I'm Going to have a Booth Again!

Well.  I knew I'd go back to having a booth again one day, but I didn't think it would be so soon. I didn't even make it a full year without one.

I have things to sell.  I have found a number of new pieces for my house this year, which leaves me with extra furniture. Plus I'm de-cluttering (even the good stuff!) and having dreams of becoming a minimalist.  (Like that will ever happen.)   I pondered a  number of different ways to sell things, but in the end, a booth seemed to be the way I like best.

I promote two different stores.  I like them both.  I like the people at both.  I was open to having a booth at either location.  There seemed to be roadblocks at one having to do with booth size and workdays.  Everything seemed to fall into place easily at the other.  I'm a firm believer that when you are on the right path things flow easily.  When you are on the wrong path, things block you over and over.  That goes totally against how some people believe - that you should work real hard to overcome obstacles.  I believe obstacles (especially when there are several obstacles) are signs from above telling you that maybe you need to reconsider.

So, I'll be at Collector's Corner this time around.

I had several locations to choose from.  The owner was willing to scoot things around to work me in.

The spot I chose is in an out of the way corner.  It's upstairs.  It's in a room that is a bit dark with dark paneling.  It has two windows to work around, one of which has a less than stellar view.  The ceiling is sloped and only 7 ft tall on one side.  The carpet has a couple of bad wrinkles.  The booth on one side has a bunch of clothes hanging very close to my booth - right on my money wall, no less!  The opposite wall is lattice.  Does any of that bother me?  Not really.

Many vendors would question my sanity for choosing that spot, but I THINK IT'S CHARMING and has wonderful potential. Seriously! And I know - if I set up a nice booth with things people want, customers will find my booth.  :-D  I tell y'all that all the time and now I'm going to practice what I preach.

Here are some of the BEFORE pictures of my booth -

I already know pretty much where I'll be putting everything and what I'll be doing to remedy things that need help.  I'll put down a rug.  I'd like one that fills most of the booth, but for now, I'll be using what I have.  I have a fun grain sack that will hang over the window with the bad view.  It won't cover the whole window.  It's light so it will be bright and cheerful.  The other window will be left open.  It looks out onto some trees.  I have no idea what I'll do about the neighbor's clothing.  One thing I will NOT do is complain to the owner or ask her to take them down.  It's her booth.  My booth is my own little world and that's all I can or should try to control.  I'll do what I can to create a visual border so that no one thinks those clothes are part of my booth.  It's a challenge and I don't have the answer to that one yet! It's a little complicated because I don't want to do anything that might block the view of my money wall :-D

I'm going to keep my booth life as simple as I can.  It's not going to have a theme.  I'm not restricting colors or styles.  It probably won't be a booth that people will swoon over, but hopefully, they'll walk in, browse and see things they like.

Stay tuned.  I should be moving in over the next week.  In fact, instead of working on this post, I should be pricing and getting things ready!!!

PS - In this post I talked a good bit about the faults of this booth.  I want to make it clear that most of this store is really pretty and the owner is incredibly talented.  The store is huge and she's been working her way around improving one spot after another.  I like that I'll (hopefully) be giving this sweet little spot a little TLC.  I don't know why exactly, but even the first time I saw the booth, I was attracted to it.  I didn't know it then, but this was meant to be.

The One Wall Booth

What do you do when you have a one wall booth?  You stack the deck!  In other words, create a stacked vignette!

Chris posted a photo of her booth on the Vintage Show Off Facebook page.  It's a 6x6 ft wall space.  She would love suggestions and ideas and included this photo of her booth -

Be sure to check out this post to see how Chris very quickly reworked her booth!

Vertical Space
The first thing that struck me is that Chris has more space than she realizes.  Her space would seem larger if she added height.  The gathered ribbon across the top is like a line saying don't go above this spot.  I would remove the ribbon and begin using more height.

When placing things up high, there are a number of considerations.  Safety is foremost. Think about how easy the item would be to get down and make sure it's not something that is likely to knock out a customer! Customers need to be able to get a pretty good look at any objects put up high without taking them down. The price on things out of easy reach needs to be large and easy to see.

