Finishing touches - what the well dressed stall is wearing this year

I have been going to a lot of fairs in the last 12 months - there seems to have been an explosion of vintage fairs in the south east of England and beyond.  What I find most impressive, and to be truthful just a little daunting, is the level of detail and attention many traders expend on making their stalls fantastic showcases.  It's not just about selling a few bits and pieces, it's about luring people into the vintage lifestyle and creating aspirations to re-create a certain "look". That feeling of wanting to recreate something beautiful or unusual within your own home with that "must have" item.  I must admit to frequent stall envy when I am at fairs - I am never happy with my own stall layout when I compare it to some incredibly well-styled stalls.  Of course, everyone's stock varies and some things are easier to show off than others, but  it is the finishing touches on each stall that make them special and unique. 

It is often the smallest details that make the difference.  For example price labels can be madea lot less humdrum and a bit of care and attention makes quite a difference.  Currently, I am using colourful old luggage tags stamped with a wonderful greyhound stamp bought on Etsy.  You can buy readymade stamps very easily and cheaply, or have a stamp customised with your name and logo. Wooden stamps with a special little picture can be a simple way of customising standard tie-tags or labels and craft printing ink pads give you the option to print in a pretty colour.  Black and white is always crisp and smart, but ring the changes with a bold colour choice to make your tags eye-catching.  Some people even use craft stamping kits to print all the information including price on their tags- rather labour intensive, but very stylish.   Brown tie on tags, easily obtained from stationers or online, are great for labelling rustic pieces or country-style displays.  Pretty coloured tags in pastel shades look effective on dainty china and sparkling glass or on vintage textiles.  I use a calligraphy pen to write labels - even the most unspectacular writing looks better written with such a pen.  You can make your labels as plain or pretty as you like with a bit of thought and effort.  Labels can be tied on with string, colourful ribbon or even raffia - each conveys a different image from rustic to romantic.  Stick on labels are not exciting, but for some items they work better than a tie-on.  Be careful not to use a sticky label on anything where the residue will damage the item such as a book, paper item or fragile textile.  Books can be priced in pencil on the inside or use a plain bookmark inside with the relevant details inscribed.

Your table can set the tone for your display.  Most fair organisers provide a standard trestle table, these days usually plastic or formica topped.  I know some traders who take their own tables and these can create part of the overall look.  Lovely old rustic wooden trestles, some with flaky old paint and some au naturel, look beautiful stacked with vintage treasures.  If taking your own table is not possible, due to space restrictions, then using pretty table coverings is a must.  I use plain linen cloths which make a neutral backdrop for my collections.  But, a lovely velvet curtain or bed spread can be used for a sumptuous look, or a colourful cotton bed sheet for a crisp and colourful background.  Floral, striped, plain cloths - all can look great but should not overwhelm your display.

Display shelves, crates, boxes and plinths help to add height and visual impact, and create a more professional look to a stall.  One trader who I see at many events uses a range of wooden crates, painted in white, to stack as shelves.  The crates are versatile and make a great backdrop for their colourful stock.  And it maximises space on a trestle table as well.  Old apple crates are relatively easy to come by and can often be bought at larger outdoor antique markets or even via ebay. Cath Kidston used them to great effect in summer 2011 in her store windows.  Each crate had a painted interior in primary shades and they were packed with pretty goods.  Proof that a great display does not have to be expensive.  It's easy enough to paint or decorate a crate - even just Blu-Tacking some pretty wrapping or wallpaper inside can add a decorative note if painting is too long-winded.

Cath Kidston's window in Cambridge

A simple display case can be made out of an old drawer - this could be lined with paper or fabric and then covered with a sheet of clear plastic or glass.  An old fashioned printer's tray is ideal for showing off lots of small items.  The tray could be painted in a neutral shade or left in its original state.  Perfect if you sell little items such as buttons, beads, jewellery etc that fit neatly into the compartments.

If you can find vintage display items to use on your stand, this can be very effective.  Old fashioned tailors' dummies or vintage dress makers' models are ideal for displaying all kinds of things.  Clothing can look better displayed in this way, or jewellery draped or pinned onto the model even old badges and brooches.   Vintage shop display cases and shelves are very attractive and often feature glass doors, sides and tops, to make it easy to view displayed items.  These display cases are collectable in their own right, so don't come very cheap but you might be lucky enough to find one on ebay.

