My Experience Tabling for the First Time
How I Prepared for my First Time Tabling and my Overall Thoughts
Aug 31, 2023
For the last year, I have been slowly building up the courage to have a table/booth at a market or an event. So, at the end of July, I tabled for the first time, and I LOVED it!
In order for me to be comfortable with tabling, I needed to do a little research first and formulate a plan.
How do I want to display my art? How big of a table will I need? What about signage? If I have a canopy over my table, I need weights ...do we have weights for our canopy we use for camping? Payment...I need to get one of those Square card readers probably.
These were just some of the things I wanted to work through before attempting to get accepted to table at a market or event. While my studio may be a hot mess when I am working on a piece, I still like to have my ducks in a row.
Fast forward to June of this year, and the perfect opportunity arose for me to table at an event that was low pressure and low commitment. The event was indoors. They provided me with a table in a location that had high visibility. There was electrical available if I needed to plug my phone in so that I could keep accepting payments with the Square card reader on my phone. There were bathrooms onsite, and there were also people I knew that could watch my table in the event that I needed to use said bathrooms.
I really couldn't have asked for a better opportunity to test the waters.
The Research
I watched videos other artists had made sharing their own tips and tricks for tabling. I started looking through my inventory to see if I needed to restock any specific prints prior to the event. I began making a list of the items I would need for my table - marking which items I already owned and which items I would need to acquire.
For the new items I was acquiring, my goal was to be intentional with my purchases and have uses outside of tabling if possible.
What I Got:
Plate Racks - I used these to display/organize my prints at my table for the event, but in my studio, I use them to organize my sketchbooks, watercolor paper blocks, and my paint palettes. A bonus aspect about these racks specifically is that they can fold flat, meaning they are easy to pack up to take to events and markets.
IKEA Kuggis Boxes in Various Sizes - I was already using a couple of these in my studio to store and organize my products. Prior to this event, I had reorganized my studio. I wanted to get more of the Kuggis boxes for organizing my studio since I already loved the ones I had, and I knew they would be perfect for transporting my goods for markets and events. It was a breeze packing things up due to the stacking ability of these boxes, and during the event, I was able to easily slide the boxes under my table without any problems.
Square Card Reader - technically, this was free, but there is an upgraded version that does cost money. My friend warned me that the free card reader that plugs into your phone is finicky, and she was right. It is definitely a little tricky trying to get it to read the cards when you swipe them. With it being my first event, I wasn't looking to pay extra on a less finicky card reader since I wasn't sure I would enjoy my experience or not. In the future, I could definitely see myself getting the upgrade. If you're at a busy market, you want your customers' experience to be pleasant, and holding them up at your table because your card reader is struggling to read their card isn't ideal. But for now, this one does the job.
Signs - this is where I splurged, even though I had a discount code. I wanted something that looked professional, would be easy to ready, had the ability to clearly identify everything on my table, and gave me the freedom to change any text on the signs during the event if I needed to. These signs come with their own storage box, so I didn't have to concern myself with finding something to safely store these in after opening. The beauty of these signs is that they have endless uses - from tabling at an event such as this to labeling food at party. Multipurpose. They aren't strictly branded to Victoria in Design, so their use is not restricted.
Table Runner - I decided to go with a table runner instead of a tablecloth as the size of my table may change from market to market. With unbranded tablecloths being less expensive and easier to acquire, I found it is more cost effective to get one or two plain tablecloths in different sizes and one runner that is at least 36" wide. The event I was attending provided my table with a tablecloth, so I haven't had to worry about getting a plain tablecloth yet.
Clipboard - surprisingly, I didn't already own a clipboard. I got a simple, yet nice looking clipboard that could hold my email sign-up sheets at events and markets, but could also be used in my studio, from hanging up a print on my wall to holding paper while I take inventory or do other tasks in my studio.
Bags - while easy to overlook, it's important to keep in mind whether or not you are going to provide bags for your customers' purchase to go into. Depending on what your are selling, you may or may not need bags, but with smaller items such as prints, bookmarks, stickers and cards, many customers will appreciate a bag. I opted for paper bags that are a solid black. Since they are unbranded they can be used as gift bags or I could try to see if someone else would be interested in taking them off my hands if I decided that tabling at markets and events was not for me. A bonus aspect of these bags is that they can be recycled.
The Prep Work
Leading up to the event, I squeezed in as much prep work whenever I could.
I was hoping to launch my bookmarks at this event, but I was cutting things a little close. My bookmarks were estimated to be delivered the weekend prior to the event, which does indeed sound like plenty of time. I still had to hole punch the bookmarks, add the hole reinforcements and add the tassels. I had 14 different bookmark designs, and if I wanted to have at least 10-20 of each design ready at a minimum, that meant, I had to do all of that on 140-280 bookmarks on top of all my other prep work, design work for my design business, and life in general.
If Zach and I were watching something that did not require subtitles, I would work on finishing the bookmarks or on packaging my prints. If Zach was reading to me, I was working on prep work while I listened. If Zach wanted to play a game, I'd sit and watch while prepping items.
Many artists that I saw talking about their experience tabling were always recommending to pack more inventory than you think you will actually sell. You never know for certain which items will sell well at any specific event. One print may be a hot seller, but if you only brought 5-10 with you, you may miss out on additional sells you could have had if you brought more. I worked diligently to prep more items than I thought I would actually sell at this event, and I am really glad I followed this advice. One of my stationary card packs and a couple specific bookmark designs were hot sellers that had to keep being restocked.
Overall Thoughts
One day of tabling, and I am already hooked. Tabling has been something I've wanted to do for the past year, but I always felt like I didn't have "enough" or that my items wouldn't be something that people would be interested in. This has been a season of growth for me. A season to push outside of my comfort zone and seek new opportunities for my art.
This event was less busy than previous years, so there wasn't as much traffic as I had anticipated. With that being said though, I was impressed by how many people had stopped by my table and ended up purchasing something, oftentimes multiple items. I had set low expectations for this event, and maybe in part, that is due to some kind of imposter syndrome.
Even though after the event my social battery was empty, I truly enjoyed connecting with people. At the end of the day, my introvert self was drained, and my soul was ready for rest. But, my heart was FULL. My cup was overflowing. At the end of the day, I left excited to look into more opportunities to table.
My Advice from Tabling Only Once so Far:
Don't underestimate how long it will take to prep everything for your event/market if you have never done one before. I'm a planner, and I started prepping a couple weeks in advance so I could tackle everything in bite size pieces here and there.
Test your setup/layout before your event. This helps you know how long everything will take to set up. It also helps you work through your table layout so you aren't trying to adjust things while customers are trying to shop.
If you are like me and are trying to be budget conscious on your purchases for tabling, consider getting items that can have a dual purpose - you can use for a market or event, but can also use in your studio vs something that you just store in a box until your next market. That doesn't mean everything has to have a dual purpose, but it can help save money in the long run if your items can be used for more than one thing.
Don't let imposter syndrome or fear hold you back.
Talk to other people who have tabled before. See what tips they have for you. See if you can find videos on YouTube of other people in your niche sharing tips and tricks for markets or events.
Since tabling at this one event, I have been applying and looking into other events and markets I can table at. Some markets that I am interested in will have to wait until next year as the sign-up deadline had already passed. I have one market event that will be at the very beginning of December that I am really excited about. More info on that to come in the future though.
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