Make-Do Piece
Chris has a wire shelf, which is functional, but not necessarily stylish.  I think of shelves like this as make-do pieces.  When a main display piece sells, if you don't have another waiting to be brought in, you need something to make-do with til you find a replacement.  With the wire shelf look, Chris can still make sales, but with a bit of tweaking and creativity, a very stylish look could be created. People are willing to pay slightly higher prices in a pretty booth.  A prettier look would also cause customers to linger around the display a bit longer, increasing the chance for a sale.

Folding Bakers Racks make wonderful make-do pieces!

When you have a utilitarian make-do shelf,
you can soften the look with fabric.

Everything in most small booths should be for sale - even the anchor piece.  The table or anchor piece could be marked just a tad higher, unless you have back-ups.  Always try to have a backup anchor piece or a make-do piece, otherwise your whole look could end up a messy pile of stuff on the floor.  Think what this booth would look like if the black table sold and there was nothing to put in it's place -

This table doesn't have chairs or shelves stacked on top of the table, which would allow for better viewing of all the smalls, but it's still a pretty vignette.  I found this photo on Pinterest, but the link is an error.  If anyone knows the source, please let me know!  

Anchor Piece

Having a booth that is mostly a wall is pretty much like creating a booth vignette in a rectangular or square booth.  To create a vignette, you start by finding an anchor piece.  In a one-wall booth, the anchor piece isn't necessarily a fabulous, catch-your-eye thing.  It's the largest piece around which everything else will be arranged.

For the anchor piece of this booth, Chris might look for a table or desk or console about 4 ft long - sort of sofa table sized.  She could display things on top of the table and under it.  The piece should be as deep as space permits.  

A table like this would make a great anchor piece for a space where you can't come out very far from the wall.
Photo Taken at Queen of Hearts in Marietta, GA

A hutch or cabinet could also be used as the anchor piece. Bottom doors can be left open or removed and set to the side for more display space.

Photo Taken at Queen of Hearts in Marietta, GA

Photo taken at Rockin' B Antiques in Newnan, GA

Stacking

When possible, mid-sized items could be placed on top of the table - wood shelves, crates, cabinets, hutch tops, chairs - things that would be for sale AND used to create more display space.  Since the table wouldn't take up all the space,there would be room to put something else for sale on the side, adding to your look.  I have lots of examples of stacked vignettes - 

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Source: somewhere on the Chippy Shabby blog.

Source: somewhere on the Sugar Pie Farmhouse blog.

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Source - somewhere  on the Summer Cottage Antiques site.

Source: somewhere on the Restoration House Interiors site

Color

In Chris's current look, she has some blue.  I would work in a bit more blue and make a statement.  She could bring in more color cheaply by stuffing blue tissue paper (or fabric)  in clear jars or in baskets or crates used to hold things you are selling.

Photo taken at Rockin' B Antiques in Newnan, GA

When you come home with treasures for your booth, sort smalls into color groups.  Store them at home in boxes by colors and/or seasons so they are easy to pull.    You'd switch the look for your booth (or vignette) every month or two.  You don't have to stick to just one color in your groupings.  Chris might choose another color to mix in with her blues.   See this post for more on color grouping.

In a one wall booth, the only wall you have is your money wall!  It can be great! You might even out-sell many typical full size booths.

Source - Rockin' B Antiques in Newnan, GA

This is a small one wall booth at Queen of Hearts in Marietta, GA.
This vendor has lots to sell in that tiny space!

I looked back through some of my previous VSO posts and found more vignette photos that would be great ideas for a booth like this, especially on The Money Wall  post.


Update: Feb 18 - Megan now has an anchor piece.  WOW!   Take a look at her booth now -

Click here to see the changes Chris made after reading this post.

Prime Booth Location

When you first get a booth at a mall, your booth location isn't usually up to you.  You have to take whatever spot is open.  Once you are in the door, as vendors leave, you may have an opportunity to move to a better spot.  Some mall owners will let all the vendors know when a space is coming open in case anyone wants to move.  Some mall owners will rent the open spot to the next potential vendor on her list. Vendors already in the store are shocked and some may wish they'd had a chance at moving.  Either way, you should pick out the booths you would love to have and tell the owner if any of them ever come available to please consider you.  And then, to make sure you are a good candidate, you need to prove yourself worthy of a better spot by making  the absolute most of your current location.  If you have a lousy looking booth and/or poor sales, why would the owner want to put you in a prime location?  And stay on the owner's good side, for Heaven's sake!

