How To Make Your Jewelry Booth Stand Out From The Crowd

The holiday show season has started and like many of you, I have a number of shows lined up between now and the middle of December.  Some shows, like this one that I did last weekend, are fairly small affairs and others will have many vendors.

The question we all face, no matter the size of the venue, is how to make our booth stand out from the crowd.  We want our display to be attention getting and to look inviting & enticing enough to pull people in. Then once there, we hope our potential customers will linger long enough to become enamored by our handwork.

And although I don't pretend to be a marketing expert by any means, I did receive a number of compliments on my booth last weekend and last year I won a "Most Attractive Booth" award in a different show, so I decided to share a few of the tricks I've learned over the years.

There are many factors to consider when doing a show.  The bottom line is that you have to be offering a product that people want.  Your verbal and nonverbal interactions with people can have a powerful influence on their decision making as well.  But for the purposes of today's blog post, I'm just going to focus on the booth display itself.

First off, it helps to raise your booth table to about the height of a kitchen counter.  This brings your product up closer to the customer's eyes and allows them to look at your wares more comfortably, without having to stoop over. Some people raise the legs of the table up on PVC pipes.  I use bed raisers.  They are easy to put in place, and they nest inside each other when not in use.

Several of the shows I do require a black table cloth that touches the ground.  But I noticed that many people layered another cloth on top of the black one.  I thought about the look I wanted for my booth before I chose an over-cloth this past summer.  I wanted something that would not distract from my jewelry.  I didn't want anything with lines or patterns that had to be lined up, because then the cloth would look skewed if it wasn't aligned just right on the table.  I wanted a touch of whimsy, but without frilliness, which is consistent with my jewelry style.  Then I made a very unusual choice:  I bought a shower curtain!  Yup!  It is some kind of polyester cloth material that doesn't wrinkle!  I love it!  I didn't need to hem it and it always looks clean and fresh.  It grabs people's attention without being garish.  Did I mention that it doesn't wrinkle?! 

You need to select a pattern that is consistent with the style of the items you are offering, but an over all pattern, like the ones below, works best, as they will look good in any position.  I like to place my shower curtain on the diagonal.  As I was setting up last weekend, a fellow vendor actually gasped and said "Oh wow, that looks so awesome".  I never let on that it was an easy-care shower curtain! ;)

 Think about ways to vary the heights of your offerings. Your display will look more interesting and your customers are likely to linger longer as their eyes move across the interesting displays.  You want to find a balance between having an engaging display, but not one that distracts from your product. I added height with some divided boxes that I bought at a department store and a few acrylic risers that I purchased from a store that was going out of business.  The bracelet ramps and black necklace busts are lower than the boxes but still offer some elevation from the flat plane of the table top.  The mannequin on a wood box is the tallest item.  She serves the purpose of catching people's attention from across the room.  I always put a bold necklace on her.

Here's a tip:  Visit stores that are going out of business.  I got my tall stool for $15, my mannequin torso for $10, the black necklace displays for $4 each and the bracelet ramps for $2 each at two or three different going out of business sales over the years.

Another budget friendly resource for display items is IKEA.  My lighting and mirror are from IKEA.  The prominent mirror subtly lets the customer know that it is OK to pick up the jewelry and try it on. To the front, right of the mirror is another budget friendly display devise.  It is simply a bamboo place mat that I have rolled up and draped bracelets over.  Again it relieves the monotony of flat table.

I have been looking for a satisfactory earring display for several years now.  I bought the display below at - you guessed it - a going out of business sale. It was OK, but it is too small and the earring cards often hung crookedly on it.

When fellow AJE team member Kristi Bowman, was heading to her show in NY in October, her husband made her a wonderful folding earring display.  I asked if he would make one for me to purchase and he agreed.  I love it!  It holds 40 earrings that are easy for the customer to see.  It is easy to remove and replace the earring cards and it looks very professional.  And here's the power of a good display:  I sold more than my usual share of earrings from this attractive display.

What tips and ideas have helped you to create an attractive, effective booth?  Do tell!  We can all learn from one another.

-Linda

Linda Landig Jewelry 

I love this bead, but what am I going to do with it?

The lovely and talented Anne, the owner/creator of Gardanne Beads, was my booth neighbor at Bead Fest this past August. During our chats over the 3 days, I asked her if she would consider occasionally writing guest posts for our awesome Art Jewelry Elements readers. Lucky for all of us, she agreed to! Today is the first of what I hope will be many more guest posts. Enjoy!

---------------------------------------------

This is a maiden voyage for me. I have never guest posted before, so this is a little out of my comfort zone. Thank you Jen, who was my Bead Fest neighbor this past August, for taking a chance with me. 

First a quick introduction, I'm Anne and the name of my company is Gardanne. I sell handmade glass and enameled beads and assorted jewelry components. All of my glass and enameled pieces are created at my lampwork torch.