If money is tight, IKEA have some great display items such as mini-easels which can be painted and used to display prints, pictures and cards.  Old wine boxes often given away at specialist wine shops can also be used as shelves, painted or unpainted.  Mug trees painted a pretty shade are good for hanging up jewellery.  Look around your home and utilise your existing storage and display accessories.  A small bookshelf painted in a natural shade can be used to show small items; an old fashioned clothes airer is ideal for textiles and a plate rack great for stacking delicate bone china plates.

Colour themeing can be a great way to style your stall - having uniform colours for display shelves and stands can help pull a stall together.  A subtle grey is very fashionable at the moment and is a good  counterpoint to bright colours or subtle shades alike.  Taking one step further, some stalls even stick to a certain palette of colours preferring to buy their stock in a limited colour range.  Hard work but with a fantastic result.

Little touches of humour are a great finishing touch on a stall.  A cheese dish with a toy mouse under the dome or a child's chair dressed with an old doll or teddy adds a light-hearted note.  The quirky and unusual will catch the eyes of your potential customers as they walk by. Don't be afraid to let your personality shine through your stall - it is easy to copy the crowd but developing your own style "signature" is more original.

Using flowers and plants can really dress up a stall, especially in the spring when there are so many lovely and inexpensive potted bulbs available. Hyacinth, narcissi, daffodils and primroses look charming in old pots deftly placed on top of cupboards or in a teacup or bowl to bring natural beauty to the picture.  Cut flowers displayed in old glass jugs, single stems in pretty vintage bottles or natural twigs and leaves all have their merits.  I have even seen bowls of conkers used to dress a stall selling simple French rustic items.   In the summer, flowers and herbs are plentiful and a wildflower bouquet easily assembled to dress a stand.  Geraniums in weathered terracotta pots look fantastic, especially at open air events.  Lavender plants are cheap to buy and when in flower smell delicious.  Winter displays look festive with pine cones, greenery such as ivy and holly.

pretty spring flowers in a garden display

If you want to splash out, providing your customers with a good quality carrier bag for their purchase does lend a touch of class.  Handsome white or brown heavy duty paper carriers with string handles look smart and they can also be printed with your logo or you can add a sticker with your name and logo, to make them your own.  These types of bags are not a low cost investment, so you might prefer to recycle carrier bags.  Many carrier bag manufacturers can be found online.  For smaller items, traditional candy-striped paper bags are fun and come in a range of hues.  Normally, you have to buy a few hundred at a time.

Wrapping customers' purchases in tissue paper will create a professional feel at events.  Plus it protects the item/s and avoids the messy ink of newspaper rubbing off on delicate pieces.  Blocks of tissue can be bought from florist suppliers or online and comes in all shades and patterns. You can pick a colour to fit in with your brand colour/s - pastel shades are particularly pretty or floral patterened tissue.  Each purchase feels like a gift when beautifully wrapped up and adds to the feelgood factor.  So much nicer for your customer unwrapping some pretty colourful tissue, than some old, scrumpled newspaper.

If you are selling at a Christmas fair, you could take this to another level.  For example, putting some loose lavender heads inside the tissue package or some scented pot pourri.  Using decorative string or gift labels could be a further twist or you could offer a gift wrapping service, if you have the necessary skill and patience.

Your business card is a very important touch - people love to pick these up and keep them.  Make sure your card is on your stall and put one into each carrier bag with a sold item.  Many cards are now postcard sized, making use of great photos or illustrations for maximum impact.  You may have to invest in a graphic designer to produce something but some of the budget online printers do have templates available.  Bulk digital printing is now relatively inexpensive and companies such as Vistaprint provide a quick, accessible service.  Your card is your showcase so make sure it looks the part.  Don't forget to put on your Facebook and Twitter tags, website details and contact information.

the back of a fun business card

Other little touches that are worth considering include having wrapped sweets in pretty foil to offer - in a glass jar or little bowl, this can look quite charming.  One stallholder I know often has a plate of beautiful shortbread hearts on her stand - very popular with the visitors.  Offering a giveaway is a nice gesture and does help to bring people to your stall. Someone else I know has had some very smart pencils emblazoned with her logo and has these in a china pot on her stall. 

