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?