I agree. It is very monotone. I spend an entire evening searching out color and effects on sale. So I changed my table top color which goes over over white sheets and wow, what a difference. My sales did more than triple. Men are attracted to certain color and so are women. Keep your top colors solid. Too much design can distract from your jewelry. I once did a show and one of the vendors complain about little sell. Her jewelry was very nice but all the lace make the jewelry pieces difficult to notice.

Lynn, I so agree that great lighting is one of the best things we can do to make our jewelry stand out beautifully at a show! 🙂

Kathy, I also do earrings and bracelets. During the winter I sell crochet hats, gloves etc.

Color can be useful…but just a pop or two. I started with black tablecloths and then changed them out for grey as it’s a more neutral color and not as ‘heavy’ a color as black.

I also put my tables in a Z or L shape with the foot of the L facing towards the front of the tent. I find people are loathe to go into tents so I use the front 2/3 of the tent for the tables and people space and the back 1/3 for me and storage. My setup changes from year to year as I add more polished setup pieces. Embrace the change and have a bit of fun – personalize the table to the show you are doing.

I also work on a piece at every show. It draws people in and can be a conversation starter.

It always get the attention of a prospective buyer – of course some people will just ignore him and walk on by, but 90% of them then stop and look who would otherwise have walked by. And a lot of them do buy something, even if it is something small like an inexpensive pair of earrings.

I engage anyone who stops with a short story of how it all started or depending on their comments have some comment ready that associates with their dilemma, or suggestion as to what they would suit or would go with an outfit they plan to wear. I also have my slogan written somewhere on my stall. Make one that encourages people to think about buying.

I also never make any negative comments to customers and never say the word cheap with regards to my work! I also find that if you underprice your work people will see your work as ‘cheap’ but if you slightly overprice your work people will believe they are getting a good quality piece.

I hope this helps.

Another thing I might add to the mix, and this is based on my experience, is if you are making a higher quality item, be sure the venues you choose are comparable in quality and price, and broader in selection of items (ie not overly saturated with jewelry).

Many of the shows in my area have items that are nicely made, but with lesser quality materials. One lady’s seed bead creations are absolute works of art. But the prices are much lower because the ladies who make them do not value their time (I’m just sitting around watching tv anyway) and therefore they practically give it away because they need the money.

Because ours is a small community, the audience is also very small. The quality no longer draws people in from the bigger cities who are looking for quality handmade items. There are a few of us who have decided that we cannot lower our prices to compete with the others, and therefore are endeavoring to find other ways to market our jewelry.

Bottom line is — it’s important to choose your venues carefully.

And be true to yourself.

Here are some additional thoughts I have for you:

(1) I don’t know what types of shows you have been in, but often the problem is the show itself. There may be too many jewelry booths, or too many vendors with cheap manufactured jewelry, or it may be a show that attracts bargain-hunters. Or the event planner hasn’t done much to promote the show. You may want to investigate other shows that have less of those issues.

(2) As Katrina mentioned above, it’s really important to build an email list of people who are interested in wearing (or gifting) your jewelry, so you can notify them of your events and also when you have new jewelry designs available. With a good email customer list, you can have good sales even at a bad show.

(3) At your shows, do you hand out flyers listing your upcoming shows, locations, and dates? When I go to shows, I always pick up those flyers from vendors whose work interests me. I want to see their work (and possibly shop from them) again in the future.

(4) Is it possible that your jewelry prices are too low, so people aren’t perceiving the value of your jewelry? That can really suppress your sales.

I hope some of these ideas help, Penelope. I do think your jewelry looks well made, and in styles people would like to wear.