This month I am pleased to welcome Jessica from Creations by Lady Zig for our craft fair display example! I was drawn to the creativity that she had to deploy when having a craft table in a super small space. If you’ve ever had to do this, it requires a bit of ingenuity.
Creations by Lady Zig makes all kinds of adorable Crochet items as well as Crochet patterns. I’ve long admired her cute chicken earrings, taco earrings, and mushroom earrings that look like something out of a Super Mario Brothers game. Since she is newer to selling, she has great perspective from someone in an early stage business.
She has also authentically shared how her first display looked, as well as how it has evolved, which is incredibly encouraging. We all start somewhere, and this is a lovely evolution to watch.
Tell us the story behind how you designed this craft fair display?
When I first started my business, I tried a few small Fairs, but never felt entirely happy with my set up as I had products in various shapes and sizes. In the end I stopped doing them for quite a few years, dabbled here and there, but began again – more seriously – in 2023. I’d always been more successful selling online and doing commissions, but the market was changing, so it meant I had to switch things up a notch too.
I took to Pinterest for inspiration and scoured charity/thrift shops, hobby and art supply shops and my home to find objects and props that would suit my branding aesthetics, display my products in a way that would attract buyers and create interest and height.
Having learned my mistakes from the first few fairs I attended, I applied for more artisan markets that suited my brand and planned out my table more effectively, recruiting my husbands handy skills to help create a few displays. I am constantly looking for new ideas to improve my stall each time.
How did you adapt your design to fit the type of event you were attending?
My display will always be a ‘Work in Progress’, because over time, my products are evolving, my style is evolving and customers needs are evolving too! I’m now a regular Trader at a Curated Seasonal Market, the table size is always the same and so I can adapt this table really easily to suit each season with décor, such as faux flowers in Spring and Summer, Pumpkins and Seed Head bouquets in Autumn, and Garlands for Christmas.
What kinds of materials did you use to create this display?
My table cloth is a White Sheet, which is a perfect blank canvas for my products. I have a Purple Banner, which originally was a Curtain – I had previously made it into a shawl to wear at a Wedding – it turned out to be the perfect colour and size for me to make into a Banner, by using my cricut to add my logo! This I sometimes lay on my table to add a little pop of colour, and drape it over the front, but sometimes I attach it to a Clothes rail that I clamp to the back of my table. I also use painted wooden crates and stands, sometimes a mug tree, wooden plate racks and baskets. I once saw a YouTube video of someone making a Card stand from Foam Board – so my husband made one for me and I quite often use that, but I have also bought a Card Display too. I do also add lighting at Christmas and a hooked display board for my decoration collection
Please share your favorite 3 tips/secrets to designing a craft fair display
1) Preparation is a must. Plan your inventory and how you will display it. Practice your set up and take a photo for reference, but be prepared to make some adjustments on the day if needed.
2) Be creative with what you use to display and think outside of the box – can the crates double up as transport for your stock? Could the spice rack in a charity shop be perfect with a lick of paint to display small items? What can you make yourself? Could mums old picnic basket add the texture and height you need?
3) When planning and setting up, try to think of yourself as a buyer. Look on Pinterest or at other Markets and Fairs to see what attracts you to a stall, where your eyes are drawn first, what sparks excitement and joy. What inspires you? What makes you want to purchase from that stall? Take this information and adapt it to suit your brand and your display.
Bonus: Enjoy the process
Want to learn more about Michelle Corbin Design's products?
Thank you so much to Michelle Corbin for sharing a great craft fair display example! Learn more about her products through the links below!
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