I was working on this post when my computer crashed. And I forgot it never got officially published. So here it is, a week and a half later…

Another day, another booth photo. While I was at Sommerfest today, some friends reminded me of how much my booth has changed since I first started doing markets and craft shows. So I thought I’d look up what my very first booth set-ups looked like, and I was surprised. I didn’t realize how much my set up had changed in the last two years. Check out this photo of my first craft show booth:

Two little tables, with room for everything I had for sale. No display pieces, no fitted table covers. When I first found this image, I was sure it had to be from at least 3 years ago. But really, I’ve only been doing craft shows for just over 2 years now.

Some things I’ve learned in the last two years about setting up a booth:

1. Have multiples. People are attracted to groups of like items. They don’t pay much attention to single items that don’t seem to fit into a group… it’s much harder to sell that last one of something.
2. Group similar items together. I’ve noticed that when I have similar items scattered throughout my display, people don’t always realize they have more options. They don’t naturally look over the rest of your display to see if that style of coin purse they like is in a pattern they like somewhere else.
3. Make prices easy to see. If people can’t quickly find a price for an item, they’re likely to set it down and move on rather than ask for a price. Consider putting a price on every single item, because sometimes people will miss even the most obviously placed signs.
4. Use height. I tend to be attracted to booths that make a good use of vertical space as well as the flat space on top of tables. It draws my eye, and gives the appearance that there’s a lot to see at this booth.

Wind-proofing your booth is probably important, too, but that’s not a thing I’ve mastered yet.