I’ve been doing my fair share of Craft fairs for 10 years now, so I’ve learned a lot of tricks along the way. (I even wrote a book about it.) My craft show tool kit has evolved a lot over the years, and now there are a few handy items I can’t live without bringing to a craft fair.

Whether you’re preparing for your first craft show and wondering what to bring, or you’re an experienced craft show vet looking to improve your arsenal, here are my top 5 craft show must haves:

Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links, which means if you click through and purchase a product, I receive a small commission. It does NOT cost you anything extra! That said – I only post things here that I genuinely use or would recommend to a close friend. More info at my my disclosure page.

1. A great tent!

If you’re planning to do outdoor art markets or festivals, a good craft show tent is an absolute MUST! Many event organizers require everyone to have white 10×10 craft show tents, to keep things looking classy & uniform.

My EZ up tent has lasted me through many years of craft shows, and it’s still going strong! I have the pop-up canopy kind of EZ up tent with four zippered side walls, which are great for closing up shop overnight or keeping out the elements on a rainy day.

2. A professional looking tablecloth!

After years of fussing with big pieces of fabric and homemade tablecloths, pinning and tucking just so to keep it looking nice, I made the move a few years back to these fitted polyester tablecloths. They’re so much easier, and they look super professional. They come in a variety of sizes to fit different lengths of folding tables.

You could always screen-print or add appliqués to the front to customize it with your business name or logo!

You can see my own tablecloths pictured below, from my craft show booth at Gretna Heritage Festival:

For my 6 foot tables, I use a pretty standard size plastic folding table I found at a hardware store. But these tablecloths are too wide for most of the 4 foot tables out there. Luckily, I discovered an alternative which fits these tablecloths perfectly! Click here to read all about my favorite 4-foot lightweight folding table that I use for craft fairs.

3. A comfy & tall chair!

I spent years sitting on low chairs, uncomfortable stools or just standing during craft shows, to stay eye-level with my customers so I could talk to them.

My tall fold-up director’s chair has been a lifesaver since then, and many of my craft show buddies have asked about it and picked up one for themselves! (Click here to read my full review of this chair.)

4. Shopping bags or gift wrap!

You’ll definitely want to have some sort of shopping bags or gift wrap available! What size you need depends on what you sell, of course. I usually keep a few sizes on hand – small organza bags for jewelry and some bigger paper shopping bags for larger items.

5. A convenient hand truck or dolly!

Finally, if you’ll be hauling all your stuff to and from your car or truck to your craft show booth, you’re going to want wheels! I cannot begin to tell you how much our Magliner convertible hand truck has changed my life!

I don’t know how I could have done Frenchmen Art Market so many nights without it – I can get everything I need on it in one trip and haul it a couple of blocks back to my car with ease:

It’s pretty high end, so if you’re a craft show newbie just getting started, I also use a smaller Magna Cart for shows where it’s easier to do multiple trips back and forth to my car.

Bonus craft show ideas:

Okay, so maybe I fibbed. I mayyyy have more than just 5 craft show must haves. Here are a few more of my favorite art show display ideas:

A curtain backdrop for sun protection and visual appeal!

Doing outdoor art markets can take a lot out of you, especially if the sun is hitting your neck all day long. That’s one reason I came up with the curtain backdrop for my art show tent seen below:

I made it by sewing together three semi-sheer curtain panels. On each outside edge, I added a few pieces of ribbon to make it easy to tie off the edges to the sides of my tent poles. At the top of the curtain, I use spring clamps to attach it to the top of my tent. Easy-peasy!

Not only does it block the sun, but it also provides a colorful and eye-catching background for my booth! (Hint: sew in something at the bottom of the panels to give them a little extra weight so they stay more secure when it gets windy!)

Gridwall for displaying your art!

Many artists use gridwall panels to display their artwork. This type of portable craft show display setup works well for fine artists who have paintings or photographs to show off, but most gridwall systems have other accessories available like clip-on baskets or shelves or hanging racks, which can also show off clothing or accessories too.

Above you can see a photo from one of my own craft show booths. I’m not the artist using the gridwall seen here (that’s the back of the booth next to me), but you can see here how the back of the artwork is attached to the gridwall with clips or zip-ties.

I took the above photo at one indoor art show I did. Even though we were inside, the artist used his tent frame to hang these screens from so that he could then attach his artwork.

There are definitely plenty of expensive, professional art display panels out there, but I found this DIY video tutorial that explains how you can make similar art display panels for around $50 per panel using materials found at the hardware store.

(P.S. for more craft show display ideas, check out my post on Visual Merchandising Tips & Tricks!)

Craft show checklist:

While this is by no means a totally comprehensive list of what to take to a craft fair, this should cover most of the important things that you should plan to have on hand, but might otherwise forget to bring with you:

• plenty of cash for making change
• a way to process credit cards, like Square or the Etsy Reader
• price stickers for jewelry or hang tags
• extension cord
• bungee cords
• zipties or reusable Velcro straps
• spring clamps
• safety pins
• antibacterial wet wipes and/or hand sanitizer
• tape
• scissors
• calculator
• cool business cards
• sunscreen
• bug spray
• aspirin / ibuprofen
• a small cooler with water and freezer packs for summer
• a Thermos and blanket for winter

What did I miss?

If you’ve been doing craft shows for awhile and think that I missed something here, please contact me and let me know! You can also reach out on Twitter or join my Facebook group, Miss Malaprop’s Badass Creatives, where we can continue the discussion!

Craft Show Tips for Beginners

Are you just getting started with craft fairs? Lucky for you, I wrote a whole book full of my craft show tips, tricks and advice, full of everything I learned from more than 10 years of doing art markets and craft shows regularly:

If you found this post useful, you should also check out my e-book, How to Make Money at Craft Shows – Art Market and Craft Fair Tips & Tricks. This e-book covers the basics of getting started selling at craft fairs, as well as how to design a great looking booth, how to give outstanding customer service & sell more, and even how to find and create additional events at which to sell your handmade work.

It also includes how to define your target market, where to find good shows to sell at, how much you should expect to spend on a booth fee at a show, promoting your show & getting your customers there, dealing with crazy weather & unexpected events, theft prevention, how to give great customer service, how to use craft shows to create after-the-show sales and lots more!

If you liked this post, you might also like:

• Visual Merchandising Tips & Tricks: Make Your Craft Show Display Look Great!
• Collaboration is Key [Marketing Hacks for #BadassCreatives]
• How To Sell Your Product In Stores [5 Tips From A Former Boutique Owner]
• How to make a living as an artist or crafter!

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