Your stall should help tell the story of your products. The way you display your creations tells customers a lot about your business: who it’s for, the purpose it serves, and how much care goes into your work. A rushed, incohesive display doesn’t inspire trust in your brand. On the other hand, overly fussy arrangements confuse customers and decrease the visibility of your products. Getting the balance right will help your business find greater success at craft markets.

How to make a memorable craft market stall display

Choose something other than commercial display stands

If you’d like to create a unique display, you’ll need to think a little outside of the box. While commercial craft display stands do a great job of showcasing jewellery, prints, and more, they’re not very memorable as they’re used by many other sellers. Where possible, you might want to consider DIYing or customising display stands and shelves. This will give you the greatest level of personalisation and will help you ensure that your brand is fully expressed through your stall.

For example, rather than using standard shelving for larger products, you could create a decorative compartmental display like the abstract stucco-style wall shown below. This style can be used to compliment dramatic product shapes and bring out the beautiful silhouettes of your work.

For smaller items and jewellery market stall displays, you might want to consider some unusual ways of hanging your items. Keeping your products up high or at eye level will help your items get noticed in a crowd. You could experiment with hanging your products in unusual shapes like ovals, circles, hearts, and more, or use intricate vintage frames securely backed with board/ cork to draw attention to your work.

Avoid laying your products flat

While coming up with craft market stall display ideas, you should always consider whether your products are easy to see. Generally, we would advise against laying your work flat against a table, as this makes it difficult for passers-by to get a good look at your offerings. Instead, try to keep all items in full view (for example, by hanging or using shelves) or slightly angled towards your customers.

Use colour theory to make your products pop

To make your stall really stand out, you might want to put some thought into the colour scheme of your display. For a high-contrast, eye-grabbing appearance, consider making your backdrop a complementary colour to your products. Complementary colours sit opposite each other in the colour wheel. Examples of complementary colours include red and green; blue and orange; yellow and purple; and green and magenta.

Alternatively, if you’d like your store to have a softer, more cohesive feel, consider using monochrome, analogous, or harmonised hues and tones. For example, you might choose to use a blue backdrop to bring out the colours in your cool-toned pieces.

Use unusual textures to create a tactile display

One way to add some visual interest to your craft market stall is to use tactile props. For example, in the image above, the crafter has used rocks to display their bracelets to emphasise the natural, earthy feel of their jewellery.

You can also select unique textures to compliment the style of your pieces. In the image below, the feminine themes and rose tones of the ring and earrings are brought into focus by the soft grass bouquet behind them.

Decorate your stall with props

Unless you’re aiming for a minimalist theme, decorating your stall with props can help you create more visually interesting display. Consider what motifs, colours, and subjects are central to your creations. For example, a business that makes jewellery from upcycled vintage cutlery might benefit from adding a handful of old-fashioned props between pieces, such as embroidered napkins, beautifully illustrated vintage books, or strings of intricate lace.

Make sure you have enough products

There’s a delicate balance to strike when stocking your stall; you want to make sure that shoppers have plenty to choose from, but you don’t want an overwhelming number of products that make your shop look overstuffed or as though no one has purchased from you.

Leave a little to moderate amount of space between your products to allow each piece to shine. If permitted by your venue, you could always keep a box of goods behind your stall ready to restock any gaps.

Don’t forget to include business cards

With a little bit of effort, the benefits of selling at craft markets can stretch beyond the sales you make on the day. By connecting with people and creating a memorable experience of your business, you might create repeat customers and potential future buyers. Try to make sure that you’ve provided shoppers with some way of reaching you in the future by displaying business cards and flyers on your stall.

You could take this a step further and incentivise shoppers to visit your website by providing exclusive discount codes on any marketing materials you hand out. Don’t have an online store? It’s easy to get started! Check out our guide for starting an online craft business in the UK.