March Meet The Maker Day 9: Trial And Error
I thought today would be a good time to talk about my evolving setup at yarn shows. It’s one of those things that, no matter how much you plan, you can’t see how it will look until you’re in the space and have everything organised. Therefore every show has a bit of trial and error involved.
Wonderwool Wales, April 2019
Wonderwool Wales was the first time I exhibited at a yarn show. Of course, I picked one of the biggest yarn shows to start with! The car was packed with what I thought was lots of yarn, but then we put it all up. The stall looked sparse and not particularly inviting. I had a good show, but I quickly learned that I needed to be more careful with my stall layouts.
The Wool Monty, Summer 2019
My second yarn show was the very first Wool Monty. You can see already that there was dramatic improvement in my display. It looks neater, better stocked and more inviting. There were definitely more improvements to be made, but I was heading in the right direction!
Festiwool, Autumn 2019
I think I took a step backwards at Festiwool. I was trying to avoid the gridwall as I thought that what was making my stall look more empty, but I think this choice made it worse in the end. I couldn’t display enough yarn and the table ended up looking messy. The awful lighting didn’t help either!
Southern Wool Show, September 2021
Then covid hit and the only shows were online. Thankfully in September 2021, Southern Wool Show was one of the first shows back.
I like my setup here. I’ve got much more yarn on display. My main problem with this one was that I chose a 2m x 2m stall, which made everything a little too cramped.
Summer Wool Show, Summer 2022
I did five shows in 2022 so I made a lot of progress on my setup, although I still make changes every time as I learn more about what makes a good display. I booked a 3m x 2m stall which was perfect, and I’m happy with the combination of table, gridwall and rotary hangers. I did learn that for some reason people don’t like to turn the rotary hangers, so I’ll mainly be using them when I have a stall that can be accessed from both sides in the future.
I think I’ll always be learning from trial and error at yarn shows. No two shows are the same, and I think it’s natural for displays to evolve. I think a 2m x 3m stall is perfect for me with the amount I can fit in the car, and I don’t really want to have to start renting (or driving!) a van. Unfortunately some shows only give the option of 2m x 2m or 4m x 2m. I tried one of these larger stalls at Stitch Fest in November, and while it did work, the car was a bit too packed and the stall a bit too expensive to make the show worth the effort.
My first yarn show this year is Fibre Quest in just over a week’s time. I booked a 2m x 2m stall but am trying a table free setup to see whether that makes the smaller stall work better. Watch this space to see how that goes!