So you’ve been accepted as one of the artists in the Holiday Shop, but have more questions… read below for answers to some questions, and more information than you could ever possibly need. I am nothing if not thorough! – Alison
Last Edited 10/20/2026

FAQs

• How much stock should I bring?
  This is a really tricky one. First off, let me say that I am almost always open to a restock during the course of the shop. You can check with me, and I’ll let you know how the numbers are looking and tell you a good time for a drop-off. I don’t have room for backstock of items, so almost everything will be out on display. Here are some quantities off the top of my head: 1-2 pieces of unique jewelry, 6-12 cards, 4-6 art prints, 8-12 stickers, 8-12 books, 4-6 candles, 1-3 knit pieces.
• How many different items? What kind?
  Our customers range in ages and styles, but typically the best answer is “bring your best sellers”. Our shop is definitely gift-focussed, so think about things that that are easy to give, or might remind a customer of someone they want to give a gift to. (Favorite animals, favorite colors, etc.) I’m also happy to narrow down items on your inventory sheet.
• Can I bring items that you may or may not include in the shop?
  Yes, I can make some last minute decisions about what to include in the shop. Just make sure you put all items on your inventory sheet– even if the initial quantity is zero. It’s much easier to remove item listings from my point of sale than it is to add them.
• Do I need to include my business name on all my pieces?
  Strictly speaking, the only thing I MUST have on each item is your item#/SKU and price. I highly recommend having your business name and more info on your pieces because it adds value to your pieces– especially to the people who receive them as gifts. (More about that below, under “Packaging”)
• Can I bring my own display pieces?
  I’m happy to try out display pieces (especially for jewelry). Check out the “display” section below for more about the kind of furniture/space I’m working with- large pieces often will not work. Please make sure your business name is tagged on any pieces you leave with me. I do not typically put out signs or business cards or anything like that with your work. In our format it just distracts.
• Can I provide gift boxes/packaging with my items?
  Some artists choose to display their items in a giftable box– that’s fine as long as it looks nice, and I can accommodate it in my display. If you’d rather just have your items placed in a box at check-out, feel free to leave a small box or bag of your gift packaging with me (put your business name on it.) I’ll pack them up at the counter!
  Either way, if an item might easily be removed from its box, make sure the ITEM itself is marked with its price and item number.
• What about drop off and pick up?
  When I send out inventory sheets, contract, etc in the first week of November, I will also send you to a sign-up sheet to get details–including when you’re available for drop off. I’ll assign you a time slot from that info. When you arrive one of my helpers will count your products against the inventory you sent me to make sure it’s all there and marked properly. I’ll be around to answer any questions and make final stock decisions. During the last couple of weeks of the shop, I’ll reach back out to everyone to assign pick-up slots or shipping details.

INVENTORY SHEETS + SKU/ITEM#

If you are accepted, I’ll send you a spreadsheet to fill out that looks something like this…

I use this spreadsheet to copy and paste everything into my point of sale system so that I can keep track of your sales. When I ring items up, I type in the SKU/ITEM# to make a selection. I also use these numbers to calculate your payments at the end.

I will assign you a two letter vendor code (usually something relating to your business name) and you will use that as the first part of your SKU followed by up to three numbers that you choose to designate that particular item. It you aren’t listing items online, feel free to group items together as long as all the items under a particular SKU have the same price.

Each item will need to have this SKU/ITEM# and price listed on it in some way. That number needs to be attached to the item in a way that won’t easily fall off– I like to use Avery Labels, or write in pencil on the item’s packaging. I am typically dealing with hundreds of items from up to 50 artists, so this is a very important step that ensures your sales go to you.

PACKAGING + PRICING

• All items will need to be marked with their SKU/item# and price. This can be on your packaging, on a tag, or on the item itself. Pencil is OK- but make sure I can read it.
• Even if you don’t have a website yet, it’s great to include your name or business name on your items.
• Consider including your “story” on your packaging. It could be something very simple like “Handwoven in Issaquah, WA” or something a little longer. I talk about these details to customers when I can, but consider that most of your things will be given as gifts, and that story detail adds something special for the person who eventually receives it.

• Think about how the price is put on your item or packaging. As a gift, it will often need to be removed without removing your business name or other value labeling. I like to use pencil, a removable price tag on my packaging, or put it on a portion of a tag that can be cut off.
• Think about how items will be displayed…
  Necklaces will likely be taken out of boxes for display, so they should have identifying tags on their chains. Earrings need to be on cards so you can tag them. Ornaments are often small or delicate- try to attach their tags to the other end of their hanging ribbon so that the ornament is still the most visible. Consider the size and style of your tagging on items like this. (Bold colors might distract from your item, as would tags that are too large.)

