Tips and Tricks for Craft Show Vendors
Sat, Sep 30 2006 — Comments (2) |
We're about six weeks away from a wonderful show and we thought we'd put some things to read and start thinking about so you can begin to get ready for having a very successful show.
Since this is the first show for many of you, there are a lot of questions we've gotten about how much stuff to bring and how to organize it and what else should be brought. Thankfully we have two different links for you about how to prepare for a show.
One is by Brandy Agerbeck of Loosetooth.com. She wrote this after attending the first Renegade Craft Fair but most of the advice pertains to an indoor show as well. Read it here.
The other is on the Indie Craft Shows website and has a lot of great information.
Taxes
This is the part that scares almost everyone. Legally you're required to register with the State of Illinois as a business and pay sales tax either monthly, quarterly, or annually depending on how much money they think you will make. You can groan and say how awful this is, but that slip of paper you get also gets you the ability to walk into any craft store and buy your supplies without having to pay tax. So I consider it a 10% off coupon every time I shop. Each business has it's own requirements about how you use it. Some make you register with their office, some make you present it every time you make a purchase, and some even give you additional money off for being tax exempt.
To register, simply go to State of Illinois Business Portal and read #3. We will not be checking that you've done this and it can take up to three months to receive your information, but as long as you registered before the show should someone from the state show up you won't have to worry about "what ifs".
Credit Cards
If you accept credit cards you're likely to get more people to buy your stuff. But getting approved to accept credit cards can be tricky. You have to have registered with the state, the city, and the county and have your credit approved with the bank providing the services. Generally there is some combination of paying a monthly fee and a percentage of each sale goes to the credit card company. There are several companies online who offer to register you, but beware of how much it will cost you. If you have a checking account in your business name you may want to begin by asking your bank what their process is. Otherwise you may be able to register to take credit cards through Paypal. It is a $20 monthly fee, a percentage of your sale, and you have to manually enter the information into their web form. Since Pulaski doesn't have wireless access that can be difficult to do if you don't have a web-enabled phone.
However, if you have a credit card (or merchant account, which is often what it is called) that you like and are interested in sharing with others, leave the info in the comments. If there is any sort of a referral code include that as well.
Vendor kits
We're working on them. The parts are on their way to us and once we get the last few we'll compile everything and get a fantastic package out in the mail to you. If you've moved since the beginning of June, feel free to emaili us with your new info so we can get your packet to you. You will receive:
A sheet of information for the day of. Keep this in a safe place.
A map of the room you'll be located in.
2 square buttons. One for you and one for a friend.
25 postcards and 5 posters for distributing to your mailing list or around town
Fundraising Raffle
Last year we raised about $450 and donated it to Crafters Emergency Relief Fund to help crafters who had lost their businesses after the horrible hurricanes.
This year we have a different goal. If you've not heard of the Indie Craft Documentary, you should check out their website immediately. These wonderful crafty folks from Milwaukee (Art vs. Craft organizer Faythe Levine and creative woman Micaela O'Herlihy) are documenting the country's indie craft scene and giving faces to wonderful craft show organizers and crafters all over the country. She'll be filming through the end of the year, and filming at the DIY Trunk Show. To help support this creative adventure we've decided to give all the funds from this year's raffle to them to help with their travel and filming expenses.
If you're interested in participating in the raffle, simply leave a comment and we'll compile all the information for a post closer to the show date about who is donating to try to raise more publicity for the documentary as well as the fine folks who are generous.
Posters
Last year we spent a lot of money getting posters professionaly printed to direct people around the space. We realized once they were up that while it looked cool, we could have done better posters with the help of creative people like yourself. If you think you'd be up for making a poster to go on a wall, let us know and we'll work out what supplies you need and a time and place to make it.
This concludes this update of the DIY Trunk Show organization. As always, if you have questions feel free to email them to us as at (chicago AT diytrunkshow DOT com) or post them in the comments.
News archive for September 2006
Archives by Month
» September 2008
» August 2008
» July 2008
» November 2007
» October 2007
» August 2007
» July 2007
» June 2007
» May 2007
» April 2007
» March 2007
» November 2006
» October 2006
» September 2006
» August 2006
» July 2006
» June 2006
» May 2006
» April 2006
» February 2006
» November 2005
» October 2005
» September 2005
» August 2005
» July 2005
» June 2005
» May 2005
» March 2005
» January 2005
» November 2004
» October 2004
» September 2004
» August 2004
» July 2004
» June 2004
« Back to News
