Saturday was my second craft fair. I had planned to pack everything up Friday night and have it loaded in my truck, so that Saturday morning I wouldn’t have to rush around. Ha! Didn’t get that done!! But, I did have some of it packed. My husband got up early and helped me load everything in the truck, which was a nice surprise.

I got to the church at about 6:40 a.m. to get my booth set up. I am new at this booth-setting-up thing. The church let me borrow a rectangular table and I have one myself. I had spent a few days trying to figure out how to set a rectangles in a 10 by 10 space. Having researched the various ‘how to’s’, I decided I might try something different than what was suggested.

I set up a T shape with the tables: one table horizontal, the other vertical. Essentially creating a “store window” with the lead table, and a mini ‘come in and look from both sides’ area with the other. I set the Christmas tree where they both met, and put my canvases on the long one.

At first, it was pretty much a total fail and honestly, I felt self doubt in my ability to ‘set up a successful booth area’ creeping in. Many people did look at the stuff at the top part of the T, but rarely did anyone step in. Oh man! I stood there trying to figure out what in the world I should do!

My gut said to leave the tables where they were. They say “our gut knows”, but I really had to fight the urge to move them into a *regular* shape. Ha ha.

It’s tricky to display art without a wall or upright displays. Without either, what I did was lay a small ladder under my tablecloth, and I was able to get my canvases up off of the flatness of the table. I thought it looked nice, but it definitely was different than the traditional displays I had read about.

All in all, it was an educational lesson for me on craft booth displays. When another vendor complimented me on my set up, I was THRILLED. Still makes me smile even now. Seems like sometimes, doing something different than everyone else can feel pretty scary.

The day went on, and as more people stepped in and looked around, I was happy every time. Being a craft fair newbie is an interesting adventure. But, I guess as I get more shows under my belt, I will be able to figure more things out.

This show was definitely what I consider a success! I met some incredibly kind buyers and sellers. I bought some yummy honey, brownies, pot scrubbers, and two gorgeous paintings, and I made some new friends.

My friends even came to support me, and those who couldn’t come sent encouraging texts. One friend even helped me take my booth down and load all my stuff into my truck. How cool is that?

Everybody is new at something once, you know? If you are considering doing an art/ craft fair and it will be your first time, I encourage you to try it it. Like that old 1970’s cereal commercial, “try it, you might like it.” I sure do.

Hope your day is fabulous!

Jessica