Arts ‘N Crafts Business Alliance

Have you ever walked into a store and immediately been so frustrated that you couldn”t even begin to think about spending your money there? Things are haphazardly strewn about, there is little organization, and then to top it all off, when you walk up to an item that you might consider – it has no price tag on it. Don”t let this happen to your craft show booth. You need to keep in mind the same principles of good marketing and merchandising when you set up for a craft show.

The first thing you need to do is have a plan. That means putting together an idea of what your craft show booth is going to look like in advance. I”ve seen so many people just lug their craft show items around in the back of a big van with a few extra stands and tables to place them on. These are the same people that ask, “why didn”t I sell anything this weekend?”.

Planning your craft show booth involves a couple of things: first, you want to talk to the craft show organizer to see how much space you have, and if there are any restrictions to what you can have in or around your booth. Also, ask if you have a reliable power supply to run your booth. This is important. The next thing you want to do is to get a floor plan of where your booth is located so you can figure out the best set up to keep people moving in and through your craft show display.

When you go to set up you craft show booth for the show, there are a couple of things you MUST keep in mind:

No clutter! Keep your crafts well organized into specific areas. If you are a knitter and you have sweaters for kids and adults, you don”t want them together because people will be frustrated with having to sort through the kids sweaters to find the one adult one in the pile.

Spend time perfecting your merchandising skills. If you have a special stained glass window hanging, it would be time well spent to purchase or build a window that you can display in your booth with one of your window hanging’’s in it. When people see the item in action, they can picture it in their own homes, or they can picture using it. If they can do this, then they are more likely to part with the money to buy it.

Keep items no lower than waist level – No one really wants to bend over after they have been on their feet all day at a craft show. Keep items within a person’’s reach and they will be more likely to pick it up and examine it closely – which leads to more purchases. Leave the floor area for extra stock (in boxes) that you can fill your racks with.

Price everything you have – Make it easy for people to buy your crafts. If you don”t have a price, they may think twice about taking the time to ask – they may just go elsewhere to purchase something at this craft show.

Eliminate log jams. There is nothing worse than having people frustrated by the lack of good flow in a craft show booth. Try and create a natural flow for people to look at your craft show items, be nudged along by others coming through, and right through to the till at the end. If you create to many spaces where people are bottle-necked or they have trouble maneuvering to see different crafts, you are limiting your sales.

Keep your aisles wide and keep everything streamlined. The frustrated customer does not spend their money in a craft show booth that frustrates them.

Remember, you are running a business. Think of that store that you despise going into versus the one where everything flows so nicely, the displays are appealing and all of the price tags are on the items for sale. Make your craft show booth resemble the store you like – and you”ll find that people will spend more money on your crafts!

Shawn Vincent is creator and author of Craft Show Success.Biz, where you can find lots of ideas on how to be successful at showing your crafts.

Permission granted to reproduce this article.

Computers and cellular phones, mobility and microchips – these are the trademarks of the world today. We live in a world continually changed by technology. Even the arts have continually changed due to technology. Think of it: from charcoal drawings to painting to photography to digital photography, we have come a long way in the visual arts. We have used various methods in capturing life and freezing time. New technology is continually being developed to make art easier and more fun. However, you should know that the art of digital photography is not as simple as aim and shoot.

The art of digital photography needs skill in order to pull off properly. Although some people may reason out that digital photography art can always be edited, many people do not really know how much work editing can be. Oh sure, we can say that technology has reached a level wherein a person needs to do practically nothing in order to achieve a great photograph, but of course, you need to know how to use the tools properly in order to do that.

The art of digital photography, in order to be truly mastered, needs three T’s: Time, talent and tactical placement of equipment. No, that’s not right. You need time, talent and treasure. Just what does this mean?

1) Time – one cannot be an instant expert in digital photography. You need to take the time to learn all about it. Even though you are some sort of protégé who has the talents of a genius, you actually need training to hone that talent. Remember that for all its power, a steamroller cannot be used to do the work of a hammer. There is wisdom in harnessing power properly.

Taking the time to train your self in the art of digital photography is something akin to sharpening a knife using a grindstone or forging a fine katana (that’s the Japanese samurai sword) by heating it and folding it over a thousand times –it may be painful, but it is necessary to produce the best.

2) Talent – of course, you need a bit of inherent talent in order to be truly great at the art of digital photography. You need to have an eye for the subjects that would make a great photograph. Otherwise, you will only end up being mediocre in a field that requires greatness.

Of course, the proper training can actually enhance your inherent talent and help you sharpen your skills in the art of digital photography.

3) Treasure – as said before, you will need the proper tools in order to be successful in the art of digital photography. This means that you will need to invest a lot of cash. Although there are a lot of digital art photography equipment that can be bought at inexpensive prices, the best equipment needs some serious pocket digging. This, of course, tests your courage because there’s nothing scarier to a man than having to pull out his wallet in the name of an untested interest.

Once you have invested money in the art of digital photography, there’s no turning back.

The art of digital photography may seem like it requires a lot. However, in order to be truly successful in something you need love and love always requires sacrifice. You should keep that in mind.