What You Need For Your Craft Booth

By Shawn Vincent

If you’re just getting started with selling your crafts at craft shows you may be wondering what you should expect to bring for your booth. Are there things that the show host will provide for you? How can you know?

The way you know is by looking at the show guide lines. Each show should have a published flier or pamphlet telling you exactly what to expect. They will cover subjects like the following:

* Booth Size – They will tell you exactly what size the standard booth will be. Some shows offer varying size booths, but many will indicate a standard size. They will expect and warn you to stay within the confines of your booth. You will have to keep aisle ways clear and free from obstructions.

* Electricity – They will indicate if there is the availability of electricity. If they do provide electricity they will often indicate how many watts will be available to you. This will be important if you will be needing lights or running any machines that require electricity. If you need additional power, in some cases you may be able to run a small quiet generator.

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* Fire Marshal Requirements – The shows paperwork will also tell you of any special requirements the fire marshal will have. This can be such things as using flame retardant materials in your booth, certain size and type of extension cords for power, etc.

You may also have to obtain special permits in some cases. For example, if you want to run a barbecue, burn candles, run a heater, or run any electrical, mechanical or chemical device the fire department deems hazardous.

These are just a few examples. Just make sure if you have anything in your booth that could be seen as hazardous by the fire department or show officials that you verify the need of any permits. The last thing you need is to find out after a ticket that you needed a permit.

* Acceptable Signage – In some shows you will even run in to requirements with regards to the signs that you use. Some shows don’t allow any handwritten signs unless they are done in the style of calligraphy. Sometimes a show will put restrictions on the material a sign is made out of. I was reading one set of requirements that stated no vinyl signs.

* Side walls – You could also be required to provide side walls in your booth. This helps to present each booth as its own store front. It helps to provide a nice separation between you and the booths next door. When potential customers are looking at your booth they see your crafts, not your neighbors.

In some cases the back wall of a booth will be a curtain so you wouldn’t have to cover that area. This is likely for an indoor show.

These are just a few of the items that you’ll find covered in the show guide lines. Just make sure you’re diligent to read all the requirements so you have an enjoyable show. Finding out when you get to the show that you aren’t compliant with some regulation can get you kicked out of the show.

You could end up trading an otherwise profitable day for a big fat goose egg.

About the Author:

Sell My Crafts

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Step By Step Installation For Decorative Shutters

By Paul S Millar

Decorative window shutters are easy to install and can be put up with relatively little trouble. Operational shutters are slightly more difficult, though generally do not require any specialist skills or tools either.

If you have ordered a new set of decorative window shutters, you can pay extra for installation. However, it is quite possible to fix them on the wall of your house yourself, and you will not need any specialist tools or expertise to do so. You should require no more than a power drill and screwdriver.

1) Position the shutters

Decorative shutters do not need to cover the window, since they are fixed to the wall and do not close. This means they generally do not have the same proportions as the window. This is because windows in the UK tend to be wider than continental ones, which are narrow and high. Operational shutters would be extremely broad and unwieldy as a result. This also means that decorative shutters do not need to be positioned precisely, since they don’t have to meet in the middle when they close. Most people prefer to leave a little space between the window frame and the edge of the shutter. The amount of space you leave is a matter of personal taste, though you may like to check your surrounding neighbourhood to see whether other houses tend to follow a particular convention.

2) Mark around the shutter

Hold the shutter against the window in the position you have chosen. (Do not use a spirit level to position them because the window may not be precisely vertical.) Mark the corners of the shutter on the wall with a pencil.

3) Clear the wall

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Once you have decided on the position of your external shutters, check that section of wall to make sure you can cover it and drill into it without any problems. Look for any unsound or crumbling brickwork, and any wires or other obstructions.

4) Drill the shutter

Drill a hole in each corner of the shutter, corresponding to the size of the screws that were supplied with it.

5) Mark the wall

Hold the shutter back against the wall inside the original pencil marks. Then mark through the four holes you have just drilled in the corners of your shutter, onto the wall. This will tell you where to drill holes for your shutter spikes or Rawlplugs, since you cannot screw directly into brickwork.

6) Drill the wall

Switch to a masonry bit and drill the four holes. The width of these needs to match the shutter spikes or Rawlplugs that should come supplied with your shutters.

7) Fit the shutter spikes

Push a spike or Rawlplug into each hole. If the holes are too small, you will need to drill larger ones. If they are too large, it is probably worth filling them with plaster and drilling smaller holes slightly to the side of the original ones.

8) Screw in the shutter

You should now be able to screw your shutters onto the wall without trouble. If your shutters are made of plastic like Styrofoam they will be quite light. Real or synthetic wood shutters are heavier, but you can push a nail through one of the corner holes into the wall to take most of the weight while you screw in the other corners. Alternatively, rest the shutter on the top of a ladder to support it.

9) View your work

Remove the ladder and check the overall effect of the shutters from a distance to make sure the house looks right and the proportions of shutters and spacing from the windows are good.

10) Painting and maintenance

Plastic shutters need little maintenance, but if you need to repaint them at some point in the future you should be able to remove them quickly and easily and then remount them after painting using the same screws and shutter spikes. Make sure the holes are clear and you don’t paint over them.

About the Author: This article was supplied by founder and director of Simply Shutters, Paul Millar. Simply Shutters are a family run business based in Suffolk, UK specialising in the manfacture and supply of decorative

external shutters

and are registered with

The Guild of Master Craftsmen

.

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