Bead show wrap up

This was my table set up at the Innovative Bead Expo this weekend in Syracuse, N.Y.

Not as exciting as some of your jewelry displays, but selling just beads and components is a different animal. I used a lot of tips I got a while ago from my blog readers on this post.

I purchased these clear plexi jewelry or drawer organizers at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. The nice thing about these trays is that they are clear and someone can see all that color going on from afar and hopefully be drawn to the table for a peek.

I also have tried to not pile up the beads in the trays so my customers don't have to spend too much time digging.

At the last minute I also decided to label each bead section with a price tag. Last time I did this show I had signs with the prices and the customers had to spend time scanning the signs to find the price of the item they were interested in, this method seemed more convenient.

Sets and pairs of beads I grouped with wire, I considered string of some sort but I was concerned they would become a tangled mess. I also color coded the wire threaded through the beads by price, for example the beads with red wire were $20, purple wire were $12, etc. This made it easy if any beads strayed out of their tray, I could easily see where they belonged, and there would be no question on the price if it was in the wrong spot.

At this show 95% of what is on the table had to be loose beads, but as you can see in the first picture I did display some finished enamel earrings. This gave customers an idea of what the enamel pieces would look like in a finished piece of jewelry. I also need some finished necklaces for next time demonstrating how connectors and other components can be used.

I also need to find more lighting, I knew this banquet room was well lit but that may not always be the case.

Sales were down for everyone this weekend and the crowd was very small. It was a holiday weekend with amazing weather, and my customers said that there were several Fall festivals going on in the area.

This was my second bead show with Expo, my first was in March and also in Syracuse. Sales were down this time but I covered my expenses plus a little extra. My first show was very good so that was a tough benchmark to match.

I almost forgot the moo cards I talked about in this post were a big hit. I think this will bring more customers to my etsy shop, and it will be easy to identify those customers since I only use that coupon code for bead shows.

The silver lining is that I did not get cleaned out. I have another Expo show in Rochester, N.Y. the last weekend in October, so I will not be going too crazy building my inventory up again.

That also means that there will be plenty of new items in the shop tomorrow in every category. So check my blog tomorrow for a sampling of what will be heading to the shop and a specific time that new items will be listed.