Your First Artist Alley Table: A Beginner's Checklist

You've got a table booked. Maybe it's your first con, maybe it's your first one after years of only doing online sales. Either way, the panic sets in about two weeks out when you realize "bring stuff to sell" is not actually a plan. This is the checklist, nothing else, so you can stop scrolling and start packing.

Before the event (2-4 weeks out)

• Confirm your table size and booth number with the event
• Check the venue's height restriction for backdrops/displays (many cap around 175cm, but this varies, so check yours specifically)
• Order or print your stock: prints, stickers, whatever you're selling, with buffer for your top 2-3 sellers
• Set up or confirm your card reader/payment app works offline if the venue has bad signal
• Get cash for your float, ideally in small bills
• Print price signage, it removes 90% of "how much is this" small talk
• Book your travel/accommodation if it's not local

Display setup

• Tablecloth (a fitted one looks more finished than a draped sheet)
• Backdrop or display panels, tested and assembled at home at least once before the event
• Risers or shelving for depth, don't let your table be one flat plane
• Hooks, clips, or hanging hardware for prints and bags
• Sign with your name and shop handle, visible from a few feet away, not just up close
• Lighting (clip lights or small LED strips) if your venue lighting is known to be rough

Money and admin

• Cash float ($150-200 in small bills is a common starting point)
• Card reader, charged, with a backup charging cable
• A simple way to track sales (notebook, spreadsheet app, whatever works)
• Business cards or a QR code linking to your online shop
• Any required seller's permit or tax paperwork for your region

Comfort (the part beginners always skip)

You will be standing or sitting in one spot for 8-10 hours, sometimes multiple days in a row. This isn't optional gear, it's the difference between enjoying day two and wanting to go home.

• Comfortable shoes, broken in, not new
• A chair that doesn't wreck your back (the free venue chairs usually do)
• Water bottle and snacks that don't need both hands or make a mess
• Painkillers, blister pads, hand sanitizer
• A light layer, convention halls run cold more often than hot
• Something for downtime between customer rushes (a sketchbook, headphones, a friend to swap breaks with)

Morning of

The stuff nobody tells you until it happens

Your first setup will take longer than you think. Budget extra time, especially if this is the first time you're putting together a new backdrop system. Panels and connectors that clip together without tools (no screws, no zip ties) genuinely cut this down a lot, but "genuinely fast" for a system you've practiced still means "give yourself 45 minutes" the first time you do it live.

You will forget something. Almost everyone does, the first few times. Keep a running note on your phone after every event of what you wished you'd packed, and read it again before the next one. That list becomes more valuable than any checklist someone else hands you, including this one.

Pack light where you can. If your display system doesn't fold flat, you're hauling a lot of dead weight through a parking lot or an airport, and that adds its own kind of exhaustion before the day even starts.

Curious what a Shapeshift kit actually looks like in person? Head to the Artist Booths homepage to see the full lineup and find the one that fits your table.