Should I Attend Juried Art Shows Or Non-Juried Art Shows?

Many newbies have this question in mind — Should I attend juried art shows or non-juried art shows? Well, both are good in their own ways. To make a sensible decision, you need to understand the basic structure and potential of both.

Juried Art Shows  

Juried art shows are the shows that require exhibitors or vendors to submit an application and display the product samples or present their work to participate in the show. Your application will be juried by an organizer’s jury, and only selected vendors are allowed to participate in the show. This type of show is ideal for vendors who have some experience in selling at art and craft shows.

Juried art shows have high participant fees that can range up to $1000. The major advantage of juried art shows is that it offers you plenty of selling opportunities as these shows are quite popular and well-advertised.

Non-Juried Art Shows                       

Non-juried art shows are the ‘first come first serve’ type shows. There is no need to display your work in front of the jury in advance. You just have to contact the manufacturer to apply for the show as a vendor. This type of show is great for newbies.

Non-juried art shows have low participant fees. You can attend a non-juried art show typically for $100 or less. If you have a good art catalog, you can easily make profits in these shows. However, this type of show is usually a local show that may or may not be well promoted.    

The Takeaway

If you are new to attending art festivals in North America, non-juried art shows are a good bet. On the other hand, for experienced players, juried art shows hold great selling opportunities.

Craft Resources for Newbies-Secret to a Successful Craft Show!

Are you all set to sell your product at a craft show for the first time? Well, there is a lot of information out there for vendors. However, it can become overwhelming for artists to find out what will work and won’t work when putting their foot in this field.  

Have you ever had a stall at a craft show, tried your best but cannot sell as expected? Although craft fairs offer a brilliant opportunity to meet your customers and sell face-to-face, they need a lot of work and patience. First, you need to invest time and money in choosing the right one, then prepare your stock, design your display, and set up your stall with all the stamina and zeal. 

In this blog, we will share several resources as a new craft vendor you must consider.

Legal and Tax Issues 

Are you thinking of how to legally sell goods at fairs, garage sales, flea markets, and craft shows? 

If so, this blog can be your savior. There are major legal and tax implications of getting started as a craft fair vendor. If you don’t want to run into a legal or tax problem, keep the legal manual close to your side. 

Choose The Right Venue and Create a Successful Booth

Make sure the craft fair you want to take part in is famous amongst your target audience. Some steps that will help you:

Examine The Craft Fair’s Website

Up to date website shows craft fair has a well-established brand presence. Many local fairs have great foot traffic, but if their website is very out of date or filled with typos, it will show the organizers are unprofessional.  

Look at The Craft Fair's Social Media Accounts

Ensure the venue has a presence on the major social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Also, check out local review sites to know about the popularity of the craft fair. Don’t look at the ratings; read through a sample and negative reviews, and then form your opinion.

Make Sure You Fit at a Venue

It’s not only important to find out a popular craft fair, but make sure it’s compatible with your brand. 

These points will help you out:

• Make sure the price points are not higher or lower than other successful artisans at the event.

• Start with smaller venues where you can work out with your booth set up in a less frantic environment.

• Before you find the popular craft show in the USA, where you want to set your booth, consider the total cost of participating in the fair as a vendor.

By now, you might have got the inspiration to enter the craft fair business. Walk-through these pointers, and you will be all set to achieve that sales target.

5 Smart Ways To Create Captivating Booths at Craft Shows

Driving foot traffic to your booth at a trade show is an art. You have to nail many things to drive the traffic; otherwise, getting lost in the crowd of vendors is not an uncommon thing.

Creating a captivating booth is one key aspect that plays a crucial role in driving foot traffic to your booth. It can help you stand out from the crowd of vendors who are preparing for the next trade show and searching for ‘vendor fair near me’ online, right in your city, to find the fairs to attend. To put up a good fight with these vendors, you need to craft captivating booths.

In this post, we will look at the five smart ways to create captivating booths at craft shows. Let’s start 

1. Create a Stand Out Display Table 

Your display table is the center of attraction of your booth at a trade fair. Make full use of your display table. Print your display tablecloth with your company logo and brand name. Carefully choose the color scheme of your display table.  

