Artist Alley Tips for Your First Con: Part 2 – Planning Your Setup

Welcome to my second installment of Artist Alley Tips for Your First Con! If you missed part one, you can read all about how to prep before the show here. 

Part Two is all about planning your Artist Alley table setup!

Depending on the convention, there are a few factors to remember during your planning process:

• How big your table is
• How high you're allowed to build
• How much space you have to work with behind the table
• What kind of products (and how many different variations) you plan to bring

When I was planning out my first convention, I was traveling from San Diego to Long Beach, which is about 2.5 hours away, and couldn't lug too much in my small car, ON TOP of bringing overnight belongings and two helpers along.

So my biggest priorities for my table configuration planning were: portability, cost, and ease of setup.

I scoured sooo many blogs from other Artist Alley artists to see what they did and what worked for them. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that I'd do a standard metal grid setup.

Reasons:

1. Total cost to get everything I needed was less than $100
2. It was easy to put together and put away (I did a few test runs after I got everything together to see how long it'd take)
3. When I broke everything down, it could easily fit in a 22" x 12" x 12" plastic bin. 

It was simple & easy. Perfect for a first timer!

Here's my supply list, if you'd like to replicate it:

Basic Setup (~$107)
Note: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, which helps fuel this blog resource for artists just like you.

All of the decorations I either already had from previous craft shows, or made! 

I'm also a big fan of the greeting card displays over at Clear Solutions Displays. Check them out - they have a ton of tabletop options to choose from that easily breaks down, which is helpful for portability!

Over time, I've added some additional card displays to my table at cons, similar to the below, but having the above setup is a great place to start if you've never tabled before! 

 

Sunglass/Nail Polish Display Rack (Amazon ~$17) - I use these to display stickers!!

 Pin Banner for Enamel Pins or Buttons (Amazon ~$15)

Want more con advice? Be on the lookout for my next article: Artist Alley Tips for Your First Con: Part 3 – What To Pack

 

To read all parts of this blog series: 

• Part 1: Before the Show
• Part 2: Planning Your Setup
• Part 3: What to Pack
• Part 4: At the Con