The bustle of the markets is something I have always loved as a shopper, but I never expected to be on the other side of the booth. This past month I took the leap and did my first in-person event at the Munch and Music event in Bend, Oregon. Bend is my home town and I picked a low key event so I could dip my toes in the water. The feedback from customers was excellent and it was an amazing opportunity to network with other local artisans. I even had someone from the local paper take my card because she is writing an article on local Bend artists. I don't know if any of these contacts will lead to anything but it's been amazing to connect with the community. I LOVE THE BEND ART COMMUNITY!
I have learned SO much in the last couple of weeks and I want to share some of the things I've learned. Some of these tips I gleaned from the internet and some of them I learned from my vendor buddies I made at the market. I hope this helps someone who is thinking about joining a market themselves.
1) Focus on Your Product
This may be a given, but your product is the most important thing. Make sure you have enough inventory without being too loaded down. I believe I made the classic mistake of ordering too much inventory too soon. This market was a smaller market so I could have gotten away with one 9x12in Fine art print and two 5x7 prints for each original. The higher priced items will sell slower so have more of your lower dollar items like cards and stickers. I also brought along an original art piece that was not ready for sale yet, but it had the wow factor and drew people into the booth. My wow factor painting was my wolf painting. People literally saw it from far away and came to the booth just to look at it.
2) Research Your Pricing & POS
I have already found that having a variety of price points pays off. I have posters and stickers priced on the lower end and my originals priced on the high end. After taking some time to look at other local artists and their pricing, I settled on prices that suited me. Have your pricing posted clearly everywhere! At the first market, my originals were in the front and my prints were on a table at the back of the booth. What ended up happening was that people saw the prices of my originals and didn't even stop in to see the prices of the prints and stickers. They just saw that high dollar sign and moved on. At the second event I moved my table to the front of the booth and had my pricing very clearly posted right next to my originals and I sold a lot more product.
For my POS, I am accepting cash, Venmo, and credit card using Square Space. You can get a free card reader from Square Space and the account setup is also free. My flexibility with payment options means that I haven't had to turn any customers away. For me, the credit card fees charged by Square Space are totally worth it to keep a customer. Square Space charges 2.6% + $0.10 per transaction.
Here's a link to the Square App: https://squareup.com/signup/en-us?signup_token=6AF7554132
3) Kit Your Booth
I spent hours researching the pieces I needed for my booth. Here is a complete list of the must-haves that I purchased for my booth with links (not affiliate links):
- Tent
- Mesh Hanging Wall & Bungees - great for hanging large art pieces. I also used garden trellises and hooks for the front corners.
- Folding Table - we already had this and purchased from Walmart.
- Stretchy Black Table Cloth - This adds a much more professional look and it is so budget friendly.
- Folding Cart - for lugging your stuff from the car.
- Hooks & Clips - for hanging artwork & signs
- Charging Brick - An absolute must because my phone does not keep a charge like it used to. No phone, no ability to take a credit card.
- Displays - this will vary but decide how you want to show your artwork. I ended up choosing a clear sided box for vinyl records. I am considering purchasing a rotating card stand as well, but for now they are in an artsy looking basket.
- Fanny Pack for Cash - shameless plug for Dakine hip packs
- Signage - I bought cheap picture frames and added signs for my pricing, Venmo, and a QR code that takes people to my contact info.
- Banner - I got an 8 ft x 2 ft with grommets.
- Packaging - have bags and tissue paper ready to wrap and protect artwork.
- Weights - I used buckets and sand. These are cheap but these are super cumbersome. I believe I will switch to the linked option as other vendors were using these.
4) Market Yourself
Don't forget to bring business cards and have lots of signs up about you and your company. I also did an instagram and email sign up giveaway to try and accumulate some new followers. It was very successful and I plan to keep doing it for my next couple of markets. One of my vendor neighbors suggested a Pople Business card. It's a metal business card with a QR code that people can scan with their phones. It seems like a great idea and I will adopt it soon.
5) Have Fun with It
My biggest take away was to just have fun. I brought my paints and a small painting to work on at the market and it brought a ton of attention to the booth. It also creates an ice breaker and gives you something to do if there are lulls throughout the day.
I know I have a lot more to learn and fine tune when it comes to in-person markets but overall, I had a blast. I loved talking to people and getting my name out there in the community. You will make mistakes at your first market, but just roll with it. That's how you learn and get better at anything.
I hope you will join me for my upcoming events.
Sending my love to you!