These small details may need a little time and effort, but if they bring more people to your stall or unit more sales should follow.  Plus, you will get the reputation of having the best dressed stall at the fair or market and this may secure you an invite to exhibit at one of the top-end fairs or shows.  Having the right look is very important to these fair organisers.

Enjoy styling your stall and finding those little extra flourishes that can make such a difference.

Setting up shop.

I have always had a desire to have my own beautiful shop.  This started when I was at primary school and a friend and I used to make little things and bring them to school to "sell" (actually, give away).  My "shop" was a cardboard toy suitcase and I used to make tiny gonks out of sponge with drawn-on felt pen faces  (I was a child of the 60s) and other funny homemade things.  My friend's shop was better stocked, as her dad owned a toy store and got proper toys to stock her shop-in-a-suitcase.  And for a while, I have considered having my own shop, but not yet been brave enough to take the leap.

I am sure that many of you trading successfully at fairs have a dream of opening a shop as the next step in your business.  The happy medium is to find an antiques/vintage centre or arcade where you can rent a space or unit.  A shop within a shop.  This is a much less risky way of trying your hand at shop-keeping and can be a great way of selling to a wide customer base.  Sadly,  the number of antique and vintage centres is falling - the recession has taken its toll. Towns like Dorking and Petworth once noted for their plethora of antiques shops, have seen many of these close down in the past few years.  As business rents have increased, traders have been priced out of the market; footfall in many places has declined and online selling has changed the face of retailing.  However, many people who buy vintage and antique goods still like to examine and handle items before buying. 



With the explosion of interest in the vintage lifestyle and interiors, some new centres have opened for business moving away from the traditional antiques centre model to offer a brighter and more attractive alternative.  If you are a collector or love decorating your home with old bits and pieces, you probably already know the best local centres and even thought about taking space.  BBC Home and Antiques magazine and other interiors/design/collectors magazines, publish features on "vintiquing" in particular towns or regions, including information on the best centres and shops to visit.  If you already frequent centres you will have a good idea about where your merchandise might fit in best.  I love places where I may unearth a bargain - a bit chaotic, lots of stalls and a regular turnover of stock and these rummage-y places seem to be popular with buyers, too.

gorgeous display at Country Artisan market

I used to sell at a monthly market and many of my regulars were traders in a particular antiques centre.  It soon occurred to me that I could cut out the middleman, get a unit in the same centre and sell my stock direct to their customers at a better price.  Like many popular centres, this particular place had a waiting list so I called in or phoned each week until I secured a space.  A very small space, but it got me started and established.  Since then, I have tried several different centres, even having two on the go at once for a few weeks.  It sounds strange, but not every centre will work for you.  You may have to try a couple before finding the one that's best for you. I have no explanation for why this might be - just personal experience.  I prefer to be in a dedicated antiques/vintage centre and not one where there is a mixture of craft and antiques.  A cafe on site can be a bonus, although some people will only visit the cafe and spend little or no time exploring the stalls. 

Selling from a centre might involve having to staff the shop for a day or half-day on a regular basis.  Many centres are operated by traders taking turns to run front of house. Whilst this can be enjoyable it can be an unwelcome constraint if you have to juggle family life or other work to accommodate it.   I used to work full-time and had to do my day on a Sunday, often with my small daughter in tow.  Some centres are owner-operated or have a full-time manager to take care of things.  In this case, you can just price and display your stock and they do the work of selling, keeping records and accounts and paying out.  This can be a real bonus as it frees up your time to go out buying and to work on displaying your space to a high standard.  Every centre will vary so if you are planning to take up space, find out what is expected of you in terms of time commitment within the shop.

Rent is the biggest overhead and you need to evaluate what you can realistically afford.  If the rent is too high, all your profits will just be sucked back into rent and you will have no money to reinvest in the business.   Some centres allow you to rent a few shelves or a cabinet and this can be a gentle way in if you are cautious. A few centres will sell on a commission basis and take a % of the sale price;  some may also take a percentage if the customer makes a credit or debit card payment.  If get the chance, talk to other traders in the centre to find out if it is well organised and has a steady flow of customers.  A centre that is visited by the trade and the public is ideal - the trade will buy regularly from you if they like what they see.  Easy access for unloading and delivering stock is desirable, particularly if you are selling large or heavy  items.   Also check out how the centre advertises and markets itself either in print, through social media and via a website.  Ideally, a good centre will advertise widely and regularly to draw in new customers.

