Arts and crafts booth

Laying out the booth

For this discussion we assume that left and right are determined by the vendors view from inside the booth as you are viewing the crowd. (We also assume there is a crowd!)

Traffic direction flow affects the way you should display your merchandise. In the US, traffic tends to flow from left to right as viewed from inside the booth, probably due to the direction NASCAR races. Or more likely, the habit is for mend from driving on the right side of the road. There are some cases where the traffic will go in the opposite direction and in that case you may want to adjust your display to accommodate the flow of traffic.

Here's why. When a customer passes your booth, they can look at the right front into the back, then at the left inside wall and finally the left front, usually in that order assuming the traffic is flowing normally. This means the left inside wall may not be seen at all, or not unless the customers turn their heads to look back as they pass, of if they stop to look at the entire booth.

It does not make sense to put your best or most popular work where it may not be seen. Best selling items, the ones that attract the most attention, should be located where the customers will be able to see them, for the longest period of time. This way the potential customer may become intrigued and drawn into the booth for a closer look, or at least slow up. Remember this takes place in well less than 10 seconds at a busy show.

It is important to be flexible as far as setting up the booth because you may not know which direction the traffic will flow until it it flowing. Obviously you do not want to tear the booth down and set it back up at 10:30 the morning of the show, but it is good to be able to swiftly and easily move your items from one spot to another.

Space Economy.

Space economy refers to the amount of space available that must be divided between your display with merchandise and your customers, and don't forget your self(s). The real problem is when there is only enough room for two or three people in the booth and you are one or two of them.

Selling at a very busy show can be especially challenging when the customers do not have enough room to step out of the traffic flow to study your work, or make up their mind. Our time study shows that customers at a busy festival have less than 10 seconds to view your work and unless they can scooch into your booth you may lose the sale.

It is important to balance the space and use it properly. A 10 by 10 booth equals 100 square feet of space. A normal sized person takes up an area about 2 by 2 or 4 square feet. A person standing also takes up about 4 square feet. So if you have 2 people working the booth and 2 customers in the booth you are using up 16 square feet of space. Adding modest 4 square feet of sales space the total is equal to 1/5 of your available space.

If you buy a folding table they are about 30" wide and from 4 to 8 feet long. These things take up a lot of space. They are also a bit deep to use as a display table and many artists choose to make display tables that are a bit narrower, allowing better breathing room in the booth. Our present setup is only 2 feet wide on each side and we are redesigning it to be more like 16", adding 16" to the width of our open area. Now 2 or 3 customers can browse inside the booth with out bumping into each other and with room to view everything.

Think about ways your display can be made smaller but still hold the stock. Keep your "sales area" as small as possible so you are not taking up valuable space with a table that is being used to pack bags. We have seen many "sales stands" that take up less than a 2 by 2 space.

Some shows allow a bit of space in the rear where you can stay out of the way but that can cause another problem. How can you do a good job of selling while hiding in the back or behind the booth? (More on this later)

No doubt this is one of the reasons people buy a larger, wider or double space. A wider space increases the time the customer will have to view your wares and also provides more room for customers to step in and make the purchase. By the same token, you can be where you can interact with a customer, or finish up a sale.

Keep the display clean, no coffee cups or lunch plates should visible. Don't pack the booth so full of goods that the customer can not differentiate one item from another. If the booth is jammed full the customer will be overloaded and may not be able to concentrate on any particular time Leave some "white" space around things. Make sure your best selling items are clearly visible.

After working for a time with a display you will begin to see how it can be altered to improve function. Look at other booths and see how people are solving your problems. Take some time just before, after, or while making a bath room break to scope our other setups. The idea is not to copy another booth but to use a clever idea to solve a problem, then adapt the idea to your application.

Draw a mock up of your booth on graph paper to see how it can be laid out to display your goods in the optimum fashion while still allowing room for customers to move in and out. As a matter of fact we always keep a pad of paper handy to record eureka ideas before we become busy and forget.

Make a spectacle of yourself! Consider demonstrating your craft. We always thought it would be wise of promoters to give a bit of extra space and maybe a discount to those who would demonstrate their work. This small accommodation would add to the show and customers would be more likely to come back.

We always bring some work that can be done at a show, if time and space allow. One person can do hand work while the other minds the booth. We have seen artist painting, making glass sculpture, knitting, weaving and spinning, and more. How could anyone question the source of the merchandise if the artists is creating the wares in person.

Next >> Eating on the road.