Thursday, October 8, 2009

The Perfect Stall

...Or close to it!

Below are some paragraphs from a bit of a write up I did for The Civic Homespun Market Trade Day - where most of the stall holders went along to share ideas, learn new craft, chit chat and brainstorm. I unfortunately had to work at my Bread & Butter job, so for my contribution I wrote an information sheet on how to present your stall at a market, in the best possible way.

If you would like the full copy, please leave me a comment with your email address and I'll forward it on to you! (Or email me - sophiehillartist@hotmail.com)

Create a Story.
Yawn, Let’s Not Prattle On Now!

It is a proven fact within the retail industry that everyone (customer, passer by, fellow stall holder, shop owner) loves to be captivated by what is a visual story – no time spent flicking pages and reading the words to string together a storyline, but time well spent giving your eye balls a delightful work out over ones visual layout of a stall.

Your Theme: Dig deep for this one – what is your label about? What are your inspirations, motivations and the ultimate story of your label? How did it come about? Was it a rainy day with cups of tea and a particular song that sparked the beginning of your creative endeavours? Was it education that you spent years on mastering? Or the birth of your first child and being stuck with over-priced-mass-produced children’s clothing that was well out of your budget? Perhaps it was the books that Grandma left as a part of her legacy – or were you lucky enough to knit one, pearl one with Nanna? Customers are inquisitive – and nosy at times! So have a story prepared, have some beef-for-your-stew and PROUDLY display it! Perhaps type up and print out a little paragraph detailing the short-story version of YOUR story and frame it – pop it on your stall – guarantee that people will actually stop and read this – that is where questions are asked and you can then do the selling of your craft in a more personal manner – not to mention striking up conversation with like-minded people!

The Nitty Gritty.
Please Doctor, Make My Stall Look Pretty?

So I have given you some ideas and questions to ponder on regarding themes of stalls and what is really behind you and your craft – again, I listed only a few, as you’d probably begin to roll your eyes if this supposed “short information sheet” turned into ten pages long… Oops!

Light: Some areas of your stall, you may want to really make shine – some products that you spent days upon days creating are certainly worthy of a spotlight – so why not do exactly that? Providing you have access to a (safe) power point – bring in a little halogen lamp in which you can direct the light to any part of the stall – or what about something a bit cute and out there? Fairy lights! These come in a mass of different designs now days; surely there would be a fairy light to suit your stall…

Your Information.

So, Do You Sell Online?

Someone comes along to your stall, loves what you do but can’t afford it right there and then – instead of loosing a potential sale, create another avenue of contact.

Online Shopping – consider having a store online – there are oodles to choose from such as the Civic Homespun Market website which has an easy to access shop front and paying system, Etsy.com and Madeit.com.au

Email Contact – yes, we live in a digital age and most people converse via email, if this person is hell bent on buying something off you, line them up with email contact. EXCHANGE addresses – don’t just give them yours! Get their email address so that if a few days has passed and that customer has not contacted you (they may have forgotten, or misplaced the address) then you can swing an email their way and get the purchasing ball rolling!


1 comment:

red bamboo said...

Some great info in here Sophie - such a clever chook for such a young chicken!!! Well done! Sorry I missed that day though - had to work!!