What to Bring to Your First Convention: The Real Checklist

The checklist nobody hands you at your first con

You've got your art sorted. You've got your table booked. And then the night before your first convention, you're standing in your kitchen at 11pm realising you have no idea if you need to bring your own chair. This is normal. Everyone's first packing list is missing something, usually something obvious in hindsight.

Here's the real list, the boring practical stuff that actually gets forgotten, not just the inspirational "bring your best self" version.

Money and payments

• A float of small bills and coins, $150-200 is a reasonable starting point so you can make change for a $50 note on a $12 sale without panicking.
• A charged card reader plus its charging cable, and know your reader's fee structure before the weekend so you're not surprised by what actually lands in your account.
• A backup payment method in case your primary reader has connectivity issues. Con centre wifi and cell signal get overloaded fast with thousands of people in one building.
• A lockable cash box or at minimum a zippered pouch that stays on your body, not loose on the table.

Display and table gear

• Your actual display structure, whatever that is for you, plus a mallet or whatever tool it needs to assemble (check this is packed, not just the panels).
• A tablecloth or runner long enough to reach the floor.
• Painter's tape and clear tape, for last-minute fixes to signage or packaging.
• Zip ties and binder clips, genuinely useful for more problems than you'd expect.
• Extension cord and power strip if your booth has outlet access.

Inventory and presentation

• Bags and backing boards for prints, sized to fit your most common print size without you needing to trim anything on the fly.
• Business cards, more than you think, they go fast and they're cheap to reprint.
• Clear price signage for every product category.
• A printed or digital inventory count from before the con, so you can tell at the end of day one what actually sold versus what you think sold.

You, the human running the table

This is the category first-timers skip entirely, right up until they're miserable on day two.

• Comfortable shoes you've already broken in. Not new ones. You will be on your feet for eight-plus hours.
• Water bottle and snacks you can eat one-handed between customers.
• Layers. Convention centres run cold from AC or hot from crowd density, sometimes both in the same day.
• Painkillers, blister plasters, and hand sanitiser in a small bag under the table.
• A portable phone charger, since you'll be using your phone for payments, photos, and messaging a tablemate more than you'd expect.

The stuff people specifically forget

Pack the day before, not the morning of. Laying everything out gives you a real shot at noticing what's missing while you can still do something about it, instead of finding the gap at 8am when the shops are still closed.

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.