Are you ready for the upcoming craft fair season? Designing a beautiful yet welcoming display is a challenge for many artisans. How do you create an eye catching display that won’t overwhelm customers? Last month we debuted a new series on craft fair displays.
Each artisan generously shares their story on how they crafted their display to give you unique insights and considerations.  We are pleased to welcome an art and stationary artist this month. Michele Maule is based in the US in Oregon and shares her craft fair display story.
Tell us the story behind how you designed this craft fair display?
I have been doing craft fairs for over 14 years now and my display has evolved a lot since then.
I always want to create a booth that is both aesthetically pleasing as well as shoppable. I think it’s important to choose displays that are going to allow a person to see most, if not all of your items, as well as provide a cohesive feel.
I like using different heights, to add to interest, and Iike putting my displays at kind of an angle to create some “movement.”
How did you adapt your design to fit the type of event you were attending?
For the event in this photo, they offered to rent out a grid wall for a small fee. I don’t usually use gridwall in my displays, but I thought it might be kind of cool to use it for all of my original paintings. I felt like it might catch people’s eyes and they would be more apt to stop and look through my other, smaller priced items.
I also usually have two tables for larger shows, but this was a smaller show, so I decided to just use the one table.
What kinds of materials did you use to create this display?
I love using different fabric materials with my display! I have a great fabric store near me and I chose a cool pattern to add a little texture and interest to the table.
I also ordered a fitted table cloth online for the main table cloth. For the secondary table cloth I use a curtain that I think I bought at Target.
My wood displays are all from Clear Solutions. I love these displays because they have clean lines and work so well for displaying prints and cards. They have a whole line of really great displays.
I set the displays on empty wine boxes, and cover those with fabric to create varying heights.
The wine boxes also double as my way to pack up my items at the end of the day.
Please share your favorite 3 tips/secrets to designing a craft fair display
1) Try going with 2-3 colors to create a cohesive feel to your craft fair booth. You can see my colors are grey, blue/purple and pink.
2) Try to avoid just laying everything out flat on your table. Create varying heights to make it look more interesting.
3) Always, always, always, do a mock set up before a craft fair. I’ve been doing craft fairs for a long time and I still do one every single time.
There’s so much to remember to bring! By doing a mock set up a couple of days before your fair, you can get a better idea on what you need. It also gives you time to run out and get things that are missing. It also helps you see what will work or won’t work. There’s nothing worse than getting to your set up and realizing that the idea in your head just doesn’t pan out in the real setting. I’ve been there!
Want to learn more about Michele's products?
Thank you so much to Michele for sharing a great craft fair display example! Learn more about Michele’s products through the links below!
Want more craft fair display examples?
If you are looking for more ideas- check out our downloadable with multiple craft fair display examples!Â
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