malarkey’s first vendor fair exposed!!!! Alright, here is our take on our FIRST vendor fair, the good and the bad. We decided to do this fair with well under a week to prep for it, which was a bit crazy! We knew we would be dropping the ball in some area’s, and we needed to come to peace with that and make this a learning experience. So we went for it!
We could have done less… but then we wouldn’t be extra, which means we wouldn’t have been us. So even though it was going to be a lot of work we went for it. In addition to our treasures we had lights, bubbles, a GIANT connect 4 (just because), candy, music and fabulous fucking attitudes. Overall, it went very well… but there is always room for improvement. We feel like 3 products got lost in the mix as well as getting the word out on the blog – so we will fix that for next time.
You do not have to visit us at the fair… you can shop here and remember we put up NEW items all the time – so make sure to come back often and subscribe to the blog.
Special Thanx
By far the BEST part of the market was my mini me – Saoirse. We may look a like (from time to time) but she is 100% her own person and most wonderful at that! She did an amazing job from start to finish. This was a great experience but very stressful from time to time and she met it with a fun attitude the whole way through. From time to time I question my “too much” and she reigns me in reminds me… there is NEVER too much. She brings so much to the table and I would not have wanted to do this with anyone else!
The Night Market
The Night Market is held at the Oviedo Brewing Company at the Oviedo Mall. The parking lot and street in front of the brewery is marked off based on the number of vendors which happens 1 time a month. While the fair is going on – they are open and you can pop in for a beer and walk around the market with it – great for a FRIDAY NIGHT!
The market opens at 5 and closes down at 10pm. Set up is usually 4pm – but sometimes earlier based on what is going on at the mall and the amount of vendors.
Each vendor gets a 10 by 10 space, which are not marked. You need to make certain you leave enough space for the booth next to you.
- how pretty is that mural?
We pulled our car up to the curb unloaded and then found a spot near by for the car. We had never done this before… so we started 3pm and we really needed the 2 hours that it took to set up. Again, we could have taken less time but then we would have been lesser versions of us… and no one wants that!
WELCOME TO THE malarkey booth
OUR BOOTH SET UP
Our booth had 3 different sides and we would have changed 2 of them!! If you scroll down we have included some of the products we used and the links to them.
We set up and then friggin’ sun moved as well as the booth next to us, so we had to adjust. We started with a very clean set up, but it did get cluttered. The makeup and the soaps started off in the sun and we needed to move them to sun, which caused other products to be moved as well.
We will be doing fairs in the future, so we are planning on adjusting the set up. Let us know your thoughts. We are thinking 2 same sized tables on the left and the right. We will have crates on both tables and then a board on top to give it multiple layers – kind of like the left side. We would keep the earring wall as is – but bring more clips for the earrings. Finally, we will have sections. We feel 3 products got LOST in the mix. The sage, quote jars and the drink glitter were just over-looked.
Additionally, we would have done a better job at sharing the blog. I think it would have been a great idea to make a recipe (probably the guava bars) give samples and a recipe card. This was a complete opportunity missed (kicking myself). Not to mention the reviews, quotes, and the national days that I create and share daily… getting the word out on those would have been great as well.
LEFT SIDE
This is how we started off…
The sun caused us to move some things around… the makeup was moved to the right table and the hair beads came over to the left table.
RIGHT SIDE
We started off with the hair beads on this table, but had to move the makeup over. Not a fan of this table – kinda think it looked like a sit show. We will be using one table and not 2 next time. We will also give this table a cleaner multi level look.
To the right of this table was a lower level table with our follow sign on it. We will ditch this table next time and get a longer table for this side. We will also do a better job at displaying the follow information. We missed the opportunity to tell people about the BLOG and everything else we do. Looking back on it I would have made my GUAVA bread and made a recipe card with our information on it. This would have been a great way to showcase the recipe portion of the blog.
bubble earrings – these are light weight and really work.
EARRING WALL
We have a large amount of unique earrings so a large display was needed. Because this market was at night we thought having a light up wall would be great and it was. The link to the curtains and lights we used it below. We used a rope as our curtain rod and zip-ties to take out the slack. We then used a really cool rope vine and strung it back and forth from the top of the poles so it would not fall.
