Are you preparing for an art and/or craft festival?

If yes, you’re in the right place.

Preparing for a craft fair as a first-timer may leave you wondering what to bring to the festival.

And…

It’s normal for new designers to worry about leaving important items behind.

So…

You aren’t alone in this.

Some popular craft shows you may be preparing to attend include:

• Made London
• The Chelsea Crafts Show
• Top Drawer
• The UK Crafts Council

It’s common for people preparing for craft festivals to forget something important when setting up at the venue. Others worry even before the festival, ending up forgetting some things at home.

During the last days to an art fair, there’s usually so much going on; this explains the need to keep track of your necessities. Some things you’ll need to set up at the festival include:

• Labels
• Displays
• An email list
• Artwork
• Signs

You must bring setup, promotional, and sales essentials to the fair to be professional and ready to sell your artwork. Create a list or checklist to help you gather and pack everything you’ll need.

Here’s a short pre-festival checklist to help you stay organized, comfortable, and succeed at selling your art or craft:

Top 5 Essentials to Pack for Your Upcoming Art/Craft Fair

1. The artsy products for sale

You must bring your products for sale or display to the craft fair else you’ll be wasting your time. What do you intend to display, market, and sell?

Is it your services, products, brand, or skills?

Create product collections of what works well together and determine the right stock to bring to the festival.

2. Display material

How do you intend to lure prospects to your display stand?

Do you want to give the impression of a bohemian shop with colorful products, or a small, white gallery with labels? Determine the kind of the first impression you’d like to give.

An appealing visual display stands out at a busy fair. Ascertain that it has some personality and reflects the values of your brand to stand out.

Use a thin metal sheet, a felt or wallpaper, to add color splashes to your display material without painting the shell scheme of the fair.

Use large images to lure prospects to your display and determine if your work is too delicate or not. If you don’t want your work touched, get it protection. Display cabinets, professional plinths, shelves, and keys would be handy.

A blue hand-painted console, a set of antique drawers, or a white IKEA shelf can give your brand some personality.

Choose a lightweight and portable displays you can transport in your van or car, or even carry up narrow and dark stairs of old traditional event venues. Make sure it’s reusable if you plan to attend more festivals in the future.

Look for display. You can easily organize to hide your marketing materials, extra stock, and handbag from sight.

3. An art and craft survival kit

You may also need to bring a survival kit to the festival for any emergency that may arise. Include the following in your “craft fair kit for survival”:

• Tape, scissor, extra pens and glue
• Food and drink to snack on
• Sunglasses, sunscreen, and a hat
• The best air rifle for personal security
• A repair kit with clay, paints, glue, etc.
• A sweater or jacket to keep warm
• Makeup, tissues, lip balm, and other beauty supplies

4. Ergonomic furniture

You can’t stand all the time at an art fair because it may affect your health. Therefore, get a piece of furniture to sit on when they’re no visitors to attend to.

In such a case, lean on your wall or display and opt for a high stool or develop an area for sitting.

5. Styling materials and signage

Create a display that your clients will enjoy exploring and add personality to it. Use the following to create various senses:

• Food peppermints
• Coffee with cupcakes
• A vase of flowers
• Mulled wine to create various senses.
• A vinyl sticker

You’ll also need custom signage to feature your logo on a colorful background. Wood logos, stylish logos, and a banner are some ways to get an attraction.

Finally, make sure you have the right paperwork to enable you to enter the festival or fair venue.