What's Fair —and what to bring?
Pt. 2 of 2 The nitty gritty of what I pack.
Top of mind:
It’s a great time to send money to Safa Said, who we’ve been fundraising for since last summer. Safa and her two small children have a possibility to evacuate from Gaza. Donations before May 20th are especially important. If you see me at fairs I also have some benefit prints for Safa.
We’re looking for mushroom content for the Summer Floral Observer! Open call for both doodles and writing. All shortform.
This beautiful new collaborative print from Ameerah Bad’r is up in the shop.
Now onto fairs and fests.
This year my fair goals are as follows:
Keep track of money.
Keep track of inventory.
Keep track of travel expenses.*
*Even if they make you question everything you’re doing with your life.
“CRUSH IT” is a goal of mine with the press this year in general. I know this is not a S.M.A.R.T. goal but it’s a mood. I don’t have set sales goals at fairs because those are a recipe for disappointment. I have thrown the reward center of my brain out of whack from years of working for tips which is basically gambling. The larger goal, like I talked about in my last post, is that I’m looking for people to get interested in what I make. To create connections. I always see sales in the days and weeks after an event as well as email signups. I get to meet new contributors. This year I’m also looking to meet potential stockists and do workshops in cities I visit. If either of these are of interest to you email me!
I’m posting my “keeping track” goals for accountability because I have already not done an excellent job of this at Detroit Zine fest. I got excited I got hungry I got distracted. I don’t know exactly which backstock issues I sold or my exact sales number since I also went around buying things with my cash. When I tabled on behalf of my friend George he had a very detailed, organized inventory sheet with photos of all his books. I have one prepped for my upcoming events.
One thing I’m good at is packing for a fair. It’s not dissimilar to prepping for a bartending double. Mise en place. You’re not going to leave that spot for 6+ hours and you’re going to hustle the whole time. I am the person with tape, cough drops, chapstick, gum, a water bottle, some snacks, plenty of change. This year I decided to consolidate a bit better so that I can fly with my fair gear as a carryon. I bought a new suitcase from Marshall’s after my last one finally cracked. My criteria were: good wheels, top loading, not super expensive, lightweight soft-sider. It was hard to ignore the siren song of very cute luggage or “buy it for life it’s the best luggage in the world” etc. etc. but I don’t want to spend $300+ out of the gate. So at about $80 this Samsonite from Marshall’s fit the bill. Here’s what’s in my bags, divided by suitcase.
First up in the roller bag:
My friend Kelsey had this clear gridwall with magnets for prints. So much better than tape. You can get the gridwall on ebay and strong magnets like these.
I have a whatever tablecloth that someone spilled a coffee on then I also spilled a coffee on. Maybe going to tye die it.
I bring things packed into these clear accordion folders I got from Deseret 4 years ago. They had them priced at 50 cents each. I asked the guy if they could make me a deal if I got them in bulk. “Oh! Take them ALL for $5 we’re never going to get rid of them”. So yes, they’re plastic, but I saved them. And I love them. They compress and protect the paper.
My friend Bets got me this air purifier. I still mask and I’m not sure that it does more than vibes but it might? Also it makes me feel loved. Thanks Bets!
Tabling with Bets outdoors at my first Zine Mercado in 2022. I have this pouch for cables and my powerbank. I’m working on keeping everything in clear storage as much as possible and each item in the same container for each trip.
I use this display from Clear Displays. Lots of people have these and they have different configurations. This one is great for Floral Observer.
I talked myself out of buying a fancy archive box and instead reinforced the corners of an 11x17 cardboard clamshell that was headed for the trash. So it’s like I made $25 right there.
I always print fun bags with information about projects, games and extra tidbits.
Not pictured because I haven’t decided which I’ll use. I got these collapsible crates after seeing my friend George’s table with them. I will be using them for backstock. We have so many issues of Floral Observer now that I like to have a selection for people to flip through. I might also instead be using some cute collapsible cardboard boxes that were holding flower bulbs. TBD
Now for my duffel:
Spare duster (not with the stick) is really helpful for getting hair/detritus off of static-y plastic sleeves. You can get generic ones at lots of box stores. Yes I use reusable rags at home. One of these will last for a full year in my fair kit.
I have this little pink art bin that I bought over a decade ago when I was still living in New York. There was an art supply store on my route between jobs and they had these boxes in dozens of pantone colors. Love that it’s clear.
I bring this hello kitty mini baggu for my snacks so that I can find them at a glance and also bc it’s adorable. I also bring a random spare tote for venturing out without my big travel bags and or shopping at the fest.
Kane “athletic recovery shoes” for standing. They weigh almost nothing.
I also like these garden clogs a whole lot for standing. These would work in a pinch as an only pair of shoes for a trip. Sponsor me Gardenheir! Or at least bring back the fun colors. For tight packing and several-days-in-NY level of walking I might opt for the Kane’s and a separate pair of walking shoes.
When doing a local fest I bring a fatigue mat. It makes a big difference, especially when the floor is concrete. This year I heard that Marc Fischer from Public Collectors does this even when traveling. I cut a tile from our foam gym mat into 1/4s and am going to fly with it.
These walking tamales are surprisingly good! And shelf stable! I try and bring some easy backup snacks so I don’t pay $6 for a sub-par-panic-pastry.
Bets had a really great idea to organize backstock in an accordion file. We each got one. This works really well for multi item orders throughout the day.
I always bring thermoses and I always lose them. These two are both from the free shed at my recycling place. One for coffee and one for water. There here for a good time probably not a long time.
I drink a lot of coffee and bring my Kalita dripper and some beans (not pictured) so that at least one or two cups for the day are covered.
Not pictured: I have a change bag with my inventory sheet and pack either a fanny pack or an apron to keep change, scissors and a pen in. My mom gave me a blue fanny pack years ago when I was first doing illustration market and said to picture it “full of money!” Thanks mom.
Here’s what’s in the kit:
Pencil pouch with lots of pens and price stickers/labels/QR Code for my venmo.
Aforementioned magnets, wet wipes.
Cough drops. You talk a lot during a fair so these (or hard candy) are helpful.
Long sheet of paper for note taking/rolling large prints. I have a bunch of these that I glued together into notepads leftover from offcuts of legal sized paper.
Lots of handouts! I have a card for new projects, cards with contributor info and always a few of Robert Baxter’s business cards for people that approach me wanting riso tech help. Robert’s their guy.
I either have gum or this breath spray. You’re leaning in to talk to people all day while eating candy, walking tamales and drinking coffee so this is considerate.
Tape! I will likely bring a roll of colored masking tape as well.
Extra masks. Even for outdoor events I mask on the plane. I think I’m going to mask on the plane forever.
Little scissors. Always useful. Will report back if these get confiscated. Might try to get some cheap used kid’s safety scissors from our beloved Arts and Scraps.
Connectors for the gridwall in a clear bag.
Other Tabling tips:
Collect emails! Email people are more valuable than IG followers. They like like you. (right?) Even if you aren’t at a point where you’re going to do anything with the emails now collect them. I’d suggest making a backup spreadsheet so that if you lose access to a third party service you still have the emails. I also will put a note next to someone’s name for later if we’re talking about something I want to follow up on. I’m kicking myself for not doing this sooner. I lost track of people I wanted to hear from and now have no idea who is who. Maria in CDMX with the paleta bike seed library!!! EMAIL ME!
Have some kind of handout. Esp if you have the means to print yourself. Something cheap enough that it won’t break your heart when someone spills a La Croix on a few but fun and clear so people can remember you.
Put prices on everything, maybe with a description of content?
Let people know what’s ok to touch.
QUANTITIES
I’m going to Riso Expo in Philadelphia this weekend it’s a new fest and I’m not really sure what the turnout will be.
I’m going to bring 35 copies of the Spring Floral Observer
(five are earmarked for Partners and Sons)
5 copies of each of our Yearly Packs
10 of each back issue from 2024/2023
Maybe a few extra of the more popular issues from last year
Then for prints 15 of my new print with Ameerah because I’m in love
5 of my“Best Buds” print
10 of my “Garden Portal”
5 of my Columns Print
20 ish of my Color Charts because I made so many and like to give them away
10 each of my three mini prints
Because I’m doing Seattle Art Book Fair the following week with just two days at home in between I’ll leave the bag packed and replenish as needed.
Other random travel things:
Brown noise loop for sleep and sleeping on the plane! I play it on my headphones the whole time I fly to tune everyone out. It makes a huge difference.
Compression socks! Usually too hot to table in all day but great for the plane/car/train.
Don’t assume you can get change once you get to said city.
I’ve been burned many times.
Come see me in Philly this weekend or May 10th&11th for Seattle Art Book Fair^^
I have Spring Bingo Cards for the first 12 people at each event to mention they’re subscribed to this substack.
LUV
RAH