How much stuff to take to my first art fair

Hello everyone!

I'm a complete newbie, and I have my first art fair coming up in two weeks time. I work in stained glass and jewelry mosaics, and I'm just wondering how much stuff to take. I have everything from large glass panels (priced from 95.00 to 350.00) , to business card holders and candle holders (25.00-35.00), and smaller items like sun catchers in the 10.00-15.00 range. I don't want to crowd my booth, but on the other hand I do want to have enough product, if possible. What's your take on what's too much, or not enough? How much do you put out for display? Do you keep some in reserve? Do you replace items that have sold, or leave a space to convey that someone has purchased something?

Any and all suggestions would be welcome! Thanks so much!

Replies

Signe Grushovenko June 9, 2012 at 9:08am

Hi Debbie! I'm a painter so I'm not sure if my experience would translate, but I like to think about a sales goal and then have several times that much work available. I would say definitely keep some things in reserve so that clients can think 'ooo, I need to get that while I'm here' instead of 'she has tons of those, I'll come back'. My client's also love when I pull something out of hiding just for them.
- Debbie Martens > Signe Grushovenko June 9, 2012 at 9:26am
  
  Thank you for your responses! I'm thinking that I will take all of my smaller, lower priced items, and maybe one or two of the larger panels so that people can see what I can do. For some items, I had thought of prepackaging them, so that if someone wants the black kitty sun catcher, I would have one already wrapped and ready to go. Is this a good idea? It would save time, but does the customer only want the one they see hanging?
  
  Thanks!
  - Janet Miller > Debbie Martens June 10, 2012 at 9:22am
    
    Debbie- First, good luck at your first show! Have fun!! A few hints. Nothing sells art like you standing and wrapping a piece for another customer! So don't worry about "saving time". If you have people in your booth, others are attracted to it.Plus as your customer lingers they may find another piece they have to have. People at art shows are generally not in a hurry. It's not like at the grocery store where they just want to get it done quickly.
    
    I almost always sell the piece I have on display in my booth. Some people are surprised by this and when they comment I tell them that I make each piece individually by hand so no two are exactly alike. Let them know their piece is unique . (Even if you have 20 more like it stashed away.) Plus if it's "prepacked" you will probably have to unwrap it anyway. They will want to make sure it's the same.
    
    Last, if you have the room in your vehicle, take as many of all sizes as you can! Big ones, too. You never know who will show up. What seems expensive to you, is a drop in the bucket to alot of folks. Looking at your big work can generate large commission pieces, too.
    
    Good luck!
Annette Piper June 8, 2012 at 6:57pm

I usually take all my stock with me - but i don't have anything large - although I keep most of it hidden away - its there if I need to replenish stock on display or in case a customer wants something in particular that I don't have out. The first show of course I thought I might sell the lot (LOL) but this is something I think we only dream about!
Dave Hinde June 8, 2012 at 4:27pm

Depending on the fair, you may sell a lot more of the smaller items. If you have room to carry extra small items to replace those that you sell, I'd carry them. My first year in doing art shows I tried to figure out what people liked, so I'd know what to carry. 6 years later, I'm still trying to figure that out.

A good example is my note cards. I'm a photographer and I have a rack of note cards that I've printed. I've had shows where I've sold 20-30 and shows that I didn't sell a single card. I've had shows where I sold a lot of cards on Saturday, went home and printed more, and not sold any the next day! Some shows the small stuff sells great and others it's the larger work that sells.