A Beginner's Guide To Artist Aisle: What To Bring

Pascual Productions Artist Alley table at Anime Impulse 2016

Pascual Productions Artist Alley table at Anime Impulse 2016

The 1 give-and-take that I hear the most when I ask people about their first anime or comic convention experience is: Overwhelming. From walls of adorable plushies to seeing a cosplay group of Sailor Scouts, in that location's a lot to look at at these pop civilisation conventions. As vendors, it becomes a whole different experience than being an attendee, simply those overwhelming feelings are still the aforementioned for get-go timers in the Artist Alley. Subsequently our first convention at Anime California in 2014, nosotros began to exam out new products, adjust prices and experiment with dissimilar gear up ups at other cons. These tips are what we have discovered to take worked for us and so far. Take these tips equally guidelines to help you lot get started and then branch off to experiment with what works best for you! If you have any questions experience gratuitous to leave a comment below!

The Standard Artist Aisle table package costs between $125-$350 and usually includes...

  • A 6 x 2 Ft. skirted table

  • ii chairs

  • Trash bin

  • Signage with your name and table number

  • 1 Artist Alley vendor badge

Many cons likewise offer upgraded options for an additional charge such as a corner or endcap premium. Although not necessary for first time Artists, this is a great option to consider in the future when y'all feel gear up to pay a bit more for a ameliorate location in the convention hall. We always try to get a corner tabular array if the pick is available as opposed to an inline tabular array considering it gives you a fleck more space and you generally have more pes traffic. Some cons don't give y'all a selection but you volition tend to have the option to enter your preference in terms of location. If a convention's awarding doesn't ask for your preference, don't be afraid to send a friendly email letting them know your preferred location prior to placement, it'southward worth a try!

What to bring to Artist Alley

The artist alley table package provides you with a peachy base of operations to build off of for your artist aisle set upward, only you'll definitely need a bit more items before you're set to sell. Beneath are a few of our essential supplies of what to bring to artist alley.

A STORAGE bin for Inventory.

Since art prints are easily bendable, its important to keep them safety in a bin that won't breakup or allow any liquids to go inside, specially if you're doing an fine art walk outdoors. Invest in a nice sturdy plastic bin that can easily exist transported.

We enjoy bins that are also stack-able. This is helpful for when you lot take a lot of inventory that requires multiple bins. These weather-tight storage boxes come in a big diverseness of sizes to fit any print dimension. Our 11 10 xiv" prints fit perfectly in the 74 Quart box, along with some space for other items.

Travel Alternative

For travel shows, nosotros go along our eleven x 14" prints in a 45 liter collapsible storage bin. Nosotros love the collapsible aspect considering they're easy to pack in comparison to a beefy box. We skid it inside our large luggage and popular information technology out when we arrive at our table.

A place to store cash.

Fanny Pack: You lot will be in a very casual environment with a lot of people walking in and around your tabular array. Having a fanny pack is extremely convenient, because information technology will be on you 100% of the time. I absolutely LOVE fanny packs, especially when traveling and at conventions. All the essentials are easily accessible and won't go out your sight. Find a fanny pack with multiple pockets so you lot tin can keep the change and other items a flake more than organized.

Don't forget to bring at least $100 worth of change! (Depending on the prices y'all prepare)

  • Tens - v

  • Fives - 8

  • ones - ten

Cash Box: Another choice is a cash box. Although beefy to have around, its very useful if your dealing with coins and want something more organized. This cash box has a security wire that yous tin adhere to the table, for added security. Just be sure to NEVER leave your cash box unattended. Subsequently each twenty-four hours, take it dorsum home with you or accept all the valuable contents out before you leave.

A card reader to capture credit card sales

This is an accented MUST Have particular for conventions. If you don't accept card, yous are substantially giving up half of your potential sales. Although there are transaction fees for every buy, the fees are minimal.

We use the Square Readers because they're easy to operate and provides you lot with great belittling data for tracking sales. They also accept an offline mode feature which is handy for when there's no signal in the convention hall.

If you opt for the Square Reader for swiping, be certain to get the headphone jack adapter, for those with the latest Iphone'southward!

The older reader is $x if yous purchase information technology at a shop, but Foursquare will reimburse you with an instant $10 credit after you enter a code online. Right now Amazon is selling the reader for less than $10, and so non only do you get it at a discount, y'all tin pocket some extra change too!

There are plenty of carte reader options to choose from and so do your research and selection i that works best for you!

A portable battery pack

Most conventions run for 3 days over the weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). The convention hall volition usually stay open for about viii hours. Many tables don't provide electricity, and so if you have a telephone with a weak battery, you'll probably need to charge upwardly some time in the day. Portable battery packs are lifesavers. The prices range from about $15 for a simple single outlet battery to upward of $50 for multiple USB ports plus other bells and whistles. When searching for battery packs, ordinarily the higher the mAh (charging ability), the higher the price and size of the battery. I like the ones that take multiple USB ports, and then you can charge multiple devices at the same time. Likewise find ane that is at least 10000 mAh or higher, as these tin can fully charge the average smartphone at least 2-3 times. If you lot want to charge larger devices such every bit an Ipad, I'd definitely suggest ownership a charger with at to the lowest degree 20000mAh. Choose one that fits your needs of charging time and functionality. They even have new wireless portable chargers for those wireless charging capabilities. Recall to charge your portable charger the night before a convention! Below are a few options that I'd suggest checking out!

