MAKE AN EXHIBITION OF YOURSELF

I have just been reading an interesting piece on making a success of a stand at an antique or other Fair, and thought I might pass on a few hints. First, arrive in good time so that you can park near your 'goods' entrance, be it house, hall or marquee. When booking, remember that most people go round clockwise, so a stand near the entrance is good, also corners can be useful if you want to display hangings, curtains and long pieces of linen.

Find your place and mark it out well with table(s) and chair - sometimes your neighbours have adjusted things a bit to your disadvantage so check size with what you have paid for. Spread your cloths over tables and bring your containers in so they can sit either behind or directly in front of tables and display furniture. Then remove your car to exhibitors car park which is a courtesy to other stallholders waiting to park and unload. If you have a lot to show, make a good square or semi circle so that everything is within reach from the front, except stuff which is hung back of your stand on rails or screens. Do not set up a table across the entrance of your stand, as your aim must be to persuade buyers to come into your 'shop' and linger and discover, and to discuss things with you. Remember good lighting is a huge bonus, but be careful that spotlights cannot be touched and burn - and textiles are highly inflammable.

Finally, give yourself time for refreshment before the opening and time to dress yourself as attractively as possible (after all, you are selling good taste and style) and do not think of reading a paper or book sitting on a chair with your back to the customers; they then feel that you are not interested in them and will not disturb you. Eye contact and a smile give a much better impression! Have a good supply of printed trade cards with details of goods and services available, offer one to every person who passes, saying they might need to contact you in future.

Personally I have always found it very effective to have a large basket or other attractive container, really full of something small and inexpensive, price clearly visible, not available elsewhere, whether it be bundles of scraps for quilting, little jam jars full of buttons, little pill boxes or any old haberdashery items like wooden cotton reels, lengths of tape or ribbon, which intrigue children, and tempt the grown-ups, and give you the chance to engage in conversation.
Everything you do on your stand must be to encourage the public to stop and look - passers-by are of no use to you and your sales results.

THE VERY FIRST and last THING

I THOUGHT THIS WAS A VERY SAD PICTURE - A POOR KOREAN LADY LOST EVERYTHING SHE HAD IN A FLOOD-PRONE AREA AND SAVED ONLY THIS PICTURE OF HER SON.

And then I wondered about the shocking pink textile background - was this well known British photographer, Martin Parr, trying to tell us something - that the country she lived in could produce a joyous and startling burst of colour among all the detritus of wars, floods and misery? and then I wondered AGAIN, what would I save if I could take only one thing - should my house catch on fire, the River Avon, only one street away, should the river burst its banks and I had to climb out of a window? What would I clutch? It all seemed so futile and hopeless that I decided there and then to tidy my house up from top to toe and that's what I have been doing for the last week - finding good homes for surplus furniture, charity shops for excess clothes, books and kitchen gadgets - in between I have rounded up all the sewing, mending jobs, hoovered behind and under every lump of furniture, cleaned every hanging light, got my showrooms into apple-pie order (and made some apple-pies with the last of the harvest apples) so thank you, Mr. Parr, for sparking my re-formation of house and belongings and I do hope that the sad lady in KOREA HAS MORE THAN ONE PICTURE TO LOOK AFTER AND HAS SOMEWHERE TO HANG THE PRECIOUS MOMENTO!