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Rena Klingenberg : 7 Places to Display Your Handmade Items for Sale

Seven Creative Places to Display Your Handmade Items for Sale

By Rena Klingenberg

Here are some creative, unusual ways to get more visibility for your handmade items:

1) On an iPod: If your iPod, MP3 player, or cell phone can hold and display photos, why not load it up with a few dozen images of your handmade items? Then no matter where you are you can show people a selection of your best work. This can be especially handy if (like me) the one day you don't have any samples of your work with you is the day someone asks about the things you make!

2) In a notebook: If your items are fairly small, you can make a portable display from a three-ring notebook (you may want to use a zip-close binder). Fill your notebook with clear plastic baseball-card pocket pages or slide pages, and fill the pockets with your small handmade items. Bring your display notebook whenever you leave the house, so you can whip it out for a quick show-and-sell.

3) In a candy box: Of course, you'll have to make the sacrifice of eating the candy first, so you can use the empty box! But an empty compartmented candy box (or one filled with ruffled paper candy cups) can be a charming option for displaying small handmade treasures.

4) On a rattan roll-up shade: Hang up your rattan shade, and get some inexpensive "S" hooks at a hardware store. Hang the hooks strategically around on the rattan shade. Lightweight items can hang on the hooks, showing nicely against this neutral, rustic backdrop. And the rattan shade takes up no display-table space since it can be hung on your art show tent frame, or on the back wall of an indoor booth space.

5) On a Christmas tree: I have some dichroic glass jewelry — earrings and a charm bracelet — that go on our Christmas tree every year. The glass is beautifully enhanced by the tree lights, and the charm bracelet looks like an old-fashioned holiday chain dripping with dichroic icicles. Displaying your items on a Christmas tree also helps people think about giving them as holiday gifts.

6) On a mirror frame: A standup mirror with a metal scrollwork frame can do double duty in your booth — especially if you sell clothing, jewelry, or accessories. You can display your small handmade items by hanging them on the metal scrollwork, and customers can also use the main part of the mirror when they try your items or hold them up to see how they look. Mirrors like these can be found in overstock stores, secondhand stores, garage sales, and antique stores.

7) On a DVD: Burn a slide show of your handmade items onto a DVD so it can be viewed on a TV or computer. One great use for this is to send it to the galleries and shops out of town that already carry your work, as an easy way to show them your new stuff. •

Rena Klingenberg is a jewelry artist, author, and publisher of creative ideas for making and selling jewelry. More »

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