Whether you’re vending at your local Farmers’ Market, out of state Fiber Festival, or Craft Fair, you need to bring it when it comes to an attractive booth set-up! And if you have never had a booth before, it can be little hard to get started. In this article, I’m going to show you how to get your first booth together for under $500!
One of the biggest hurdles in attending your first event is knowing what you need to get started. One small trap that I don’t want you to fall into is going all in on expensive set-ups and displays right off the bat. I do want you to be money-conscious and make your booth scalable.
Now, what does scalable mean? In this case, it means investing money were you’re going to get the most bang for your buck, and save money by making, borrowing, or getting used items to save you money that is better spent elsewhere in your business.
Below is your guide to getting your booth together, and it’s practically painless. If you’ve got great craft or farm products that you know your community will love, but have been to afraid or too busy to get to your first event, procrastinate no longer!
Plus, I’ve put together a printable shopping list for your first booth set-up. It’s a checklist that you will definitely want to download HERE!
Quick Tips
Before you get into planning your first ever craft fair booth set-up, here are a few quick tips for getting the most out of your first event:
- Have a crystal-clear brand – use the same colors, fonts, and image across all of your labels and signage. Using more that three or four fonts or colors in your branding is confusing. Keep things simple for you AND your customers.
- Keep it clean – a well-organized, uncluttered booth is easy on the eyes and inviting to potential customers. Organize your products in a logical way, like by category (home decor, baby’s room, bath and body) or main ingredient (sheepskins, felted products, yarns, raw fleeces).
- Be attractive – I’m sure you are lovely, but, I’m not talking about you as much as your booth! Think about the placement of your tables and products to allow for a nice flow through, or around the perimeter of, your booth. Also, having a product anchor to your booth can attract potential customers from a long way off.
Want more tips for a successful craft booth? Check out a more in-depth article HERE.
Start Your First Ever Craft Booth for Under $500
I hope that you’ve already gotten some great ideas to start on your very first event adventure with confidence, and that you’re pumped up! I know that I am for ya, whoot whoot! Now, I’m going to tell you how you can start your very first event booth for UNDER $500!
Here’s my list of Must Haves for putting your first 10’x10’ booth space together for that big craft fair, fiber festival, farmers’ market, or other event you’ve been dreaming of attending with your awesome crafts and farm goods.
Some things I recommend buying new, or are hard to find used. But, other things, I absolutely want you to borrow from friends or family members, nab at garage sales, or make yourself. So, here it goes!
The Basics
You’re going to get a ton of miles out of these items. Your money is well-spent on great quality and easy-to-transport items in this category.
- Large Fold-in-Half Tables – 6’ x 30” – get two. Durable and easy to carry (they fold in half and have handles). $49.20 each
- Square Table – 34”. Great for utilizing the back corner space of your booth. $30.00
- PopUp Canopy – 10’ x 10’ . Comes with rolling case for easy transport, and four side panels for keeping your goods secure and the weather at bay. $219.95
- Business Cards – Get great quality cards, double-sided, 250 at a time, from Avery.com. $29.25
- Business Banner – There are a variety of options to choose from at VistaPrint.com. I like the 2.5’ x 6’ outdoor banner with grommets. $49.60
Signs
Easy-to-read signs are a must for your booth. You don’t want to leave your customers guessing or surprised at the prices of your goods. It should be fairly clear what your low-ticket products go for as soon as they enter your booth. Consider having individual hanging tags, or labels, with prices on larger ticket items.
- VersaChalk Markers – I love these chalk markers because they come in a number of more natural colors and are non-toxic. They’re erasable and will make signs that pop! $16.99
- Chalkboard Vinyl – Great for making reusable and erasable signs of all sizes, 8′ will definitely cover all your booth signs for your first event. $11.99
- Foam Board – 20” x 30”. Make your own erasable and reusable sign with this foam board and the chalkboard vinyl above. It’s great for advertising your event special (hint, hint). I use some velcro to secure it to my easel (see below). $5.36
- Velcro – 5′ worth of hook and loop to secure any signs and displays that want to blow away or slip out of place. $6.99
Want me to show you how to make your own reusable, erasable chalkboard signs? Get the video HERE!
Borrow, Get Used, or Make
You don’t need to buy everything new, and saving some money up-front is always a plus. There are plenty of opportunities to pick up booth necessities at garage sales, borrow from friends, or even make! See where you can cut corners now, and then invest in better stuff (if you find that it’s necessary) once you’ve made a few bucks from your event booth.
- Folding or Camping Chair – You’ll want at least one for yourself, and probably an extra for a friend or customer. You can borrow a few or pick some up at a grade sale.
- Table Covers – Flat bed sheets in similar colors make great table covers. You might have some laying around, but if not, borrow a few from a friend.
- Easel to hold your foam board sign. If you can’t find one used, here’s an easel that’s new for only $16.89.
- Displays – Get creative. You probably have a few items around your house that can make a great display. Use your bathroom basket/organizer, borrow your kid’s toy box, grab some old shelving from the garage, use livestock buckets and troughs.
- Cleaner for Erasable Chalkboard Signs – Make your own sign cleaner. Just add a little bit of vinegar to some regular ol’ water. You can make the mixture stronger, as necessary.
You May Also Need
It’s also handy to make up a tool kit of supplies that you may need during the event. Here are some items you can find in my endor tool-kit:
- Tape
- Pens and Pencils
- Scissors
- Extra tags
- Extra Money (to make change or buy lunch or goodies I find at the craft fair!)
- Snacks and Water
- Sun Protection and Chapstick
What was your total? You should have come in under $485.42 (even if you had to buy a brand new easel)!
Did you download your printable shopping checklist to make sure you have all of the essentials for your very first event booth? Get it HERE!
Hungry for More Craft Booth Ideas?
Check out DIY Sheep Crafts on Pinterest! I’ve put together a craft booth idea board just for you!
Did I Miss Something?
Share your craft fair secrets by posting below in comments, or join the conversation at DIY Sheep Crafts on Facebook!
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