• Items in gift packaging often do quite well– for instance jewelry displayed in boxes– but make sure the packaging displays well and shows the value of your items. Avoid packaging that will obscure the best qualities of an item.
• All things will get handled a little bit, so consider if you need to offer them some extra protection. Art prints do best with a firm backing board. You can usually find biodegradable sleeves for cards and prints and such if you’d like to avoid plastic packaging.
• Scented items can be OVERWHELMING when they are here in quantity. Consider using packaging that can be opened or closed closed, or give me a sample of each item with the rest in giftable packaging.

My favorite packaging tricks…

• Print on cardstock, and use a shape punch to make a tag. I am nuts about French Paper cardstocks.
• Avery® Return Address Labels, 5167, 1/2″ x 1 3/4″, <<These return labels – in removable or permanent– are a great size for many things!
• Write SKUs and Prices in pencil. I keep an eraser at the counter
• Get a business card printed that can work as your story packaging, then tie or safety pin it!
• Find packaging options at Clearbags (including compostable sleeve options), and EcoEnclose

DISPLAY

• I mostly display things on shelves in the space. That means your items might be at eye level or lower. I move items around over the course of the shop. If you’d like to try to use your own display items, please keep in mind that I can’t use things that are overly tall, deep, or wide. I will definitely try to work with what you have, but I cannot guarantee it will work. I reserve the right to use your display pieces with other items as well.
• Most items are merchandised with similar, supporting items. (With the exception being jewelry. Each jewelry artist typically gets their own shelf.)
• I used a mix of traditional display pieces, and rustic pieces in creative ways. (Most of the pieces are mine, and I don’t have all the things, which is why I’m happy to try what you have!)
• Prints typically go in a “flip through” box, with some samples pulled out. (This works really well! People like to flip through.)
• Stickers and other small similar things usually go on pegboard sticker rack, so if you have hang tags on them that is AMAZING. Otherwise I might put a hang tag on a few to display them.
• Most cards go on a floating card wall at the front of the store.

My favorite display tricks…

• I move things around! People often come back more than once, and the number of times I’ve heard “Oh! I didn’t see this last time!”
• I like these little hang tags (although I wish they weren’t plastic.)
• I typically do not put business, post cards, or personal signage out with items. These extra bits get kind of cluttered when I merchandise items together. I’d rather have a conversation with people about what they are looking at, THEN give them a business card when it means more to them.

BEHIND THE SCENES

Kudos if you’ve made it this far! I am definitely someone who likes to know all the details, so I thought I would include a little behind the scenes about how I run the shop.

I (Alison) do all the planning, curating, organization, and tech for the shop each year, plus I run the register every day. It’s a lot of work, and I love it.
When you send me your inventory sheets and photos I have to compile them into a list that I can upload to my point of sale program. This usually involves some spreadsheet wizardry, but it also includes a LOT of clicks. This is why it’s important that you send me an accurate list (accurate item names, codes, and prices) to work with. A lot of changes mean that I have to start some part over completely. (Quantity changes are typically very easy, as is deleting items I have already added to the point of sale.)
If an item is listed online it’s more than twice as much work – I have to make sure that it is in all the right catagories so that it is shopable, I have to manually connect the images to the items (which is why I need the item# in the photo file’s name) after I have made sure they will work on the site. I often hit bugs in the process (it’s my curse) so I often get to spend valuable time with customer service. Remember that this shop has up to 50 artists each year, which gives me hundreds of unique items that need to be included in the register.
I will tell you right now that this back-end work often runs all the way through Thanksgiving (although my friends and family try to make me take a break for dinner.)

My partner and I bring in all the display furniture and pieces in the days proceeding artist drop-off and get it all set up and ready– the space starts off as a blank slate.
On drop-off day my partner (Pat) and lovely volunteers help all the artists count and double check all the items they are bringing in. I can guarantee that artist inventory sheets almost never match the items and quantity that is actually brought in, so double counting helps us all! I am typically bouncing around during all this, answering questions and getting things merchandised and in place.
Following drop-off I get the shop physically set up and merchandised, make changes to the starting inventory, and make sure the website is ready. This is very labor intensive and lasts for several days. (Did I mention it’s a lot of work and I love it?) I try my darndest to be done before Thanksgiving day so I can spend that with friends… but it’s always a toss up. (My partner does all the cooking, or nothing would get done!)

Then the next day the shop opens! Our hours are 12-6 Fri-Sunday but I often come in early, stay open late, or open on extra days for events in the area or private shopping. (Downtown Issaquah is amazing in the winter, and the Shell Station is the bell of the ball.) I do all the ringing, re-merchandising, and all the other fun parts of running a shop. I work with artists to do restocks when they can, and keep on top of inventory additions and subtractions as well as online orders. Oh, and social media.
The shop runs, artists pick up their goods. We move all the furniture back into storage, and then it’s time to pay everybody!

