∴Book Fair Basics∴
Tips to stand out at an art book fair
This weekend Kelly and I have been selling books and stationery at one of Korea’s biggest art book fairs: Unlimited Edition. Polite Company Press, our little print studio, has been manning table L-2 on the second floor watching a river of art book fans rush by. The fair is in its 16th iteration, 3 days long with over 200 booths for sellers from Korea and abroad, and attended by who knows how many thousands of people. It’s quite a sight.
The event is aimed at independent publishers and art book makers, and there’s a wide variety of work on display. Photo books and zines of course, but also tons of items featuring illustration and graphic design are there to be leafed through and fiddled with. Our own table has Kel’s risograph zines and 2025 calendar, my zine Dirty Work, as well as a new little riso-book I made just for the event called It Will Be Dark Soon.1
The calendar has been by far the best seller, and it’s got me thinking about just what it takes to stand out at an event like this. Here are some tips I’ve picked up from the other artists, and to be honest, from watching Kel, who seems to have a special insight into what customers want.
Art Book Fairs Aren’t Just About Books
To participate in the fair, sellers had to have published a book this year, and having a number of publications to your name definitely increases your chances of being accepted. But when it comes to the actual selling, merchandise might be just as, if not more popular than the books themselves. I’m not saying pull a KISS and brand with reckless abandon, but having a few items like print packs, stickers or stamps can really help buyers feel like they’re getting more for their money.
Fair Use
The point above might leave you puzzling about what you can make in addition to your books. A great guide here is to ask yourself: What could someone use? Even your favorite books, art or otherwise, probably spend more time on the self than open in front of you. But items you can use are, well, useful, and likely to be interacted with far more often. Notebooks that feature your image on the cover, custom bookmarks or, my personal product aspiration, custom hankies, all feel like you’ll get repeated use out of them, and this can be the deciding-factor in making a sale.
The Cult of Cute
This one is a tough one for me, and I’m doing my best to report faithfully here: cute kills. Bright, playful products really seem to attract customers, at least in the Korean context. Your mileage may vary, and different markets/fairs will attract buyers with different tastes, but what I’ve picked up from the affinity for cute products here is that they’re welcoming. Photo books and art books can be pretty heady sometimes, asking the customer to spend some time in a headspace that may be challenging to them.2 But having some items that feel welcoming, promising some simple delight can really help bring in a crowd, who may now feel a little more motivated to invest some time in the books on offer.
*MID POST BONUS // If cute just isn’t your thing, then funny is the way to go. A happy customer is, well, a happy customer.
Post No Bills
If there’s a wall behind your booth, use it. The simplest is sticking up posters or prints of your work. Better yet, go prepared with lightweight mounts or hooks to display some of your products. If you’re really dedicated, you can prepare an entirely unique, attention-grabbing display above you that stands out above the heads of everyone there. Arranged well, these little additions can really draw attention to your booth, and also show people what it is they can expect from you. It’s helpful to remember that the goal isn’t to try pull in everyone, but to make it easier to be found by the people who connect with your kind of work.
I’m All In On Books Though. Anything I Can Do?
Definitely. One of the best ways I’ve found to help books leave an impression is to build into them a little experience. For It Will Be Dark Soon, I folded a strip of paper over the cover that displays a timeline, acting as a coda for how to read the images. Towards the end of the book, I clipped in a high quality mini-print of a very dark image, which stands in stark contrast to the muted tones of the riso ink and gray paper. When you’ve gone through dozens, if not more, books at a book fair, it’s the little deviations from typical book usage that stand out.
Take It To Go
Ok, you’ve made your sale, scrambled desperately to break the too-large banknote slid across the table, and it’s time to hand over your book, print, merch. There’s a little gap here to make this part of the dance something special for the customer, a little flourish to show your gratitude. Having handy some simple packaging supplies can really leave an impression. Slip the item into a simple paper bag and seal it with some mix-n-matched stickers to make it feel like something unique. Showing a little care for the packaging in front of the customer communicates how you’ve put care into the book you’ve made too, and it adds just a little more sparkle to the whole experience.
Pick a Card
It’s always a good idea to have business cards on the table. Not everyone is in a position to buy something right then and there, but having a card to offer gives them something to take home regardless. “Business Cards” sounds kinda stiff, but it doesn’t have to be. A small cheap print of one of your images on some thick card cut to a square or the length of a bookmark can really feel like a little artwork in its own right. And when they find out it’s free, people’s faces light up. These cards can be produced really cheaply, and with your details printed on the back, whether it be text or a QR code, the card can become a treasured little thing people see as a bonus, but that keeps your information close at hand.
Two booths that stood out were the guys from Handshake, and Libri Finti Clandestini.
Handshake had a good mix of books, but also had a puzzle and some riso prints for diversity. LFC had hand-cut pop-out books and mini books made from found materials, making them feel really unique, and unlikely to be found elsewhere.
Fairs can be overwhelming because there is so much to see and buy. But with a few little tweaks and flourishes, you can stand out and offer a meaningful experience to the people that have been kind enough to show some interest.
Do you have any tips you think I’ve left out? I’d love to hear them below!
Cheers,
Chris.
More on this in another newsletter soon!
And this is great. I want to be clear that I would like to see more of this, not less!
What an amazing event - so much talent and great work on display here. I love how the wall can be utilized behind the table to great effect. Lots to be said for the cult of cute luring people in and having something small for people to walk away with, even if they can't afford what they really desire. It Will Be Dark Soon looks really cool too.
let me know when the next one is 👍