The 2026 Craft Fair Checklist: What Sellers Who Sell Out Bring

Labor Day weekend kicks off craft show season, and from where we sit — cutting blanks for hundreds of booth sellers — the pattern is unmistakable. The sellers who come back in October ordering restock all prepped the same way, and the ones who "had a slow season" mostly walked in under-stocked and under-priced. We wrote a version of this guide back in 2022; this is the 2026 edition, rebuilt from what our best customers actually do.

Start with the inventory math

The rule of thumb that keeps showing up: bring 8–10× your booth fee in retail value. A $75 booth wants $600–750 of inventory on the table; a $200 juried show wants $1,600–2,000. Sounds like a lot until you run the piece counts:

• 12–15 hero pieces — finished 18" door hangers at $45–75 (the pricing math is here if you're second-guessing those numbers).
• 15–20 mid-tier pieces — $20–35: 15" rounds as shelf decor, scalloped plaques, smaller seasonal shapes.
• 25–30 grab-and-go pieces — under $15. Small blanks, ornaments, magnets. These pay the booth fee by lunch and turn browsers into buyers who then look up at your heroes.

Three tiers isn't merchandising theory — it's how a $12 impulse buy funds the walk-around that ends with a $65 door hanger going home.

Sell vertical, not flat

A table of face-up door hangers reads as a table of circles from six feet away. The booths that stop foot traffic hang product at eye level: a lattice panel, a pegboard wall, a real door on a stand with your best hanger on it. One vertical surface will outsell three flat tables. And price everything, visibly — "how much is this?" is a question half of buyers will not ask out loud. They just walk.

The boring kit that saves the day

• Card reader charged, plus a backup battery — and $60 in small bills anyway.
• Weights for the tent. September afternoon storms in Georgia do not negotiate.
• Bags big enough for an 18" round. Buyers carrying awkward unbagged product stop shopping.
• A care card stapled to each piece — "sealed for outdoor use, wipe clean, bring in for the worst weather." It reads as quality, and it's a spot for your restock QR code. (If your pieces aren't sealed yet, fix that before show day.)

Plan the restock before the first show

Here's the one that separates the pros: a sell-out is only a win if you can restock before the next show. Take custom orders at the booth — a simple form, a deposit, a two-week turnaround — and know your blank lead times cold. Our fall order-by dates are published, and bundles like the Hero Mix Twelve and the Door Hanger Dozen exist precisely for the Sunday-night-after-a-good-Saturday reorder.

The checklist, on one screen

• Inventory: 8–10× booth fee in retail value, across three price tiers
• Display: at least one vertical surface, heroes at eye level
• Every piece priced and sealed, care card attached
• Payments: reader + backup power + cash change
• Tent weights, big bags, painter's tape, zip ties
• Custom order form and a restock plan with real lead times

Booth photos make our week — tag us, or email order@borowood.com with what sold and we'll tell you what to stock deeper next time. We watch this data all season.

— Hunter, Borowood · Cut fresh in Statesboro, Georgia