Having a unit in a centre is like having a full-time stall at a fair. And it saves you the effort of a lot of lifting and transporting stock to and fro; plus your stock is on show all the time, not just one or two days a month.  Statistically, this gives it a better chance of being sold. Once in a centre, it is really important to keep your unit or space looking fresh, tidy and well stocked.  Even if you just move things around and re-display a few bits it gives the impression that new stock has arrived.  I often find that "old friends" sell when I re-arrange my stall - things come to light and are snapped up.  If you leave your stall untended for several weeks, its appearance will suffer and so will your sales. Left alone, stock gets damaged and dirty and often moved from your space to another.   If you can't visit the centre regularly, at least leave stock priced up and ready to go out so that the staff or manager can replenish any gaps.

Styling your unit with attractive fixtures and fittings, good lighting, seasonal displays, clear and informative price labels on a  range of interesting stock all helps to generate interest and sales.  The same tricks for styling your stall at a fair apply to a unit - vary the height and layout of items; group colours together or go for a packed, busy and interesting display that hints at undiscovered treasure.   Be original about your displays - take a theme or colour and build your display around that.  In the past, I have themed my unit in
keeping with events such as the Jubilee; Trafalgar Day; Easter and of course, Christmas.  If you are creative, this is an excuse to go over the top and make your space stand out from the crowd.  You can create quite a following by having an interesting stall and attract regular buyers who appreciate your unique and eye-catching stock display.

Jubilee styled shop window for an opticians in Kent

You should gradually start to see a pattern in your weekly turnover figures and get a feel for how much you might sell in a week or month. Sales may not be consistent at first, as it takes time to find out what sells well and what is less popular.  Some weeks will be slow and then it will suddenly pick up.  Like most retailers, your sales will be affected by all kinds of external factors such as the weather, the time of year, the school holidays, the economy....I could go on!    Customers often have other pressures on their purses and vintage items are in the "nice to have" not "need to have" category.   You may be lucky enough to be trading in an affluent area or one where tourists visit and the recession has less of an impact.

Your centre will provide you with a sales record and you can marry this up with your stock book and track your profitability.  Some centres pay out "on demand" so you can go in any time and collect your takings.  Others pay out on a set day of the week or month.  It is up to you how detailed your accounts are and if you track profitablity on every sale. I will cover keeping accounts in a later chapter.

Having a unit is a relatively low-risk entry point into running a shop.  Most centres require either a weekly or monthly payment of rent and a month's notice, so you are rarely committed for a long period.  Allow two or three months to "bed-in" and to assess your sales and profits.  The manager or other traders may be able to advise you on how to improve sales if you are not doing so well.  Be open to advice from those with more experience.  You may have to experiment a little with stock and try out different items and displays to get sales.  There is often a first flurry of sales when you first open your unit as your stock will attract interest from the regular customers. Your best pieces will probably go very quickly - you may want to review pricing in line with other traders if your prices tend to be lower or higher than others.  If after 4-6 weeks things are very slow, you may need to re-think your strategy.  If you are still doing fairs as well, perhaps you are holding back your best stock for fairs?  In which case, the sales in your unit may be slow because you are not updating stock with your prime pieces.  In the past I have been tempted to change direction on my stock, thinking it would improve sales in a particular centre.  However,  it didn't work for me and meant I ended up with stock I found hard to shift elsewhere.  Mostly, trial and error will determine what works best for you - there is no magic formula.

Networking and making friends with other traders and customers is an added bonus.  Having a good network can be useful if you need information about a specific fair, auction or a second opinion on an item or price.  There is a camaraderie in the trade and you will meet many fascinating and friendly people.

If you do a rip-roaring trade in your unit and have masses of stock stashed away, you may be tempted to open a shop of your own.  This can be a highly costly and risky exercise and there are many pitfalls.  But retailers such as Cath Kidston and Cabbages and Roses started with one outlet and a lot of passion and commitment. 