It’s a lot of work and I love it!
I often have people ask if they can help, which I appreciate so much. At this point there’s not much I can have others do beyond stopping by and giving me a bathroom break or bringing me a pastry or oat-mocha 😉. Ringing can be tricky, and it’s such a short time it’s hard to get anyone trained up enough to be by themselves for more than a minute or two. So much of the setup is designed in my little brain, that it’s hard for me to pass any of those tasks either. The shop uses up 120% of the energy I have.

Did I mention it’s a lot of work and I love it?

–Alison

Below is a little extra information for artists who are applying or joining the Holiday Shop. I will edit and adjust as time goes on, but it’s a great resource for artists who want to know just a little bit more! (Please let me know if you notice anything I should add, or have questions!)

Some FAQ Answers

• The Historic Shell Holiday Shop started in downtown Issaquah in 2015, and is curated by Alison Lang (of So, There.) It is run as a pop-up boutique with gifty items every holiday season.
• The Call for artists typically goes out at the beginning of October. You can hear about it by watching this feed, the facebook page, instagram, or by joining our mailing list

When Applying for the shop…

• Make sure you look over the payment terms, drop-off and pick-up details and make sure they will work for you.
• Consider the items you’d like to show us. If you have been to the shop before, think about what you make that might fit in. If you haven’t, look through our past photos on Instagram and Facebook.
• The best selling items are those that make great gifts– items that are someone’s favorite color, have their favorite animal, relate to their hobby, or items that are just a cute add-on! Please keep this in mind when you’re picking items to share with us. If you think one type of item will work great, but want to tell me about something else you make, feel free to include that information in your application- I will reach out if I want to know more.
• Send quality photos of the items you’d like us to consider- they don’t have to be perfect, but should clearly show the items you’d like to feature. You can also include a link to an online shop or gallery if you’d like, but make sure we know exactly the kind of things you’d like to see at the shop. DO NOT send “inspiration” photos of other people’s work.
• Consider your pricing – if you’re new to selling your art in shops, look around and see what other people are charging for similar items. Remember there will be a commission on sold pieces, so you will not get the full listed retail price in your payment.
• Do tell us what’s special about you and your pieces!
• A word on clip-art and premade templates of all kinds: there are a lot of amazing resources out there that share art elements, BUT since we feature so many illustrators, I tend to shy away from products that prominently feature these kinds of images. I would rather your work be the main visual element of the piece. Even if that element or decoration is just a well chosen color! The same is true with jewelry elements- such as decorative findings and charms. They are fine to use in moderation, but should not be the main element of your piece.
• We are taking a hard line on AI – we will not accept items that use generative AI in them (and that includes generated clip art.) If we find out that AI was used in a product, that product will immediately be removed from the shop, and customers will be offered a refund at the vendor’s expense. I could go into the reasons for this decision, but hopefully you have done your research and know the impacts of generative AI on artists, the environment, and people in general.

What I’m looking for…

• Packaging. The Holiday Shop really functions as a gift shop. People are looking for something that reminds them of a friend or loved one, or is a cute thing that anyone can enjoy– so packaging and visual presentation is paramount. I am swayed by great looking packaging tags (even if they are handmade), details on what makes your product special (including location), and anything that gives your items a special pop.
• Items that “work” together. Every year the selection in the shop is a little different, and a lot of my brain space goes to figuring out where things are going to be merchandised. If you have a friend who makes a complementary item (similar category, similar colors, similar style, similar humor) encourage them to apply as well. Sometimes if I can pair two things together it makes for a better presentation.
• Functional items. This is kinda my thing, bringing art into your every day life– whether it’s art applied to something useful, or a perfectly designed tool or object.
• Stocking stuffers and other “add-on” items. Stickers! Keychains! Ornaments!
• Humor.
• Reclaimed Materials used in unique creative ways that make people happy.

If you aren’t accepted to the shop…

• Don’t worry! There are a lot of factors at play: your work may be very similar to another artists and we had to choose, your work might just not fit in with this year’s collection (we try to pair items of similar styles, color stories), or we might just not have the space needed to properly display your work. We try to keep our artist number in the 30-40 range, and we get more applicants than that.
• There are usually other options for artist pop-ups in town during the winter, so please do let me know if you would like your information forwarded on to the organizations responsible for those events.
• Let me know if you’d like further feedback, but please be nice! The decisions are always difficult, and typically they are mine alone. It’s a lot of work trying to pull together a cohesive collection from so many talented artists.
• DO apply again next year. The shop is always evolving and so are you!