Hi,
I'm a newbie to the art fair circuit and have a question about doing shows alone. Right now I'm an army of one, meaning I set up, take down, and staff my booth solo. I don't have a significant other or a business partner and probably won't be getting either one anytime soon :-)
I'm looking for suggestions on how to get reliable and trustworthy help with shows while on the road. I know some shows offer booth-sitters, but many I've looked into do not. Getting help with setup and takedown would also be nice at some point too.
Any suggestions on doing shows solo would be great...thanks!
Nancy
Replies
Hi Nancy! When I'm travelling solo I bring my tent out and slowly open it, and then throw the top on and open it all the way! It's a definitely workout, but that makes it easy to sit all day! I enlist the help of passersby to get my grids attached. Essentially I try to find somebody that looks kind and takes pity on me! It can be really scary to leave the booth unattended! I try to make buddies with the booth next door. It's definitely a challenge but very rewarding once you've got it all set up!
Thanks Lydia! I appreciate the advice.
I'm fortunate that my first big show (coming up) I will have help. But some of my shows this summer I'll be alone so I'm glad for everyone's thoughts and ideas.
For what its worth Ill add my two cents. I do small 2D paintings, all originals, no prints, $30 to $300.
Helpers: I have no helpers. It gets tough when the grandkids are all gone to college. Tried everything. There is no easy solution. Most often I just scan the exhibitors and see if they have a few extra people , especially teen agers, and ask them if they want to help for $20.
Theift: I had four things stolen last year. This was when I left for a food or pottie break. I just bought a nice classy rope from Jo Ann Fabrics. $20. They have hundreds to chose from. I made a nice sign to hang on the roap saying "be back in 5 minutes". I plan to stretch it across the front of my booth when I must leave.
Security: I just bought two dome fake cameras and plan to place them discretely in the cornors of my canopy. $10 each. No signs saying youre on camera , smile or the like. I dont like that stuff.
Ease ability of set up: I sold my lite dome. I asked others what is easy to set up. I finally settled on a Eur Max. I love it and it has set up like a breeze all of 2018.
Im now looking for some thing to lock my eye hooks on the picture to the curtain hook on the pro panel. This would make it difficult to just lift it and plop it into a cart.
I would never run an add. Your a woman alone and a target.... especially if your a jeweler. The best is to go thru the promoter. A good one has people.
Thanks Barry! I appreciate your advice, especially the fake cameras. What a super idea :-)
I do all shows alone, 15 this year, 18 last year, and am currently 84 years old. My canopy is a Finale, somewhat lighter than others, but sturdy, especially with cross bars at the bottom, so I am able to lift it by myself. To that end, I exercise with weights every day so I stay strong. I take my time setting up and tearing down, I don't have to be the first one out of the park. I do play the age card by requesting a booth spot close to where I have to unload, so I don't have to trundle everything so far, and fair management are usually agreeable. Yes, bring your own food and drink. I have a little sign that I leave on my chair when I make a potty run, 'Back in a few minutes' and I take my cash box with me. Since my work is 2-D and mostly framed, it would be hard for someone to run off with a piece, and so far have not lost anything. Many shows offer booth sitters, but they can be hard to find when you need them.
Thank you Joan! I can't play the age card yet but I think you deserve it :-)
Ditto for what everyone else said.
This last two years, most of my shows are by myself
Additional tips:
- I have had some luck with craigslist ads. Really helpful to have help when taking down a trimline tent, when you are tired and rushed at the end of the show
- when you are selling by yourself, you have to be mindful of the customer that wants to talk forever. "I'd like to hear more about this, but I can't focus on what you are saying right now as I have multiple customers". And often, this offends people and they leave. Too bad. If you have a second sales person there, you can 'hand them off' to hear stories about changing an engine, baking cookies, the grandkids. In palo Alto, one woman was in my booth almost 2 hours - it turned out ok, and she, unprompted, started talking up the work to everyone who walked in, resulting in two sales, even though she herself never wound up buying anything.
- my work tends to attract alot of technical how to questions. Great conversations to have, but not when I am selling. When I am selling, I am expecting a customer to give me money, and I give them work. If they are not going to give me money, then they are not a customer. Sounds harsh, but when I am by myself, and there are multiple prospects in the booth, and someone starts monopolizing the conversation with a tool discussion, not what I am there for. Much harder to do the quick snap decisions when you are by yourself.
- after a few hours of continuous talking, especially in a dry climate, my voice can give out. Sometimes during a show, there will be times when I have to reduce my talking for up to 15 minutes to rest the vocal cords. 'Sorry, so many in the booth today, my voice is giving out, tell me, what do you like/dislike about this piece versus that one?"
- you have to have all of your mechanical business stuff, receipt book, square reader/cell phone, pens, packaging, etc ready to go, where you can quickly find them, so when you make a sale you are not fussing around, this can really annoy customers
- have multiple bottles of water hidden in your booth, so you can quickly grab a drink when you need it. Also some food.
- it is a remarkable thing when you have a crowd gathering in your booth, listening to every word you are saying. Sometimes no one will be in the booth, one person walks in and starts a conversation, then a minute later I look around and there are up to 20 people listening to my every word. And if you have 3 customers who are thinking about buying something, it is a skill to arrange them all so you can make 3 sales at the same time. 'Which one are you thinking about?" No, she is taking that one, here is another that is similar/better/worse ". again, would be easier if you had a second person with you, but if you do not then you do not
- custom work. It is hard to have a productive commission discussion at a show, with custom work, when the booth is full of people. Unless it is a simple tweak "I am buying the large one and the small one, can you make one medium sized?" it is best to have those conversations after the show. I also find that a discussion of custom work can be a way of a customer saying no, they don't like your style/color/size/haircut/price, only it takes much longer to figure that out. Again, harder to do when you are by yourself.
In fact, this is one of my weak points, and I'd like to hear from others who have success with when/where to have the custom discussion
- lastly, having a 2nd person there to give positive reinforcement to both yourself and customers is very valuable. Hard to do when you are by yourself.
It is fun, exciting, exhilarating, depressing, sometimes all at the same time. Enjoy the experience.
Mark...thank you for all of this great advice. My first "big" show is coming up in a few weeks so I will definitely be trying some of these out!
My husband and I are almost always together for the shows, but we have had health issues a time or two. For some of our shows we know a lot of people and they have been incredibly helpful. We once were next to a guy who walked around a little at set-up and found some early teens who were there with their families and glad to help with the carrying, both before setting up and after packing up. Of course they were well paid. Although we are usually together, I made sure that I could set up and tear down the tent myself. As was mentioned before, other artists are usually willing to help a bit for the crucial pieces, (for me, getting the tent lifted into the tent bag and zipping it up). Art fair people are the BEST!!!
Thank you Kathleen! I'll keep an eye out for teens who want to help for $.
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