How to set up a basic stall without loosing your mind
This past weekend I did a stall for ReachOut, setting up a stall is no small task so I thought I would put together a brief guide on how to set up a basic stall.Put together a stall kit. This helps keeps everything in one place and when you do have a stall you can just grab it and go. I bought a large plastic container from Target and keep everything to do with ReachOut in that box. I also have a smaller box in that box that contains basics for presentations.
What you will have in that box will vary depending on the type of stall you do but this is in mine:
- Plastic tablecloths - if they get damaged it won't matter and you can get them for around $2 from discount stores.
- Sticky stuff - this includes bluetack, sticky dots and sticky tape you never know what you will need to stick down something so its good to be prepared. I need to stick posters down and it all varies where I have the stall and the surfaces I have available. I also have some washi tape in different colours in case I need to brighten things up.
- Small whiteboard and markers - I grabbed one from Kmart and its been invaluable. I have used it to write down facts about ReachOut and other things. Mine is also magnetic so it means that I can use it as another surface area if need be.
- Pencil case with the basics - including scissors, pens, pencils, permanent markers etc another thing to include is some plain paper and card
- ReachOut Merchandise - I have lots of stickers, brochures, post it notes etc all with ReachOut's logo on them which I give out at stalls. I also find having them with my stall kit means that I know exactly where they are and am able to keep stock of what I have and what I need.
Not included in my kit are two light boxes which I bought to use at events (not just stalls but partys and when I need to add some personalisation quickly), I find they add height and look great. I grabbed one from Kmart and another from Typo and when they aren't in use I display them in my room.
I also have lollies that I keep in the box to give out at stalls but these aren't essiental I just find it helps attract people to the stall because everyone needs a sugar hit (bonus you can eat them during the quiet times!). I buy lollies at discount stores (like the Reject Shop and Red Dot) because it won't break the bank (at the end of the day they are free so no one can complain).
When setting up the stall I find its good to stick to a theme, for ReachOut I stick to blue as thats their colour so I just make sure that the bulk of the stuff I use is blue. It also makes the stall stand out as everything is one colour and it draws peoples eyes to it. It also means that the stall won't look busy despite if you have different elements to it. When you walked in to where I held the stall you could spot ReachOut very quickly due to how blue it was which was my aim.
I kept the stall pretty symetrical as it was easy to set up that way and it still looked good once people took some of the merch from it.
I had two buckets (the buckets are actually popcorn buckers which I found at Kmart) of lollies on either side next to the lightboxes. The bucket on the right isn't filled all the way with lollies its only half full, I stuck some (blue) tissue paper scrunched up in the bottom of it before filling it with lollies so while it looks like I have a lot I really don't. You can use the same trick in glass jars using a clear glass tipped upside down in the middle of the jar and surrounding it with lollies.
In the above picture you can see some mints that I printed out and stuck lables to with nice things and labled them encourage'mints' this was a random idea that I had as I had so many mints leftover from the movie night. These were extremely popular so many people commented on them, I still have a heap leftover so they will be used for another stall or event at a later time. I think its fun to add your own ideas when doing a stall and try to think outside the box as it shows your personality and can make great talking points.
I love being a Youth Ambassador for ReachOut and its always fun doing stalls for them, I never consider doing ReachOut work work because I always have so much fun doing the events and the prep leading up the events. I also never put any preassure on myself when it comes to doing ReachOut stuff for me doing stalls is just another way to tell people about mental illness and how it affects so many people.
There is no right or wrong way to do a stall as long as you have fun doing it and you can walk away feeling proud of what you have accomplished.
I also have lollies that I keep in the box to give out at stalls but these aren't essiental I just find it helps attract people to the stall because everyone needs a sugar hit (bonus you can eat them during the quiet times!). I buy lollies at discount stores (like the Reject Shop and Red Dot) because it won't break the bank (at the end of the day they are free so no one can complain).
I kept the stall pretty symetrical as it was easy to set up that way and it still looked good once people took some of the merch from it.
I had two buckets (the buckets are actually popcorn buckers which I found at Kmart) of lollies on either side next to the lightboxes. The bucket on the right isn't filled all the way with lollies its only half full, I stuck some (blue) tissue paper scrunched up in the bottom of it before filling it with lollies so while it looks like I have a lot I really don't. You can use the same trick in glass jars using a clear glass tipped upside down in the middle of the jar and surrounding it with lollies.
In the above picture you can see some mints that I printed out and stuck lables to with nice things and labled them encourage'mints' this was a random idea that I had as I had so many mints leftover from the movie night. These were extremely popular so many people commented on them, I still have a heap leftover so they will be used for another stall or event at a later time. I think its fun to add your own ideas when doing a stall and try to think outside the box as it shows your personality and can make great talking points.
I love being a Youth Ambassador for ReachOut and its always fun doing stalls for them, I never consider doing ReachOut work work because I always have so much fun doing the events and the prep leading up the events. I also never put any preassure on myself when it comes to doing ReachOut stuff for me doing stalls is just another way to tell people about mental illness and how it affects so many people.
There is no right or wrong way to do a stall as long as you have fun doing it and you can walk away feeling proud of what you have accomplished.
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