The attack of the Craft Show!

As we move into the Holiday season many crafters and artists look into the idea of doing a craft/ art or two (or more). Whether you are new to the show arena or old-hat it's always good to update your ideas and try to think of new ways to handle the experience.
The Big Sky Montana Etsy Team has several wonderful members who have done many craft shows. While they still admit they get nervous the night before, they all have such wonderful advice to those of us just starting or looking at different options, that it seemed silly not to share.

So, starting today and for the next few Wednesdays, we will be giving tips, advice, ideas and general don'ts for craft and art shows. Please feel free to leave comments adding things you do or better yet, questions you might have and we can add those to our posts. Be sure to visit each week for new installments and look out for our featured artists and crafters on Mondays and Fridays.

For our first installment : THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE THE CRAFT SHOW

So, you have been dilegently working to increase your inventory for your upcoming show ... your brain is on over-load ... do I have the right colors, do I have the right look for my items, do I have my theme together, do I have, do I have, do I have .... AHHHH

Make your life so much easier by coming up with a simple list of things to bring. Start the list about a week or so before your show (more if possible)

Your list should include things like:
Business cards
Tape
Calculator
Change box or apron & plently of change - think at least $100, if not $200
Pencils & Pens
Price tags
Scissors
Notepad (for writing down special orders, notes on ideas for new items based on comments)
Papertowels (you never know when you might need those)
Cleaner (all purpose & glass cleaner)
Duct tape (very handy - its a Montana must)
Display/ table items (we will talk more about this next week)
Tools and equipment to make more items while you are there (some show attendees may just stop by to see what you are doing and then start looking)

And do not forget water, caffinated beverages (if you drink them) and food or food money
**if you do not have someone with you, it is best that you bring non-messy, non-smelly food to eat so that you do not have to leave your table except to use the restroom

So, start your list early (as you can see, it is pretty long). It is well worth being prepared and feeling confident about what you are doing the morning of set-up rather then feeling lost and like something is missing.

Displays play a very important role in your craft and art show, so stay tuned for the next installment of our Craft Show Series where we will get into the Display Dilema. And agian, we would appreciate and being more than willing to try and answer any questions you might have about Craft Shows.

Thank you to Matt from Studio206, Uyen from Asianexpressions and Celeste from CricketsCreations for input on this article!!