Evolution of the AllyBeth Booth | Craft Market Inspiration

This is Part 2 in our Craft Market Display Series. See Part 1 here and Part 3 here!

A maker friend of mine recently stopped by our booth this spring, and during our conversation we got to chatting about how fair we’ve all come in our booth setups over the years! There is a small group of us that have been doing the market circuit for about 4-5 years, and it’s been so fun to all grow together, and see how each of us have expanded and progressed over the years. Who knew, after years of searching for craft market inspiration, we’ve come far enough to write a blog post about it!

I thought it would be fun so show you all a bit of our AllyBeth journey, and things we’ve used along the way to bring our handmade creations to you each market season! One thing I have noticed, however, is that it’s terribly difficult to take beautiful well-lit photos in pretty much any market venue, since most of them have pretty terrible lighting and usually backgrounds too (lol).

The Early Years (2013 – 2014)

There’s just something about looking at these photos that makes me feel like serving up a big ol’ piece of humble pie. We really have come so far, but I’m so thankful to have these pictures to show how things started out, and how we’ve developed both as a brand, and in our product design.

I picked up that vintage school desk for $2 at garage sale one summer. I couldn’t believe she was giving it away so cheap. Little did I know at the time, they are incredible awkward to carry, take up a fair bit of space and are nearly impossible to give away to someone else. She was probably thrilled when I bought them, because it meant she didn’t need to deal with it anymore (lol). I know it’s how I felt when I (finally) gave it away for free. Take it from me – never use these for vendor booth displays!

Holiday Season of 2014

This was around the time I added the iconic checkered linens that came with us everywhere. Thanks to a great clearance find at Target (back when it was in Canada….), this was actually a flat + fitted sheet set that worked perfectly for our display. I started using the pipe backdrop that we built for our wedding Photo Booth as a backdrop to display our burlap banners on, but it really only lasted one year before it started getting unstable and a little twisty. While it was a shame to see it go, it was a relief, since it was starting to get a little tedious to set up every time.

The vintage crates we started using were an awesome find on the side of the road! They originally came from a vineyard in California and the older fellow that had put them out was cleaning out his garage. I was thrilled to find them, and I still use them to this day!

That pegboard stand you see on the right is one of the first display pieces we ever built, and while we don’t carry very much stationary/scrapbooking supplies anymore, we still use it at every single market and pop-up shop. It’s simply pegboard, painted black, with a stained wood boarder and T shape legs (with brackets). I was intimidated to make something like this at first, but it was much simpler than I expected (I made it myself) and it turned out be a big part of our display, year after year.

2015 – AKA the year we did allllllll of the markets (what was I thinking?!)

2015 was the year I really focused in on developing the AllyBeth Design Co brand, and I got a lot more specific on the designs, colours and styles I used in my designs. With so many sign makers coming out of the woodwork this year (see what I did there?! ha ha ha), I wanted to make sure that shoppers + customers would know an AllyBeth Design Co sign when they seen one.

I dropped a lot of colour in our signs, and designed collections around bringing out the beauty of the wood grain. It’s no accident that our collections include a lot of crisp, white lettering and designs, along with a few pastel colour accents.

I also purchased a few new pieces of equipment this year, that allowed us (well, me) to do a lot more creatively, which was a huge deal. It was a really exciting time, and I spent a lot of time trying to give our displays a more visual/storefront feel instead of a typical craft fair booth.

Around the middle of 2015 is when we bought these lovely Ikea shelves, which worked out so well for displaying our 10×10 and 10×13 pieces. We initially just bought one, but quickly figured two would work even better, and we almost always took two of them whenever we could.

I was so thrilled to receive an acceptance email from Olde Farmhouse this year – but it was quickly filed with anxiousness on how to use up a whole 10×10 booth! Many sketches and ideas later, we decided on a L shape layout, which would become our go-to layout for many Olde Farmhouse markets to come. This was also the first year I ever met my dear friend Leslie from West Coast Leslie Designs – and she’s such an amazing part of my market family now!

2016  – Perfecting the 10×10 spaces & learning to let others help!

Since 2015 was a whirlwind of way too many markets, I registered for very few in 2016, and I’m very thankful I did.

2016 also happened to be the year that I started getting terrible migraines, and I wouldn’t have been able to get through the winter market season if it wasn’t for my family + my helpers! I was so thankful I kept photos of all of our past displays, making it a lot easier to explain to them how I normally set everything up.

Sometimes, it still amazes me how much product I end up making when prepping for a market season. I get so stressed that I will run out, that I end up making a lot more than I probably need. And I’m still worried that it won’t be enough. It’s not until I’m all set up for the market, that I realize how much product I actually have, and breathe a huge sigh of relief that it will probably be plenty! I’m sure I can’t be the only one who does that!

2017 – Getting acceptance into a few prestigious artisan fairs + keeping up with online orders

The 2017 market season was especially challenge because our products were more in demand than ever before. By October 2017 we were being sold on Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and Etsy, in 4 retail stores in Canada and the US, as well as one more online shop in Vancouver (that shipped worldwide).

I knew I had to make my display booths appealing, but also still have them look good (and not bare) as I ran out of stock. Again, the ever-evolving booth! It was as if the all of the hard work I had put in was paying off, and while I was (and am) eternally grateful, it does present a few new challenges to work through!

This was also the year that I spent a bit of time reworking our table display (as opposed to 10×10 booth displays) and was on the hunt for small shelving units and risers that would fit our brand, on our table, and in our CRV! Winners/Homesense ended up being one of the best places to find adorable pieces, especially in the office organizer section! As you can probably tell, Ikea was also a favourite stop, along with Craigslist (check for lightly used wedding decor!)

Whenever possible, I would also scour any market I was in for a florist. I love supporting other market vendors, and succulents and fresh flowers always makes a such a difference for your tables! Some of my favourite market florist girls are Maple Ridge Florist, Blossom with Quik Pik and Sophia’s Flower Shop!

2018 – Building Walls of Our Own

Always on the search for new display ideas that are functional and easy for one person to set up, in 2018 (this year), I introduced our new AllyBeth crate wall! The pictures below are from the first set up where we used this concept, but it has since grown to a bigger wall for an even bigger affect.

My favourite part of this display is that I can keep all additional versions of a design (i.e. different stain options, or cup options in our Coffee + Kisses sign) all in one spot. It makes it easy for our shoppers to see what other versions are available, without me having to pull out a box from under the table! It’s a touch that I hope our shoppers appreciate as well.

We also introduced a new collection of framed canvas and we are in loooooooove. Look for more of these being added to the shop in the upcoming months!

There’s that pegboard stand again! Always pulling it’s weight and making our hanging littles look good!

Don’t know where this model came from, but I think I’ll keep him!

I hope you’ve enjoyed taking a little trip down memory lane with us, and maybe help to give you a few ideas for your own market displays! Add a comment with any posts you’ve done about the evolution of your business or your booths – I would absolutely love to see them!! Still need more craft market inspiration – check out my previous post for a few more ideas from other makers!

 

This Post is Sponsored by AllyBeth Design Co
Quality Wooden Decor for the Modern Home

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AllyBeth Design Co is our handmade company – located right here in British Columbia, Canada! We design and create modern decor in all sizes, but our small hanging signs and desk blocks are our top sellers! They make excellent souvenirs, gifts and encouraging reminders for your own beautiful home.

Take a peek at our online shop, Etsy shop or instagram to see more. In the area and want to buy in person? Click here for a list of our stockists!

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