New Illustrator Considering My First Booth — Should I Go for It?
Hi everyone,
I’m a new illustrator and I’d love some advice for my first-ever booth.
For context, I’ve been doing illustration as a hobby for a while, but my main profession is UX design. I’ve done some occasional illustration work connected to graphic design projects, but I’ve never really sold my art on its own before. I’ve also never done tabling, markets, or any kind of booth setup.
Recently, I was offered the chance to have a small booth at a small-scale event this coming July in Toronto. The event itself is very new, and this will be their first year running it. From what I know, there will be a mix of vendors, not only artists or print sellers. The participation fee is very affordable and technically pay-what-you-can, so I’m tempted to try it.
My hesitation is that:
- I’m very new to this. I don’t have a large body of work ready yet, but I could probably create around 10 artworks in time for the event.
- My Instagram has fewer than 50 followers, mostly friends, since I only recently started posting my work.
- I also have a limited budget for making products like prints, stickers, etc., and I would still need to buy basic table setup materials like displays, containers, or signage.
I’d really appreciate advice from anyone who has done artist alleys, markets, or small booths before:
- Should I just go for it as a learning experience, or should I wait until I have a bigger audience and more products ready?
- If I do go for it, what should I focus on selling with a limited budget? Are stickers worth making for a first booth, or would it be better to focus mainly on art prints?
Any advice on what is actually worth investing in for a beginner booth would be very appreciated.
Thank you so much in advance!