2. Use a Presentation Board

Presentation board is something you can add to your booth to grab the attention of the people walking by your booth. It stands apart from the other accessories at the booth and can be easily customized. You can erect a stand-alone presentation board to communicate the special offering you have to your audience.

3. Large Size Displays

When it comes to the displays, the size matters. Here you can apply the approach of bigger is better. You have only 5-10 seconds to grab the attention of the people walking by your booth. Use large eye-catching displays that help slow down the crowd and draw foot traffic to your booth.

But, you have to keep in mind that large size displays cost more. You need to carefully plan the right combination of the displays and location to place the large size display.

For example, you can hang a large impact piece of your art in the center of your back wall that catches the attention of the users and supports the sales of your smaller pieces. 

4. Add Ground Cover

Well, many vendors who regularly attend fairs and festivals in North America consider it as an extra cost, but it works. Add a ground cover to your booth. It is not mandatory that you have to use the glossy, expensive red carpet. You can simply cover your tent ground with any solid color carpet that looks good. It will easily make your booth welcoming.     

5. Mind The Tent

Your tent is your best advertising tool at a trade fair if you brand it right. Pay attention to the visuals of your tent, and make sure your tent color scheme should be attractive enough to draw the attention of the attendees. Avoid sagging tents with dull colors. This will repel the customers.

Use these simple five smart ways to create captivating booths at craft shows.

Not Late to Host a virtual Halloween Event-Tips to your Rescue

Well, Halloween 2020 isn’t cancelled, it’s just going virtual. If you are planning to host an online event this Halloween, don’t get dismayed by the date on the calendar. In the case of the virtual events, you can sell more tickets when the actual date approaches. This is good news as you get more time to plan and host the perfect virtual show. In this blog, we will give you handy advice to host the fabulous spooky Halloween event online.

First things first: Create a killer online event

We are not saying you need a ton of audio equipment or a super fancy webcam. You need to plug in your laptop directly in the router for a faster connection. You can also use consult event listing websites to launch your Halloween event online.

 

Festive with fun merch 

Send your attendees participatory items or add-on-kits like Halloween decorations, candy or costume accessories. This will help them to feel like they are a part of the action even if they are apart. You may also include goodies with your ticket prices and send them as complimentary treats. By including physical items with your virtual event will add to the bottom line.

 

Choose the right platform

 

Find the perfect platform for hosting a Halloween virtual event online. For instance, for a webinar on the Salem witch trials or a candy and wine pairing happy hour, opt for Zoom to control your audience participation. For a live-streamed horror flick virtual event in North America, send out a password for your steam along with your tickets.

 

Understand your attendees

A sense of community and a feeling of escapism are two things that attendees look for, especially during a pandemic. And, Halloween is the perfect opportunity to give your attendees a little of both. Determine what your attendees want from the online event and craft experiences, especially for them.

Simple Tips for Promoting your Business at Craft Shows

Every business owner, performer and artist has one dream, to get maximum exposure for their shows and business. No matter the size of your marketing budget, you need a lot of time, effort and creativity to attract new customers. This is where big events and craft shows can help you to build momentum. If your dream is to boost traffic to your business, events like fairs, festivals and craft shows can translate your dream into reality. To attract your target audience, the first step is to find popular fairs and festivals near your customers, attend them and embrace the opportunity to promote your brand face-to-face.

Craft shows offer an excellent opportunity to get your name out there and promote your products in front of your target audience. To create a good following, you need to do a little homework. Before you send in your vendor application and put up a booth, take certain things into account.

• Research the craft show: Not all craft shows are worth your time and effort. There are various online platforms that provide information about events taking place near you. By gaining prior information about the craft shows, you get an idea of the audience you are selling to and be able to determine their buying habits. Do your research to balance out the risk versus reward before taking part in the craft show.

• Make a professional appearance: If you are thinking of opening a booth at the craft show to sell your products, create a professional look. Show off your work rather than lying them out flat on a table. Work on your displays to attract the attention of your audience. If you really want to stand out, use proper product placement and color to ensure the light complements your products.

• Decide your involvement: If you are planning to buy a booth at a craft show or a festival in North America, talk to former participants to know the tricks of standing out at the venue. They provide the best information about the right signage or the best location for your booth.  Plan creative ways to drive traffic to your business.