The only thing I would have done differently was to bring more glitter clips to add more earrings. What are your thoughts… how could we improve this? Maybe more light at night?
BREAKDOWN
As the night went on and in between customers – we tried to keep everything organized. Our car was parked pretty close so we put things in the car that we did not need. I am not even going to lie – breaking down was a shit ton of work! The only way to make the breakdown easier is if we did less – but that was just NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!! So we just hustled and got it all put away – FAST! We by no means put anything away organized. Now that we know what we are doing… I will get all the same size containers and label so I can dump and go.
malarkey’s first vendor fair exposed
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION / items that were helpful
In no order – here is some information
- POWER – if you do not have power – bring your own
- ZIP TIES – these come in handy. Great for when the ground is not level – you can zip tie tables to the poles of your easy up.
- ROPE – ya never know… we used rope as a curtain rod for our earing wall and then because it draped we used zip ties to take the slack out.
- TAPE – wrapping tape… we used to help hold some earring when we ran out of clips. heavy duty tape – we used for hold our sign down un the wind and on the curtains.
- CANOPY – this can be put up on your own – practice before you leave.
- WEIGHTS – some fairs REQUIRE these to ensure you are not going to blow away and fuck other people shit up.
- SCISSORS – seriously – these are just a good idea to keep in your car.
- BINDER CLIPS – Last minute I thought these might be a good idea and had a friend bring me some – we used for lights and they were perfect.
- WATER – always bring a small cooler and water – hydration is important!
- TRASH BAG – keep your area clean – it’s just respectful – don’t be a douche bag.
- HELP – bring someone to help you – or at least stand in for you while you pee
- CREDIT CARD MACHINE – get a reader – we go through go daddy because the fees are less than the square (or at least they are as I write this today).
- CASH – yes – people still use cash – bring 1’s and 5’s. Price your items evenly so you do not need change.
- TARP – might be a good idea to have incase it rains.
- TABLES – make sure you bring cake plates / crates or whatever work’s for you to give your items height so you can fill your space.
- SIGN – last minute I realized I had NO SIGN!!! So I quickly grabbed one of the kids chalk boards and through this together.
- PRICING – get some little signs to mark your prices and or labels. Not everyone wants to talk to the owner of the booth and just want to see the price – just price it all out!
- Candy – put a bowl of candy out with your business cards in it – maybe not chocolate in the sun.
- Pull them in – we have a GIANT connect four and brought this with us for kids to play and to draw people to our booth.
- Business Cards – These are great to add to the free candy bowl – placed on the tables with your items as well as in the bag with the customers purchase
THE COPS
- There was an incident at the fair. We are not exactly sure what went down but the booth next to us was closed down about an hour or so into the fair. So as a reminder… make certain you are selling / have a booth that is allowed at the fair you are attending and always treat others with RESPECT!
malarkey’s first vendor fair exposed – NEXT TIME
We have already started researching the set up items we need. However, we are still trying to work out the kinks for our RECIPES / REVIEWS / NATIONAL DAYS / QUOTES and the blog in general. So let us know if you have any ideas.
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SOME MUGS WE HAD AT THE FAIR
We brought a large selection of mugs with us to the fair. There were a lot of “FUCKS” on our mugs. We were very curious how they would be received and so happy when it was with OPEN ARMS!!!
LINKS TO SET UP PRODUCTS WE USED
long table
rainbow shimmer curtains
white shimmer curtains
lights – battery operated bulbs
lights – back wall
lights – juggle balls
table clothes
Remember to PIN these images as well as share – thanx
CHECK OUT SOME RECENT POSTS
- malarkey – NEW location
- Oviedo Mall Links
- oviedo mall – malarkey style
- malarkey notebooks
- malarkey soap collection
Check out these other Irish favorite’s
RECENT POSTS
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My name is Tabitha and this blog is about my family and our life. We are always looking for inspiration and nonsense to keep us going… one day at a time… one celebration at a time. I am just another mama with no sick days and no days off trying to juggle family, life, wellness, getting dinner to the table while raising good humans and staying mentally sound.
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