Thursday, February 28, 2019

How I Prepared for the Holiday Pop Up Shop for Art and More

Hand-painted silk scarves on display
     Preparing for our Holiday Pop-up Shop was simpler than preparing for my own in-home studio open houses had been (index of those posts here), but it still required advance work and lots of lists. As I mentioned in my previous post, my neighbor initiated the pop-up shop and hosted it in her home this past November. We talked several times on the phone and in person a couple of months ahead and did some of the planning together, but she did the heavy lifting of clearing space in her spacious living/dining room and the attached office/studio, setting up tables for our displays, and purchasing nice cheeses, crackers, and fruit.
The paintings on the mantel

     My display space in her office/studio was well-lit and pleasant--as were the areas for her own art and the wares of other sellers participating in the larger living area. I brought my own tablecloth as a softer background for my hand-painted silk scarves and some smaller acrylic landscapes. There was room on a mantel behind me for a few larger paintings. So, how did I prepare for this event?


Smaller paintings on the display table
INVITATIONS:
Some of the supplies for the Pop-up Shop
     For my solo open studio receptions in the past, I had special invitation postcards printed and mailed them about 3 1/2 weeks before the event (one example; another example). For the Pop-up Shop, our host had requested us to limit our invitations to about 20 apiece so that her home was not overwhelmed--also so that she could post a general invitation at our neighborhood bulletin board and put up signs inviting passers-by to stop in. So, I purchased standard invitations to send, making sure that the information I wrote inside was complete and likely to attract interest in attending our event. The invitations were designed to arrive about 2 weeks before the event (Given the timing, I didn't want to go earlier and compete with Halloween for any one's attention).

     
OTHER PREPARATION DETAILS:
Close up of a painting's price tag
     Rather than plain price tags, I found pretty gift tags with room for the titles and sizes of paintings or the specifics of each scarf. It's surprising how much time it takes to do something as simple as to write out and attach price tags. The scarves were all freshly pressed, and the paintings wiped clean of any dust. I also had enough small bills to make change for cash customers and my receipt book ready. Small peach-colored gift bags with bright white tissue paper would hold purchased scarves and a roll of brown paper would wrap paintings to go home with customers. I used a pottery business card holder (visible in the photo of paintings on the table) and had flyers about my journey into making art ready to offer. 

     
SET-UP:
     Beginning set-up about an hour before our opening gave me plenty of time to take a few photos of my display and to meet the other sellers, who were each delightful and creative. Although I ended up wishing I had started a few of the prep tasks a day or two earlier (which seems to be typical for me :), my lists and the advance work I did paid off and all went smoothly. 

Question of the day: Are you typically well-prepared for things ahead of time, or are you a last-minute person? Or, like me, a bit of both that somehow works out?

13 comments:

  1. Mary, such good ideas and info. Yes, I plan and make lists but always have something extra to do at the last minute. Once we went to New Mexico for a show and our summer trip. I had an art list and a separate packing list. I put all the art stuff like business cards and brochures in a briefcase. I failed to put the briefcase on the packing list and we left it behind. We had to buy all new stuff and reprint everything. Sigh….. Luckily we had a couple of extra days to visit Gene’s mom.

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  2. By the way, your scarves and paintings are just gorgeous.

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  3. Wow! What could be better than a two-fer from Jo? I appreciate your lovely compliment, and LOVE hearing your whoopsie story. That is to say, I am sorry it happened to you, but you have made all of us feel better about our own planning or packing bad moments by sharing your tale of woe. We've ALL had experiences like this, Jo, and the brave and honest among us are willing to tell our tales.

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  4. Mary, thanks. That was probably the best prepared I ever was, too. You made me smile calling it a whoopsie story.

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  5. Smiles and finding a solution are always better than cursing a bad situation. Have a good week, Jo.

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  6. Thanks so much for stopping by my blog. We called my Mom's Mom - Nanny - and my Dad's Mom - Grandmother. I so enjoyed my time spent with my Nanny. When I had kids they called my Mom Nanny and when I was blessed with Granddaughters they called me Nanny and my Mom Big Nanny - a name they gave her to tell us apart. I loved scrolling through your blog. My Mom would have loved your beautiful hand-painted scarves. She always had one on to match her outfit of the day. I sent your hummus recipe to my older Grandaughter as she loves making it and I am definitely going to try your Italian/bean recipe. I'm glad you enjoyed my cards. To answer your question, I like to be well prepared, but I have MS and now that I am older the best laid plans!! I drive my family nuts sometimes. I love the idea of the Pop-up shop. I should do that for my cards and crafts!! That would really drive the family nuts!! Have a great weekend.

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  7. So great to hear from you, "Nanny"! Your generous comments have warmed my heart. Sorry I've been slow to respond; we have family in from out of town, and I've been delightfully busy with them. I truly appreciate all the attention you gave my blog and your responses to several different posts. Kudos to you for coping with MS and still getting up every morning and doing all you can each day. You would enjoy giving a Pop-up shop a try; I am so very grateful to my neighbor Cheryl who had the idea and made it happen for all of us.

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  8. your paintings are wonderful. love them.
    have a great day

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  9. Thank you very much, Tanza; I'm delighted you visited my blogand even more that you were kind enough to comment.

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  10. Dear Mary love your paintings as well as your beautiful scarves. Looks like you have been very busy already in 2019. Take care and have a wonderful week. Hugs!

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  11. Super to hear from you, Debbie! Thank you for the encouragement and your good wishes and hugs. You take care as well.

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  12. I personally include people who plan everything before the day of implementation.

    I feel more comfortable if the preparations were made a few days before.

    Pray for your successful studio, Mary.

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  13. I very much appreciate your visit, your comment, and your prayers, Himawan! I admire your discipline in planning and preparation for events and aspire to be more like you in that way in the future. It would help me be more comfortable, too.

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