A trunk show is the highest-revenue-per-hour event most independent jewelry makers will ever run — and the most underplanned. Unlike a craft fair, where you fight for three seconds of attention from strangers, a trunk show hands you a warm room: invited guests, a host venue that vouches for you, and two to three hours where you are the entire program. The difference between a trunk show that sells a few pieces and one that clears a season of inventory is almost never the jewelry. It's the six weeks before the doors open. Here's the full planning timeline.
First: What Makes Trunk Shows Different (and Why Boutiques Say Yes)
A trunk show is a temporary, in-person showing of your collection inside someone else's space — a boutique, a salon, a gallery, or a private home. The economics work because everyone in the room wins: the venue gets an event that pulls their customers through the door on a slow evening, guests get first access to pieces they can't see elsewhere, and you get a captive audience with zero booth fees in most arrangements — the venue typically takes a percentage of sales instead.
That percentage is the language boutique owners speak. Standard splits run from 70/30 to 80/20 in the maker's favor, and a boutique owner deciding whether to host you is doing simple math: will this maker's event bring people in, and will those people also buy from the store? Which leads directly to the pitch.
6 Weeks Out: Land the Venue
Approach boutiques whose aesthetic sits adjacent to yours, not identical — a clothing boutique with no jewelry case is a better target than a store that already stocks a competing jewelry line. When you pitch, lead with what the owner gets:
- Bring your audience, don't just borrow theirs. The single most persuasive line in a pitch: "I'll be inviting my own customer list and promoting to my followers — I expect to bring 20–40 new people into your store." You're offering foot traffic, not asking for a favor.
- Propose the split and the date range upfront. "I typically work on an 80/20 split and I'm looking at a Thursday or Friday evening in the first half of next month" reads as a professional with a system. Vague asks read as work for the owner.
- Show, don't describe. Attach three photos: your jewelry, and — just as important — your display setup looking like an established brand. Owners are lending you their store's credibility; they want visual proof you won't set up a garage-sale table in it.
That third point is worth investing in before you ever send a pitch. A coordinated display photographed well is your strongest sales asset for landing venues — we've covered exactly how to build one in our guide to jewelry trunk show display ideas that sell more pieces.
4 Weeks Out: Build the Room
An empty trunk show is a very long evening. The guest list is the event:
- Email your customer list with a real invitation, not an announcement. "You're invited — I'm showing the new collection in person at [venue], and there are a few pieces I'm only releasing that night" outperforms "I'll be at [venue] next month." Exclusivity is the entire psychology of a trunk show; use the word "only."
- Give the venue ready-made promotion. Send them three finished Instagram assets and suggested captions the same week — venues that have to create their own promo mostly don't.
- Post a countdown, not a single announcement. Three touches minimum: announcement at 4 weeks, a sneak peek of one exclusive piece at 2 weeks, a "tomorrow night" reminder. Each post shows a piece on a styled display, not a phone snap on a desk.
- Ask for RSVPs even though it's free. A simple RSVP link doubles show-up rates — people keep commitments they've made by name.
2 Weeks Out: Curate the Collection and Pack the Kit
Resist bringing everything. A trunk show is an edit, not an inventory dump: 40–60 pieces arranged as six to eight styled stories will outsell 200 pieces in trays. Plan the collection in tiers — entry pieces near the price point of an impulse decision, a strong middle, and three to five hero pieces that anchor the room and justify everything under them.
Then pack a display kit that travels as one system:
- One material story, upscale register. An evening event inside a boutique calls for a warmer, more finished surface than a market stall. Vegan suede — a soft synthetic microfiber — reads as jewelry-case luxury under warm indoor lighting, and walnut veneer boards bring the kind of natural texture that photographs beautifully in guests' Instagram stories (free promotion you didn't have to ask for). If you're weighing surface materials for an indoor event, our comparison of vegan suede vs velvet for jewelry displays covers the practical differences.
- Height at the back, touch at the front. Necklace stands and busts build the skyline guests see when they walk in; open trays at the front edge make trying on feel invited. The put-back has to feel as easy as the pick-up.
- Pack a full-set photo in the kit box. Venue setup windows are short — often the hour between store close and doors open. A reference photo turns setup into reproduction instead of design.
Day Of: Run the Room, Don't Stand Behind a Table
- Arrive with 90 minutes of margin. Setup always finds a surprise — an outlet in the wrong place, a display table smaller than promised.
- Wear the collection. You are the best display in the room; guests buy what they see on a person.
- Style, don't sell. The highest-converting sentence at a trunk show is "try it on — here, with this one." Pairing pieces on the guest moves multi-piece sales in a way no discount does.
- Make the event-only offer real and expiring. One clean incentive — a gift with purchase, complimentary engraving, or a modest event-night discount — that genuinely ends when the night ends. Guests can smell a fake deadline.
- Capture every guest, not every sale. A simple signup — "want first look at the next collection?" — next to the checkout point. The list you leave with is worth more than the night's revenue.
If you're assembling a trunk show kit, our vegan suede necklace display stands (walnut core, gold-plated accents, eight colorways) and the 9-piece walnut veneer event display set were both designed for exactly this life — handcrafted in our family workshop, packable, and available as individual pieces or full sets at a set discount.
48 Hours After: The Follow-Up Most Makers Skip
Two messages, two audiences. To buyers: a thank-you with a photo of the evening and care notes for their piece — no pitch. To attendees who didn't buy: "the pieces from the show are online through Sunday" with a direct link — the gentle second chance converts the guests who needed a night to think. Then send the venue owner a short note with the sales total and a proposed date for the next one. A boutique that hosted you once profitably is your easiest yes in the market — makers with a twice-a-year circuit of three venues have built a six-event revenue calendar out of three pitches.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I host a jewelry trunk show?
Work backward from the event date: land a venue six weeks out by pitching the foot traffic you'll bring and a standard sales split, build the guest list four weeks out with real invitations and RSVP asks, curate 40–60 pieces and a coordinated display kit two weeks out, and follow up with buyers and non-buyers within 48 hours after.
What percentage does a boutique take for hosting a trunk show?
Typical arrangements run from 70/30 to 80/20 in the maker's favor, in place of a booth fee. Some venues prefer a flat space fee instead; either way, propose the structure yourself in the pitch — it signals you've done this before.
How much jewelry should I bring to a trunk show?
Forty to sixty pieces, arranged as six to eight styled stories, consistently outsells a full inventory dump. Plan in price tiers: accessible entry pieces, a strong middle, and a few hero pieces that anchor the room's perceived value.
How do I get people to come to my trunk show?
Invite your own list with exclusivity language ("pieces I'm only releasing that night"), give the venue ready-made social posts so they actually promote, run a three-touch countdown on your own channels, and collect RSVPs — a named commitment roughly doubles show-up rates.
What should I use to display jewelry at a trunk show?
An indoor evening event rewards upscale, coordinated surfaces: vegan suede (a soft synthetic microfiber) and walnut veneer read as jewelry-case quality under warm lighting, photograph well in guests' stories, and pack as a repeatable kit. Build height at the back of the table and keep open, touchable trays at the front.
Are trunk shows worth it for small jewelry brands?
Usually more so than fairs, per hour: no booth fee in most split arrangements, a pre-warmed audience, higher average order values, and two durable assets — the guest list you capture and a venue relationship that can become a recurring event.
Whispering Woods Studio has been handcrafting jewelry display props since 2012 — vegan suede, Premium Styling Felt, resin, travertine, and walnut veneer collections for boutiques, trunk shows, and independent makers worldwide. Every piece is made by hand in our family workshop. Explore our boutique & retail display collection.