Project Person // Primer #6

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Elena (Project Person #6) is now making a bonafide living selling her art once a month at Scott’s Antique Market, but that wasn’t always the case. She’s learned loads of lessons from both her experience and that of others who have sold there much longer. She shares these learnings in great detail below!

→ When deciding where to sell outside of just online, consider the following:

Where do you want to sell? What opportunities are most likely to attract the right kind of buyer? I sell mostly to (1) interior designers and (2) home owners looking for something unique, and Scott’s Antique Market attracts both in droves.

Other considerations: farmer’s markets, art fairs, boutiques… With each, consider the price to participate, who will be attending, and the work it will take you to make it happen.

How do you get people to buy from you? One of my best tips is to have a sign that lets shoppers know something about you personally. A big big sign. I’m thinking…”This soap was made in my Grandma’s Connecticut kitchen!” or “Pottery habit fueled by Krispy Kreme donuts”. I have a sign that says “Hi from Milledgeville! I paint flowers during nap time!” and I could almost swear it’s responsible for half my booth sales. Most sales start with a conversation that goes like this: “Nap time? How old is your baby…? Oh I like these Magnolia prints…!” Make the sentence as short and detail-packed as you can, and suddenly you’re a human to connect with, not just a faceless vendor. The best thing!

Just a personal observation: it seems like, with booth sales, less variety means more sales. If you make pot holders, then bring them in every color of the rainbow, but don’t also bring lanyards, even if you’re really good at making those, too. Better to be the potholder booth than the I-don’t-know-what-she-sells booth because you brought a lot of things. Niching down is really hard, I get it!

One million points if visitors can tell what you’re selling from 50 feet away at a 3-second-glance because that means you’ll get alllll the customers. 

Find a way to get height on your items. Whether that’s hanging, propping, easels, shelves, stacking, stringing things from a tent ceiling… whatever you can do to get things vertical so the customer doesn’t have to approach your flat table to see what’s on it. 

How should you set up your booth? Let’s get specific. Here’s what I wish someone told me before I started:

→ Print your Venmo QR Code and put it in this 8x10 magnetic acrylic frame for a polished, touch-free payment option. 

→ These are the perfect pricing stickers, especially for paper products because you can stick them right on and they remove without damage, you can write or print on them, and they are tiny. You’ll want to price every single thing in your booth even if it’s under a “Everything $5” sign, it still needs a price on it. Seems like shoppers put down unpriced items real fast. 

→ If you have anything flat to hang, take a look at these adhesive tabs that make hook-hanging a breeze if it’s something you can stick permanently! 

→ You just need to have these paper-holders. If you have any paper that’s unframed, if you want to print cardstock 4x6s with your prices, you want a sign that says “$20 this table”, whatever it is, you will be so glad these exist. 

→ You may not need bags, but these served me well. They’re strong enough to tote a picture frame. They have a lot of sizes so just be thoughtful about what you need. 

→ I started with 6 foot tables with these white table cloths BUT the WRINKLES, gosh, and I’ll be honest I’m a believer in black linens now. Instead, I’d go with tall 4 foot folding tables (Walmart usually has them) they are tall enough that people want to SHOP on them, and they’re not nearly as heavy as a 6 foot. And these linens fit perfectly! 

→ Last tip. CVS Same-Day Posters. This 20x24 Same Day Full-Color Poster is $25.99 but it’s 70% off this week. They have deals like this almost every week. Last time I ordered booth advertisement stuff they were 90% off so I got big posters for my booth for 3 bucks each. If you choose their Repositionable Posters, they’re a big sticker you can peel off and stick anywhere. Sometimes I’ll run to Hobby Lobby and get a large piece of foam board ($2.99) to stick the poster on so it’s stiff and I can hang/stand it up anywhere in my booth. I find the printing to be REALLY good quality and this fast-and-cheap approach is great if your brand and pricing is growing and changing. This is also a great way to do the personal sign from my earlier tip ;)

Additional things to consider / bring:

• Extension cord (are you allowed to find power)? 

• If not, how are you charging your phone on that day?

• Is there wifi?

• Duct tape to tape down any cords you run. 

• Trash bags

• Sharpie

• Blank paper, just in case (Be Back in 5 sign?)! 

• If you can rent or borrow Pegboard Walls (some indoor shows offer this) then order plastic pegboard hooks to hang things. 

• Some people like to cover the movable booth walls with brown craft paper or large painter's drop cloths from Lowe’s with clamps at the top of the wall. Both seem to work well but have their inconveniences. 

• Take a clipboard or notebook to collect email addresses from interested customers.

• Pens

• Cash for change

• A safe place for cash. Are you a fanny pack person? Because this is your time to shine. 

• Water

• A chair

• Business cards

• A HUGE Sign with your business name

How do you make the in-person day keep on giving? Collect emails from interested customers. You may need a creative way to do this. For instance, I give out a free greeting card to anyone who gives me their email. I make about $500 in follow-up sales after each market event!

Next week, we’ll hear from the couple who tackled the mountain shack with us—but this time we’ll learn about their first project, the one that put them on HGTV! Stay tuned.

🪩 Just for fun: We entered a Kleenex contest called Heroes of the Classroom for the teacher who taught my youngest (with dyslexia!) to read, and we just found out she is a top ten finalist! Vote for Mrs. Clark here to help her and the school each win $5k (and a year supply of Kleenex) 🤧