What items did it take for my first show event
Tent – I bought an EZ-Up tent from Sam’s Club it was about $200 and was from here.
Tent Weights – It is a good idea to have about 40lbs per leg. This is what I bought. Yes, I bought 4 of them and I’m sure my delivery driver was thrilled.
Tables – I had 2 Lifetime branded 2×4 tables. They worked out really well and these were great. If I had to do it again, I’d probably get the ones that fold in half, but not a requirement.
Table covers. I bought a 2-pack of black table covers. Whatever you find is probably good enough.
Chair. It is taller than the normal chair. It is a little odd to unfold/refold, but it is comfortable and lets you sit down at a good height. My wife also found some folding camping chairs at Sierra Trading Post that we like.
Grids. I bought 4, which in retrospect was too many. One ended up a little bent, so I left it in my family’s beach home for next summer. I also had one that was bent during manufacturing, so always test them out before you put them into use. Space was an issue in my car, and these take up a bit of space. I put all 4 on my roof wrapped inside of a moving blanket. I recommend buying extra bolts, I lost several sets of the bolt/washer/nut on just the drive.
Grid Hooks. This is what I used, there’s probably a dozen other options. Worked well. I also had small baskets that hooked onto the grids. The baskets worked fine, but my idea on how to use them needs refinement. I used them to keep 4×6 photos on display and it did not help me sell many of the items.
Business Card Holder. I realize it isn’t something you think of, but very important. I used all 3 during my event, but 2 is probably enough. For the actual cards, they were both designed and printed from Canva.
Lights and fans with rechargeable batteries for the tent. The event I was at did not require either, as the weather was perfect. If it were really hot, I would have enjoyed the fans and wished I’d brought more. I bought a few different ~$30-40 options and it worked out well enough.
As mentioned in another post, I bought dish holders hoping it would help display my photos, it did not work well and I’m looking for a new solution for next time.
Other Things
I bought a bunch of pre-cut mattes for both 8×10 and 8×12. There is a company called Golden State Art. They do sell on Amazon, but there are other sources and the company does sell direct. If you buy on Amazon you are paying the most expensive price, but shipping is the fastest. For attaching the prints to the mattes, I recommend Tyvek Tape and also a bone folding and scoring tool to help with making the folds and keeping everything flat.
Cash Box – um, I found one on Amazon. It was about $20. Most people paid with credit card.
Things you wouldn’t think of
I used these reusable rubber twist ties that seem to be called ‘Gear Ties’. They are one of the most useful things and you probably want several packs. I used these ties to hold the grids together in transport, hold table cloths to table legs in the wind, and probably a few other uses.
Zip ties. You cannot have enough of them. It also helped keep photos in frame from moving too much in the wind. I’d recommend both a white/clear and a black pack.
Giant plastic tubs. I had a few big tubs already. There are giant ones you can get at Home Depot in the $10-20 range.
Hand truck. I used this one that I bought, as well as a ULine Foldable Utility Wagon that I won in a contest. Both are excellent choices for carrying stuff from the car and back.
Battery Packs. My Credit Card reader needed internet and so I needed to tether to my phone. Both of these ran the batteries down. Bring a few rechargeable battery banks and you’ll be fine. In a pinch, one of my fan’s battery could double as a charger.
Venmo! You can open a business account and I think it is free. This lets your customer scan a code with their phone and pay you. While I only had one person ask me directly for this, my neighbor claimed that about half of her sales were with Venmo.
CC Reader. This might be the most controversial choice. I chose a credit card reader from Bank of America. It was a high up front cost (~$550) but the ongoing costs are $0 and it has a lower transaction cost vs some other options. Research everything, look into up front vs per transaction and ongoing costs, and make your best choice. The other advantage for this particular CC reader is that it deposited the money in my bank account overnight — assuming the device was turned on and connected to WIFI. My business bank account and business credit cards connect to the same Bank of America account, which I use because that’s my normal bank and they just made it easy. If you are just starting, and it is only you, having things that make life simple are invaluable. One disadvantage to the device I chose is that there is no way for me to sell it to someone else down the line. I don’t like this, but it was a risk I was willing to take.
I think that covers it. Maybe there will be an update after a future show. It is a lot of work to get this done and it took me a few weeks to recover from the first. I hope the next one is not as difficult.
-Brad