When I started vending at the Innovative Bead Expo shows a couple years ago, many customers would hold up one of my glass beads or jewelry components and say, "I really love this, but what do I do with it."

Since making the bits and pieces for jewelry artists is my strength, I could relate to what the customers were saying. Making jewelry has always been a slow process for me. If I do need to make jewelry, what usually helps me is a visual, maybe a color combination from Pinterest, a walk in the garden, or drawing some pictures in my sketchbook.

Since a visual gives me a starting point when making a piece of jewelry, I thought that having jewelry samples using my components on display at bead shows would help my customers jump start their own inspirations. 

Over the years I have learned that you can't be good at everything so I turned to several of my online and show customers for some help in the jewelry making  department.

My good friend Kara, who also happens to be a customer of mine, is a talented jewelry designer. I had a local jewelry trunk show last year that I needed some help with so she made several pieces for me using one or more of my components. 

This lariat style necklace was one of my favorites from that trunk show. Kara used my enameled keys and keyholes as the charms on the end of the lariat. Since I have displayed this lariat at my shows not only have the charms become popular for more than just earrings, but I also end up selling about three rolls of the chain per show as well.

This is a photo of how Kara uses my glass headpins, my brain stops at a wrapped loop for these. But as you can see there are always several different ways to use the same component.

Another artist that has caught my eye recently because of the creative ways she uses jewelry components is Keirsten Giles of Lune Designs. I special ordered a couple pairs of earrings that she made for show samples, because I was not quick enough on the draw for the originals.

Photo by Keirsten Giles

These little tulip caps are my best sellers, every time I think my customers have exhausted the possibilities of what to do with this component, they come up with another idea. I know it would not have occurred to me to have waxed linen and seed beads coming out of these little caps but it totally works.

Picking out jewelry to wear before a show is always easy, I just take what I need from my display. Remember wearing your handmade items whether you sell the handmade bits, make the jewelry, or both is your best advertisement.

Last but certainly not least is Lorelei Eurto. Lorelei was my second online customer when I started this journey 4 years ago and she has certainly given me the confidence to keep moving forward.

Lorelei is a huge supporter of handmade jewelry components, but what I have learned from her is that you only need one handmade component in a necklace or bracelet to make a unique piece of jewelry. I am realistic, it would be cost prohibitive for most if not all of my customers to make an entire necklace or bracelet only using handmade lampwork or enamel beads. But just using one unique handmade bead in your jewelry designs will allow your customers to be able to own a piece of jewelry that no one else will have and still stay within their budget. 

This necklace Lorelei made is a perfect example, the lampwork bead is by Mindy of Moogin, she a very talented lampwork artist. I have serious stringer control envy when it comes to her bead designs. In the photo above that one handmade glass bead that Lorelei included in her design makes this necklace one of a kind.

Supporting handmade is great, but an equally important message is creating unique designs. With a vast amount of jewelry designers in the marketplace being unique is what will make you stand out from the crowd.

I believe in full disclosure so before I purchase a piece of jewelry for a show sample I always tell the jewelry designer my intentions for the jewelry.  I feel it is very important that they know their jewelry will be on display at my bead shows. If we are both in agreement I always request a few cards to hand out to interested customers since I do not sell my samples. Remember a lot of jewelry makers bring their non-jewelry maker friends to shows, and they are generally looking for finished jewelry. I also do not allow customers to take photos of the samples, inspiration is OK copying is not.

So have the samples helped sales at my shows? They most certainly have, and at the very least it starts a conversation, which leads to a connection, which may lead to future sales, and future friendships. 

I hope you have found this post helpful, thank you to Jen and the entire Art Jewelry Elements team for giving me this opportunity.

Anne Lichtenstein

anne@gardannefarms.com

GardanneBeads.etsy.com

gardannelife.blogspot.com

Handling Criticism with Grace: Pricing

This blog post got very lengthy, so I am dividing it into at least 2 parts. Part 2 will be next week. 

Let's just get it out there. Criticism hurts. But when it's something you've created with your own two hands and it's something you're proud of...the criticism not only results in hurt feelings, but is a real blow to self confidence.

What to say to a customer if they take a verbal crap all over your creations? You could be rude right back. However, that only makes them angry and angry people like to talk to whoever will listen. So I recommend against that technique. If you have a plan of how to deal with criticism in advance, more than likely you will handle it professionally and without the chance of negative word of mouth testimonials.

First, assess what they are criticizing to determine how you will handle it. Today I'm going to chat about pricing criticism...especially because I got that a LOT at the last show I did. It's entirely possible my work has outgrown that particular venue.

Someone comes to your booth and complains about your pricing or maybe say they can get it cheaper at XYZ Mart of Cheap Crap. It helps to tell yourself that not everyone can or will pay for high quality handmade, and that's fine. To them a "disposable" pair of $5 earrings may be a treat. We cannot judge others for how they choose to spend their money, especially on things they don't "need". But we can educate them so hopefully they will appreciate the craftsmanship and the artistry, rather than simply stick their nose up at the price.

