Hi;
We are new to the fair biz, and will be doing Park City Kimball as our first show. We have a closed booth; that is, no french door or back door. We need all the space we can get for photography display. We are thinking that during the fair, we will set up our chairs opposite the booth, and we have a small rolling cabinet with our POS stuff, bags, necessities... my question is, are there fairs which don't allow you to sit outside your booth, and what if the booths are face to face, and there is nowhere to sit? I understand that sitting out in front is a no-no, as it diverts business. Any suggestions? Thanks so much.
Julie
Replies
I don't sit. I sell pens so my tables are like a jewelry store setup. I'm behind the "counter". Wife keeps telling me to buy me an artist chair but I believe it's more professional to stand. Now I pay for it at the end of the day but that's just my way.
You say you "pay for it" at the end. That's possibly because you are wearing the wrong shoes. I see so many exhibitors wearing sneakers while standing. Those are for walking, not standing.
Picture a machinist standing for 8 hours a day at a lathe. He does this every day and his feet don't hurt. Why? Because he's wearing standing shoes, not walking shoes.
Look into work shoes. They're not all steel toes, and many are quite nice. A good pair will last you for years, and your feet will thank you.
I too always stand and I personally found out these shoes are the answer.
I usually set up my booth with my small desk/shelf unit and high chair in the front right corner. I lose a little display space, but I hang paintings from the front of the shelf unit, so I don't lose much.
I like to greet people, and my perch lets me do that easily. I used to sit at the back of the booth, but a customer/friend said that since I am naturally pretty outgoing, I should sit near the front. So I have - and it works for me.
I often leave my chair and stand in front of my desk, at the very edge of the tent, to give people more room and more privacy.
I know some people say you shouldn't sit in the booth - but I think: Why not?
I rarely sit. I stand in the front off to the side and greet everyone who comes into my booth and then I let them look. I try and eaves drop and if I can answer a question, I do that before they ask me. Sometimes I stand across the street and if they look interested I come over and engage them.
If I sit, it's always in the back corner of my booth. I usually have a 6ft. table along one side, or across the back of my booth, and my chair is at the end of the table. The table is covered and I keep my supplies underneath.
I like to greet everyone that enters my booth. One of the reasons for using a high "director" chair is that you are almost at eye level with everyone. If I'm seated, I don't feel like I have to stand up for everyone that comes in the booth, although I usually do. BTW, I usually hide my drink, or food, behind a framed print on the table:-)
I generally have my cash stand in the middle of the back of the booth and since I sew I have made an awning and attached it with a zipper to the back of the canopy to keep me out of the sun. there is a 3' walk through between my rear grids to get in an out. In case I do not have space in the rear at a show I keep my cash stand in the front right hand corner which really eats up space but what can you do?
I place a doorway at the back of the booth, in the middle, and sit behind the booth. I frequently make a table out of a couple of Roughneck Totes by draping fabric over them and sit that either to the side or in front of me.
Some people like to place the doorway at the rear off to one side and place another panel in the front of that to keep from losing wall space. The drawbacks are that you can't see everyone in the booth from where you sit, although the ones with mesh panels don't have that problem.
Space permitting, I'm seeing some folks place a panel or two behind the booth, about 4 feet or so, and they either sit in the middle or off to one side in the back. Some shows don't allow that, so your mileage may vary.
Keep some booth layouts sketched in a pad for reference, and use whichever one suits the show layout. The Pro-Panel site has some photos of different layouts that are interesting, particularly if you have one side open and available.
I completely agree. Your space size is X by X. Everything, including you, should be inside the allotted space.
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