Renting a shop is not a cheap option.  A well located shop in a busy high street might command an annual rent between £10,000-£25,000 plus.  Most commercial tenancy agreements tie the tenant in for at least a year, often longer, although you may find a landlord willing to offer a short lease or a sub-let.  The high streets are full of empty shops, which tells its own story about how difficult retail is at the moment.  Large retailers undertake incredibly careful analysis and market research before renting or building retail space.  If you are going to have a shop, do your homework very carefully.  Is the shop in a busy area with good pedestrian footfall; being close to cash machines, supermarkets or other well-established independent stores is also a bonus.  If your budget precludes being in the main shopping streets, are you in an area that is easy to find, close to cafes and car parks or amongst similar retailers.  It can be an advantage to be near other similar shops, as this creates a destination for customers who enjoy exploring several places in one trip.  Talk to other small shopkeepers about how they find local trade, when they find it quiet or busy etc.  If other independent shops, even vintage and antique shops have opened and then closed, try to find out the reasons.  If they found trade tough, you might too.  The local Chamber of Commerce is a good source of business information and will be able to give you insights into local conditions. 

Bear in mind the outgoings on a shop not only include the rental, often payable in quarterly instalments in advance.  On top of that you will have to pay business rates, unless you are in an enterprise zone where the council waives rates as an incentive to new retailers.  Don't forget the utilities, light, heat and water are also a cost.  And you will need public liability insurance, and also if you employ help, employer's insurance.  All these essential but boring expenses have to be covered each month before you sell one item and in a slow month, this can be a big cost and worry.  Shop overheads (ie all the costs just described) are constant, unlike fairs and markets which can be turned on and off to suit.  A shop can be the death of your dream if you are not prepared for this financial and time commitment.

You may think about sharing the shop with a friend or acquaintance.  My advice is to think very carefully about going into business with a friend -often friendships don't survive.  Even if you think it will work, do have a simple a contract between all parties agreeing setting out roles and responsibilities including financial liabilities.  For example, if you have a lease only in your name you will be liable for the rent, so if you are sharing a shop, make sure both of you are named and sign the rental agreement.  On a long lease, even if your business folds you will still have to pay rent unless the shop can be re-let.

Consider carefully what you and a partner want from setting up a shop - if one of you is more business like and profit focussed than the other, that could lead to conflicts.  Do you have compatible or complementary stock and similar ideas about display and layout.  If you have complementary skills this could be useful - one of you is great on accounts, the other on marketing for example.  Like any partnership, there will be areas of compromise.  If you know you don't work well with other people or have a very strong style that might not fit with someone else, then sharing may not be an option.

You could offer space to invited stall holders - if your potential shop is large enough to split into sections, this could enable you to have a steady cash flow from rent.  Of course, you will need to be sure that your stallholders will pay on time and will run their stalls in accordance with the standards you wish to set.  Ideally, draw up terms and conditions that form a contract stating rent, notice period, requirements for manning, stock management and so on.  Do not be tempted to be casual about arrangements as this leads to confusion and ill-feeling.  Taking on a shop and setting it up as a centre with several traders is quite an ambitious step.  Your work behind the scenes will involve accounts, advertising and marketing and sorting out manning.

If you have a shop, consider how you will staff it day by day.  Ideally, you will want to open 6-7 days a week, but doing this on your own will wipe out family life and the chance of getting out to buy.  If you are sharing manning, then you can work out a rota.  If you chose only to open on specific days, that can work well - I know one trader who runs her shop from home and opens on two weekdays and Saturday.  Her signage is clear about her hours of business and the rest of the time customers can visit her online.  But if you are paying high street rents, you need to maximise your opening hours.

If you take someone on, you need to think carefully about the implications of having an employee. Paying a wage or salary, plus sorting out tax and National Insurance contributions is where it starts.  You are also obliged to meet the requirements of employment legislation covering things like health and safety; maternity or parental leave; sick pay; working hours; holiday pay.  Many councils run services for small and medium sized enterprises to brief them on law, accounting and general business practice.  Most people starting up a business shy away from taking staff on, because it is not a straightforward process.  If you can hire someone who is willing to work on a freelance basis and invoice for their services, this may be a way to go.

Running a shop requires a lot of careful planning, good budgeting and accounting, accurate record keeping for tax purposes as well as the more creative side of buying and displaying stock.

In my next chapter, I will talk about other routes for diversification in your business.