At my last show, a woman was admiring my chainmaille bracelet pictured below. She looked at the price and made a high pitched loud squeaking noise and dropped the bracelet back on the tray. She then (loudly) says "I wasn't expecting it to be that much!"

What I wanted to say was "Really?!? Was that necessary to be so dramatic? I thought that bracelet bit you."

However, due to my pricing self talk beforehand, I was able to calmly and professionally say "The pricing reflects the fact that every single ring in that bracelet is opened, closed, and woven into that pattern with my two hands and 2 pairs of pliers. It also takes into account the time I spend making sure every single ring is closed so perfectly you can barely find the seam. I also spent time antiquing it, polishing, then tumbling it. It also reflects the current cost of sterling silver and what I spent on the materials to create that bracelet."

At this point people are generally much more understanding about the price because they really had no clue about the lengthy process and high cost of quality materials. They can appreciate the price. This does not mean they are suddenly willing to spend their money on it. That's their choice. Expecting them to change suddenly after a quick lesson about your prices is like Mormons knocking on the door of a Baptist and expecting to suddenly convert them to their faith. People have very personal and deep beliefs about money and the value of things.

And yes, that's frustrating on a slow sales day. But maybe this person will buy something else. Or keep thinking about that piece and email you after the show. You never know. However, the right person who loves that specific piece will buy it and not bat an eye at the price. It's happened to me more times than I can count.

About saying they can get it cheaper at XYZ Mart of Cheap Crap...there are a couple problems with that. IF that's really true, and please don't be offended by what I'm about to say...but if that really is true, it's time to change your designs. The best way to make sure that doesn't happen it to use handmade components. The big box stores aren't purchasing pieces made using art components, which is what really sets someone's work apart from others.

More than likely it isn't true and the shopper is just upset they can't buy that gorgeous bangle for $5. Again, in a NON-JUDGEMENTAL tone, you explain the difference between you and the box store down the street...the difference in workmanship, that each piece was made by you and not someone in China, the difference in materials, that they can be assured your pieces do not contain lead. It's important to compare and contrast without using inflammatory words like cheap, garbage, sweatshops, etc. The fact is it is incredibly difficult to resist the lure of getting things as inexpensively as possible and every one of us is guilty. It's also impossible to not buy things made in China. So again, do not pass judgement while educating shoppers.

Next week we'll talk about what to do when people criticize the aesthetics of your work.

Simple and FREE method for Selling More at Art Shows

As I was loading up my truck to set up for a show I'm doing tomorrow, I was thinking about the last time I did this particular show a few years ago. Several of my booth neighbors complained so much about not selling much. Blah Blah Blah.(I don't tolerate complaining very well. From anyone. Myself included).

Necklace and lampwork designed by Jennifer Cameron, resin pendant by Jade Scott.

Artisans who do shows spend so much time building inventory, planning their booths, getting their business cards/banners/brochures designed and printed, and everything looks so wonderful and professional. Why wouldn't someone buy from them? 

Necklace designed by Linda Larsen

I'll tell you why. If you do shows or want to start doing shows, this secret I'm about to share with you makes all the difference in the world. And it costs exactly $0 to implement. Pay very close attention. Take notes to help you remember.

Aladdin's Lamp earrings designed by Kristi Bowman.

The biggest thing you can do at shows to help sales is to stand up (I stand the entire day unless there is NO ONE around), SMILE at people who walk into your booth, or even the graze the opening of your booth. Then GREET them. Say hello, ask how they are liking the "xyz" show so far (you may get valuable info just from this casual question). If they commit to coming in and looking at my jewelry, I will tell them I make all the glass beads in my pieces using a torch and a rod of glass.

If it's a woman and maybe she's wearing a gorgeous scarf or something, complement it. Complementing accessories, hair, whatever, will tell the potential customer you recognize they are more than just a body hopefully carrying a wad of money to buy your stuff. It will also help you remember them if they come back to your booth later. 

Copper ring designed by Melinda Orr

If it's a man, they often like to hear technical details about your products. If a man touches one of my chainmaille pieces, I will explain briefly that I open and close all those links by hand and weave them into that pattern.

I have been to too many artist booths where the artist is sitting, practically hiding from view or maybe in view, but practically scowling. If an artist stares at me without smiling or chatting, I'm outta there. I don't care what they are selling. Sometimes, if I am feeling particularly ornery, I will look at everything, touch everything, try stuff on, just to see if they respond to very clear interest in their product. The answer, sadly, is no. They just sit there. Not cool. 

Mystic Raven Necklace by Karen Totten

Is there a certain amount of acting involved with the constant standing, smiling, small talk, etc? You betcha! I get tired just like anyone else. However, it doesn't matter if I am exhausted or not. I maintain that same level of pep, friendliness, and customer service until it is time to pack up and leave.

Alexis Necklace by Barbara Lewis

Next week I will discuss how to handle criticism gracefully while selling at art shows.