All malls vary, but here are some general thoughts to help you figure out which are the best booths in your mall -

The right side of the aisle is usually better than the left.  Most people tend to look to the right a little more often.

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A wide booth is better than a narrow booth.  Wide booths give you more options for arranging and a better opportunity for creating eye catching displays.

If you sell lots of things than hang, then look for booths with plenty of wall space.

Lighting is important.  Some malls don't want you to turn on lamps and lights in your booth during the hot summer months.  If you have good lighting that's no big deal.  If you are in a dark spot, it's bad, especially if you are selling dark furntiure.

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One more caution about lighting.  Some malls have ceiling fans.  A ceiling fan situated just so - in the path of a ceiling light - can produce a very annoying strobe effect.  Standing in a booth with the strobe effect is very irritating and customers generally don't linger in booths with that issue.

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A corner booth can be good, but not all corner booths are equal.  It depends of the traffic flow.  Corners that face oncoming traffic are the best.  If the corner is usually to the customer's back, then it's not a prime corner.  In fact, it causes you to lose your money wall.  See more about traffic flow and the money wall in this post.

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Booths that can be seen from different spots in the store are good.  Booths that can be seen from several booths away, like a booth at the end of an aisle, can be really good.

Being in the main path of traffic is important.  You don't want a booth in an off-the-main-path area that some customers forget to walk to.  You also don't want a booth in a spot that is too congested or too crowded.  A customer standing in the aisle looking into the booth might feel hurried along as other people walk past.  You want a spot where folks can happily loiter.

I could argue either way for being near the entrance or near the exit.  Some customers spend more time in the first few booths.  But will they make purchases.  They might be reluctant to pick something up, thinking they have so much more to see.  They tell themselves they'll come back after they've gone through the store.  But they don't always go back.

Towards the end, some impulse shoppers really want to go home with some little something.  If they haven't seen anything they want and they find themselves with only a few booths to go, they might look closer at those last booths.  For that matter, they might also take another quick look at any booths near the register.  Other customers might be on overload by the time they get to the end.  They might rush through the last booths.

 Lots of vendors love those first and last booths.  I never cared one way or the other.

Personal Photo taken at Queen of Hearts in Marietta, GA

If you know you aren't happy with your current booth, avoid putting in semi-permanent structures. Make your decor very mobile.  With luck, you may get to move to a better location quickly.  In fact you may "move up" several times before you get a booth you love.  I moved 4 times within 2 years before I found the perfect booth for me.

One last booth location thought - know your potential booth neighbors.  There may be some neighbors that, for whatever reason, you'd rather not be beside. Moving next to them could make your vendor life a lot more complicated and who needs that?  Just sayin'!

If your location and your booth shape isn't the best, don't worry too much.  I have seen awesome vendors in bad locations with poorly shaped booths and bad lighting who did GREAT.  If you have great stuff to sell, customers will flock to your booth!!!  Still, it's nice to be where you feel happy.

The Money Wall

In many stores, there is a path customers typically walk... a direction they follow.  I highly recommend that you learn which direction customers are usually heading when they come to your booth.  Stand off in a distance and observe customers as they walk to your booth. If they come from one particular direction the majority of the time, then whatever part of your booth they see first is what I call "THE MONEY WALL".

The money wall is where you need to create a strong first impression.  You need to use that wall to catch the eye of anyone passing.  It's where you put things that will grab their attention and help lure them into your booth.  If you have a large item that you want to sell, you might want to put it on that wall and make it look fabulous.

This is key - a pretty vignette on your money wall is not enough.  Pretty will get you a glance, but it might not get a customer into your booth.  You have to have special things that customers will want to check out.  A glance is good.  Entering your booth is better.  Picking something up or checking a price tag is best because that's getting much closer to actually making a sale, which, after all, is the main goal.

There are booths all around you competing for attention.  Your booth needs to at least look as good as the others.  If you notice that customers stare longer at the booths around you, you need to step up your game. Or, if they go into surrounding booths more often that yours, you need to step up your game.

Here are some examples of displays that would CREATE A GREAT FIRST IMPRESSION.  I tried to include a variety of styles.

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There are tons more  inspiring booth photos on Pinterest.  That's where I found most of these photos.  You can start exploring booth photos on Pinterest (if you haven't already) by taking a look at my Antique Booths board.