thingys with a 1x6 piece of wood, and a medium-sized dowel-rod, and maybe a piece of trim board at the front edge to keep the baskets from sliding. glue the dowel rod to the back-underside of the plank, affix the trim to the front-top edge of the plank. Depending on the size of dowel, you could have different angles. Same basic idea as using a ring-binder, but one long plank. could go under the table-cloth or the burlap also, if you didn't want to worry about finishing the wood. just leave off the front trim piece.

 

[navigator9]

Grayceworks has a good idea about the angled piece of wood. I may borrow that idea for my own soap boxes. But being on the "senior" side of things and always thinking about how much weight I'll be carrying when doing craft fairs, I think I may use styrofoam instead.....get a block of styrofoam, cut it corner to corner to make a wedge shape. Voila, two wedges. Easy and light as a feather. Thanks, Grayceworks!

 

[hmlove1218]

Y'all both have good ideas. Ill have to try them. thank y'all!

 

[Khanjari]

Congratulations on your first show! Looks like a very nice collection of soaps!!!!!

I agree with the coloring of baskets, burlap and the soap label.

Also agree with using height! On my first show, I missed that too the best thing is that you are on a learning curve. ...and that there's always a second time!

Great job! :cheers: :cheers: