Booth Appeal: Do you have it?

Most people will walk by the standard 10’ x 10’ booth at a craft or art show in less than 5 seconds. Even with your unique designs and outstanding craftsmanship, you need to put some time and effort into designing your booth to make the instant impression you want. How can you make your booth inviting, memorable, and stand out so your potential clients slow down, take notice, and engage with your work? Here are 6 general ideas to consider in booth design:

• Grab their attention…Place an especially eye-catching display or piece towards the front of the booth. If you are selling small items, use large pictures of your work to magnify the view. You can get large color copies of images made at a copy center rather inexpensively and these can be framed or mounted on foam board to display on empty walls.


we placed this unique cabinet at the front of our booth at a recent show and it was a great conversation starter

• Guide their eyes…Tier the levels of your booth to draw the eye inward. Place taller displays towards the back and shorter displays in the front to lead the eye into your booth. Angle items to direct attention to a focal point…an eye-catching display or your sign.
• Invite them in… Can people easily walk into and around your booth without feeling trapped? We have learned that having something in the center of your booth greatly affects people’s perception of openness. Fewer people will enter a booth if there is something in the middle even if there is plenty of room for them to get around it. Our neighbor at a recent show discovered that her pushed out L-shaped layout was keeping people from seeing half of the work she was exhibiting. The next day she arranged every thing straight across the front and found that more people approached her booth and she started selling pieces from the side that had previously been ignored.





• strong>Keep things within reach… Display cases can give the impression that your work is high-value and definitely serve a purpose, but they also inhibit people from interacting with your work. Mary Kay Donnelly, a successful jeweler from the Pocono area, uses display cases, but usually has up to 4 people working in her booth to assist customers.
• Create a mood…Use color to evoke the emotion that people will associate with your work. Our booth is orange which might seem to be a little out there, but it serves several purposes. It gets attention and is memorable. It also highlights the colors in our naturally finished wood furniture and jewelry boxes. In terms of emotion, it elicits a balanced state, and that is exactly the mood we want people to connect with our work.
• Make your mark…Keep fonts and colors consistent on all literature, signage, and photos used in your booth. Extend this to your website and other marketing materials to establish your unique memorable brand.

If you market through shows, craft fairs, or markets how do you make your booth appealing, inviting, and memorable?

Elizabeth Sterling and her husband John market their one-of a kind furniture and jewelry boxes at shows in the Northeast and Midwest, through their web site, and their etsy shop, so wabi sabi. Elizabeth shares her life and love of all things handmade, homemade, and homegrown in her blog so wabi sabi.