An emergency supplies Kit

We pack an Emergency Kit for every convention because anything and everything tin can happen and you want to be prepared. This box contains bones items such as scissors, tape, mail-its, pens, sharpies - to random tools such as a cutting pliers, cipher-ties, Advil, band-aids etc.

The multi level trays of the tackle box are useful to store pocket-sized items such as paper clips, pencils, erasers, band aids etc. While the bottom compartment tin can shop larger items such as scissors, duck record, and a pack of zip ties.

The large pouch option is bully for traveling. Since you'll have a lot of different items, it'll be easier find what you're looking for with a mesh or clear pouch.

An fine art portfolio flip book

A portfolio book is perfect for showcasing all the different prints you accept bachelor to sell. Nosotros use hardcover books considering information technology gives off a more professional await and the quality of the binder is much more sturdy than the soft covers. Although a piffling pricier, we opt for poly drinking glass pages because it gives off a crystal articulate filter that protects the fine art prints on brandish.

Nosotros suggest having a minimum of 2 fine art portfolio books available on your table display for each convention. If you dont have enough room to display 2 books on the table, keep one backside the table to bring out if the table display is occupied. This allows you to cater to more than customers who may be interested in looking through your artwork. If you come across someone looking at your artwork from afar, you lot tin can gesture them over to flip through your art portfolio to see even more prints. It'southward a keen conversation starter and gives customers something to do while they're at your booth.

If y'all're having a difficult fourth dimension starting conversations, check out this post about how to talk to customers at creative person alley!

Plastic sleeves to protect prints

Your artwork is valuable and its important to portray that value to the customer. A simple way to do that is in how you package your prints. Packaging your prints in a protective sleeve can add value to your impress and the client. It shows to the customer that you have care of your prints and they are purchasing a quality piece of art.

We purchase our protective sleeves in bulk at clearbags.com! You can also buy them through Amazon for faster shipping and smaller quantities. They acquit a wide range of sizes to match any creative person'south print selection.

*Be sure to choose a sleeve that has a "protective closure flap" so that the sticky agglutinative doesn't damage your print!

Disposable cocky stick easel backs

Along with portfolio books on the table, information technology'south skillful to have artwork propped upright on a table easel. These Cocky Stick Easel Backs are LIFESAVERS. They barely weigh anything, and save a ton of space, especially when traveling for a testify. They're available in a variety of sizes and often come in white or black. We display our 11 x 14" prints in a clear sleeve with a sturdy cardboard inside, and stick a 12" easel back to the back of the sleeved print. On a 6ft. table nosotros put at to the lowest degree 1-2 prints backside the portfolio volume (every bit seen in the photo).

LA Comic Con 2018 (2 AA tables 12ft. total)

LA Comic Con 2018 (2 AA tables 12ft. total)

Photo backdrop to display prints

The first question many people think of afterward they sign up for a con is "How will I brandish prints at my artist alley table?". There a many ways to display and set up art prints in artist alley, simply the most common way is to use photo backdrops. They're lite, portable and easy to set up and break down! They also take the power to expand up to 10 anxiety tall, which is perfect for customers to see your brandish from across the convention hall.

You do have to become creative when it comes to setting up your prints to hang from the display. It took some time and experimentation for united states of america to come up with a clean prepare. One pick is to laminate your brandish prints, hole punch the four corners, and connect the prints using binder rings. This sounds a bit confusing, but I'll try to post a more detailed guide on how to set your creative person alley table in the future!

There are many different kinds of photo backdrop stands to choose from. When you're searching for a backdrop, the most of import thing to consider are adjustable crossbars.

  • This 1 has a total of 4 connecting cross bars that are each 3ft. in length. Since the size of an Artist Alley space varies between conventions, this backdrop allows y'all to adapt to the infinite given.

A Dolly/Hand Truck for like shooting fish in a barrel transportation of your goods

Almost conventions are held at a big convention center or hotel/briefing hall, so it'southward likely that you'll accept to walk to go to where you need to exist from your car. Therefore a dolly/hand truck will be your best friend. Depending on how much inventory or how large your ready up is, there are different weight capacities you can cull from.

This 300 - pound capacity dolly is a adept multi-purpose option and is great because information technology's collapsible and tin exist stored away nether the table or backside your booth and out of sight when y'all're not using it. Having iv wheels as opposed to the 2 wheeler'south also makes it easier to maneuver, specially effectually bumps and cracks in the ground.

Hopefully these items will aid yous get a leap start into having a successful commencement time artist alley experience. For more inspiration I'd propose you go out to a convention and look at how other artists display their products in the artist aisle.

If you take whatever other questions almost what to bring to artist aisle and how to display your artwork at events, feel free to driblet a comment below!

- Jana Rae Pascual