Tag: renfaire

My shop sign:

Having a thematically appropriate shop sign (it’s a Renaissance faire: no vinyl signs, please!) is a big plus when it comes to making a good impression and attracting customers. And lots of attention from local news people reporting on the faire: I don’t know if it’s entirely because of the “historical-ness” of the sign, or partly because the sign hangs perpendicular to the row of shops and therefor is just easier to see, but this sign always gets into video/photos from a faire. I could have gone with a painted wooden sign, but since everything I sell is made of fabric, a fabric sign just seems right.

Shop interior, right-hand side:

As you can see, I’ve changed things a bit from my 2024 setup: There are fewer mug rugs out at one time (the extras are in a box under the table, hidden by the fitted tablecloth — the red table runner hides a split in the tablecloth for access to the space underneath), and the rolled wall hangings are standing upright in their crate to make them easier to search through. There are also more wall hangings on display, because I have more designs. (I’m running out of wall space under this 10×10 canopy! I may have to seriously consider getting something bigger.)

The red string on the first three wall hangings is to keep them from flipping over every time a breeze gets into the shop. (I’m still looking for a good solution to this.)

Shop interior, back wall:

Another thing that gets a lot of attention for my shop is that “tapestry” on the back wall. (Plus, there’s often a big man in armor sitting in the wooden chair in front of it. He attracts a lot of attention for the shop, too.) The 4×6-foot tapestry is printed on heavy basket-weave canvas (because at this scale, the fabric needs to have some texture) and backed with cotton osnaburg. I’ll have smaller versions in my shop next year, and at least a few of the full-sized ones.

I had to put some of the wall hangings in front of the tapestry, because there wasn’t room anywhere else. (That’s another thing I’m working on; I’m already working on a new shop layout for 2026 that will give me more wall space to hang stuff.)

Shop interior, left-hand side:

Here’s the shelf with all the throw pillows. (The ones in the top row are velvet and feature images from the famous The Lady and the Unicorn tapestries. The rest are cotton twill, and most have artwork from the Luttrell Psalter.)

The table toward the back holds a display tray with bookmarks (new in 2025), as well as the mini-crate that holds my business cards, and a bigger crate for paper bags to make the whole check-out process easier. (My card reader is tucked away behind the sign on the table.)