Your first craft market is equal parts exciting and terrifying. You have spent weeks making inventory, and now you get to watch strangers pick it up, turn it over, and decide whether it is coming home with them. The difference between a fun, profitable day and a stressful one usually comes down to what is in your car. This craft market vendor checklist covers everything experienced vendors pack, plus the stuff you can happily leave at home.
Print it, stick it on your fridge, and check things off the night before. Future you, the one standing behind a beautiful booth with coffee in hand, says thanks.
The Night Before: Prep Like a Pro
Most market day disasters are actually night-before disasters. Give yourself an hour the evening before to prep, and your morning will feel almost suspiciously calm.
- Charge your phone, your card reader, and any portable battery packs.
- Count your float and put it in a cash box or zippered pouch. Bring small bills and coins. Customers love paying with twenties.
- Pack your car the night before if you can. You will thank yourself at 7 am.
- Check the weather and the venue rules one more time. Indoor market? You can skip the tent weights. Outdoor? They are non-negotiable.
- Lay out comfortable shoes and layers. Market halls are either freezing or boiling. There is no in-between.
- Prep your price tags and signage. Pricing things at the market, mid-rush, is how mistakes happen.
Your Craft Market Vendor Checklist: What to Pack
Here is the full craft market vendor checklist, broken into categories so you can pack in zones. Work top to bottom and you will not forget anything important.
Booth Structure and Setup
- Folding table(s) and chairs, unless the venue provides them
- Tablecloths that reach the floor (hides your storage bins and looks polished)
- Tent or canopy for outdoor markets, plus weights for every leg
- Sidewalls for the tent if rain is possible
- Risers, crates, or shelves to add height to your display
- Grid walls or pegboards if you hang products
Display and Signage
- All your products, plus about 20 percent more stock than you think you will sell
- Price tags or signs for every single item. Unpriced items do not sell.
- Business cards or QR codes linking to your shop and socials
- A banner or sign with your business name, big enough to read from the aisle
- Bags or boxes for customers to carry purchases home
- Tissue paper or wrapping for fragile items
Sales and Payment
- Card reader (Square, etc.) plus a backup payment option on your phone
- Cash float in small bills and coins
- Receipt book or a way to email receipts
- A notebook to jot down custom orders and customer requests
- Your phone charger and a portable battery pack
Comfort and Survival
- Water bottle and snacks. You cannot leave your booth to find food during a rush.
- Comfortable shoes. You will be standing for five to eight hours.
- Layers: a sweater, and sunscreen or a hat for outdoor events
- Pain relievers, bandages, and any medication you need
- A small toolkit: scissors, tape, safety pins, zip ties, a marker
- Hand sanitizer and wipes
Paperwork and Business Bits
- Your vendor confirmation or contract
- Business license or permits if your municipality requires them
- Insurance documents if the venue asked for them
- A list of your prices (your cheat sheet for busy moments)
- Inventory list so you can track what sold
What to Leave at Home
Packing everything is only half the skill. Here is what experienced vendors deliberately leave behind.
Your entire inventory. Bring a strong selection, not every piece you have ever made. A crowded, cluttered table overwhelms shoppers. Curate your best sellers and a few new pieces.
Unpriced items. If it does not have a price on it, leave it in the car until it does. Customers rarely ask. They just walk past.
Complicated displays that take an hour to assemble. If your setup needs an engineering degree, simplify it. You want to be selling during setup time, not assembling furniture.
Strong scents. Skip the heavy perfume and the scented candles burning at full blast. Some shoppers have allergies, and a headache is not a sales strategy.
Your worries about the vendor next to you. They sell something similar? Good. It means there is demand. Focus on your booth, your customers, and your day.
Expectations of a perfect day. Some markets are slow. It happens to everyone. A slow day is for learning, tweaking your display, and chatting with fellow vendors, not for despair.
Market Morning Timeline
Most indoor markets run something like 10 am to 3 pm with setup starting around 8:30 am. Here is how to use that window.
| Time | What to do |
|---|---|
| Night before | Pack the car, charge everything, count float |
| 60 min before doors | Arrive, check in, find your spot |
| 45 min before doors | Tables up, tablecloths on, big pieces placed |
| 30 min before doors | Small items out, price signs up, banner hung |
| 15 min before doors | Float in place, card reader tested, snacks stashed |
| Doors open | Smile. You are ready. |
Give yourself the full setup window. Rushing looks stressed, and customers can feel it.
After the Market: Teardown and Follow-Up
Teardown deserves its own mini checklist, because a tired vendor at 3 pm makes sloppy decisions. Pack in reverse order of setup: small fragile items first, then displays, then tables. Do a slow walk of your empty spot before you leave. Phone chargers, price signs, and that one lonely earring love to hide under tables.
Then, while the day is fresh, do three quick things. Count your cash and compare it to your inventory list so you know exactly what sold. Jot down what worked and what did not: which products got the most attention, what questions customers kept asking, whether your prices felt right. And post a thank-you on social media while the market buzz is still warm. Tag the event, share a booth photo, and tell people where to find you next. That post often turns market browsers into online buyers.
The One Thing Most New Vendors Forget
Business cards. Or a QR code. Or anything that lets a happy browser find you later. Plenty of sales happen days after a market, when someone who loved your work finally sits down to order. Make it easy for them. A simple card with your shop name, website, and Instagram handle costs pennies and keeps selling long after teardown.
Ready to Put This Checklist to Work?
The best way to test your market setup is at an actual market. Art & Souls Events runs free-admission indoor and outdoor markets across the Ottawa area, and we love welcoming first-time vendors. Bring your checklist, bring your beautiful work, and come see what market day feels like when you are fully prepared. Check our upcoming market dates and apply for a booth. We will save you a spot.