Handy Dandy Vendor Toolkit [Craft Show Checklist, Part 2]
In Part 1 of The Craft Show Survival Kit, we covered The Must Have Craft Show Vendor Bag, packed with some of the most important tools you will need to have a successful event. Today, we will move on to the MVP of The Vendor Bag: The Handy Dandy Craft Show Vendor Toolkit & Craft Show Checklist. I consider this box to be my crafter’s tool kit, complete with all the supplies I need to assemble and construct my booth display. I even have an entire bonus section dedicated solely to making the day as comfortable and enjoyable as possible.
Craft Show Vendor Booth Setup
My Craft Show Vendor Toolkit is made out of SnapWare boxes. I like them because I can customize the size to my specific needs. The compartments help me to stay organized (most of the time), which makes it easier to find what I need quickly, even during the busiest parts of the show. Typically, I keep the tiers arranged in three sections:
- setup and display items
- personal survival supplies
- miscellaneous supplies and overflow
The perfect contents of your Craft Show Vendor Toolkit may differ than those listed here. What you find useful will depend on your own personal booth display and product types. This list should serve as a jumping off point to help get you thinking about what you might need. My hope is that you see a few “ah-ha!” items here that you hadn’t yet thought of, and maybe later you can drop into the comments and suggest a few supplies of your own.
As a bonus, I have included a downloadable craft show checklist that you can customize to your needs and check off both digitally and as a free printable.
Booth Construction & Product Pricing
What do you need to take your vendor booth from storage to spectacular? Let’s be honest, our vendor booth displays aren’t held together by hopes and happy thoughts, so let’s make sure you have the tools you need to put together a presentation that looks perfectly presentable. These items are also essential to tagging, pricing, and wrapping up your products.
- Scissors
- Double Stick Tape (temporary)
- Double Stick Tape (permanent)
- Regular Tape
- Pens
- Black & Red Sharpies
- Adhesive Putty
- Glue Dots
- Blank Price Tags
- String
- Clothes Pins
- Safety Pins
- T Pins
- Calculator (backup plan for your phone)
- Tape Measure
- Wire
- Small Wire Cutter
- Multi-Tool
- Credit Card Payment Processor (if it’s not in your change bag, of course.)
- Power Bank
Self Care
You’ve made it to this point, but you need to make it through the day as well. It’s time to stock your craft show toolkit up with everything you need to take care of the most important aspect of your business: you. Here are a few suggestions to get you thinking about what might make you most comfortable as the show goes on.
- Gum / Mints
- Chapstick
- Hand Sanitizer
- Lotion
- Hair Tie (if applicable)
- Advil or Tylenol (or both)
- Clartin D (Texas allergies are real, y’all)
- Emergency Sunscreen
- Bandaids
- Neosporin
Ready to roll
Having a game plan always helps to promote peace of mind. You can’t control the weather, the traffic, or the sales, but you can make sure you are ready for whatever the event may throw your way. And now you are! Your Craft Show Survival Kit is literally packed and you’re ready to go! It is one (or a million) less thing(s) to worry about finding and/or forgetting. You might even manage to sleep a little better (and maybe a little longer too). Using this approach has drastically shortened my craft show prep time. The bag stays stocked, packed, and ready–always. When I get home, the bag goes into my studio and waits loyally for the next show.
Free Craft Show Checklist
To help you in your craft show prep, I have included a free, downloadable craft show checklist template here with all the items we have covered in The Craft Show Survival Kit Series. I am offering it as an excel spreadsheet so you can adjust and customize the craft show checklist to your specific needs. The line items will automatically strikethrough as you mark the done column, but you can also print it off and tackle it old school. Just click below to have the FREE craft show checklist emailed directly to you.
Drop a comment below and let me know about the must-have tools that I missed in our Craft Show Survival Kit Series. Together, we can make the list better! Best of luck to you in your upcoming events!
This article was originally published under the name of Craft Show Survival Kit :: Part II – The Box and has since been updated for accuracy and relevance.
Links included above are affiliate links and may support DFW Craft Shows at no additional cost to you. DFWCS participates in the Amazon affiliate program, but DFWCS is in no way associated with Amazon or the items above. The opinions stated within are my own, and I have not received any sponsorship or free products from the aforementioned manufacturers.
Originally posted on April 21, 2011.
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2 thoughts on “Handy Dandy Vendor Toolkit [Craft Show Checklist, Part 2]”
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Hi, I'm Tania!
Thanks for stopping by DFW Craft Shows! Our blog is home to tons of creative inspiration, gift guides, tutorials, featured artists, and tips for small businesses trying to make their mark in the arts & crafts world.
Thank You for sharing. We have been to many festivals & craft shows(as the consumer). Getting the 10 X 15 ft pop up tent was the first purchase for our first event. Tomato-Fest in Jacksonville, Texas. Yehaw! Will see how it goes. The check-list is a very valuable piece of paper.
Congrats on booking your first event, Sherree. I am so glad to hear that the post and checklist was helpful to you. I hope everything goes great. Good luck!