It’s that moment craft show participants everywhere have been waiting for.
At last, there’s a light at the end of the Covid-19 tunnel and it looks like we’ll get to display our work at craft shows and events again.
Of course, we’re still not entirely out of the woods.
If you’re worried about safety during the upcoming craft show season, there are ways you can set up your booth to keep everyone safe.
Here are a few simple recommendations for the socially distanced craft booth in a post-Covid world.
Require masks
While this may be difficult to enforce, asking visitors to wear masks can go a long way towards stopping the spread of Covid-19. The CDC still recommends the wearing of cloth masks as one of the simplest yet most effective ways to mingle in public safely. Even after the vaccine is distributed and for some time, wearing a mask is a visible sign that you are taking precautions and care about the safety of your guests.
Be sure to wear a mask yourself and politely encourage your visitors to wear one, too. This will make more of your vulnerable visitors (the elderly or immuno-compromised) feel more at ease when they come to your booth.
Set out individual pieces separately
It’s all part of the experience: large numbers of people putting their hands on items as they look at them. After all, touching and handling prospective purchases is part of the fun.
Unfortunately, it’s also a prime way to spread dangerous germs.
To minimize this, spread individual pieces out along your tables so that visitors can look at items without putting their hands all over everything. Ideally, invest in a case that can protect your items from handling unless requested.
Limit the number of items out for display.
For the same reasons mentioned above, keep just a few diverse, good-quality items out for display. Avoid overcrowding on your tables. This makes it possible for people to look through items while still maintaining a safe distance from one another.
Bring some extra merchandise to replenish empty spaces as items are purchased.
Make sure there’s adequate space between your booth and others
Work with other vendors to keep your booth a good distance away from those on either side of you.
This can help minimize any crowding as people move from one booth to another.
As this may not be entirely within your control, it’s worth it to contact the venue and find out what arrangements they are making for social distance between booths.
Use a plastic screen.
Shield your register with a plastic screen and stay behind when ringing up purchases and interacting with visitors.
As their name suggests, these “sneeze guards” protect you from flying particles when anyone sneezes, coughs, or even just talks.
Keep hand sanitizer on hand.
Make hand sanitizer readily available to visitors as they move through your booth and handle your merchandise.
Bring enough with you to ensure that you don’t run out.
And give your hands a rub as often as possible throughout the day to protect yourself and others as well.
Make your entrance display as compelling as possible.
You’ve always known that your success depended on an enticing display at the entrance of your booth, and that’s even more true now.
Visitors decide whether to enter or not based on your display, so make sure it’s an accurate representation of the goodies inside.
Also, if more of your merchandise can be seen from the entrance, it means a smaller crowd in the space within, making it safer for everyone.
Accept credit cards
If you don’t yet use Square, or some other app that allows you to accept credit cards, now’s the time.
Reducing the amount of cash that changes hands is one of the best ways to keep transactions germ-free.
Craft shows may never be quite the same in a post-Covid world. But with a few precautions, you can set up your booth in a way that’s profitable, enjoyable, and safe.
