Necessity is the mother of invention.
I was on a clock. Why is it that making display pieces for our booth requires me to be on a clock? But … I was on a clock.
We were double booked last weekend, and some of my small display pieces had to go to the 2nd venue. These simple oak & dowel pieces hold a cutting board and a cheese board or 2 vertical on the table. These are the only verticals I have, really … and I only have enough for one booth.
So, I either needed to make more of those little holders, or I needed to finally build the piece I’ve been designing in my head for 2 years. It’s a big piece.
And you know me: go big or go home. So, I went big. I wanted to make a vertical unit to take over my side table, giving people easy, vertical viewing from either my corner aisle (which we always get), or from inside my booth. After thinking about building a freestanding unit and eliminating a 6′ table – and the storage underneath – I had sanity return, and I built a table top unit. A big table top unit.
After 2 years of cogitation, this is my design, in all of its glory:
I know.
From that oh-so-humble beginning, this is what got built in the shop over most of a day:
This piece gives me 24 linear feet of display space, all of which is unencumbered by smaller boards standing in front. Previously, I had no such space.
This piece will display serving trays and large cheese & cracker servers without having to stack them. Previously, I had no such space.
It doesn’t have a name yet, but the new display is 70″ long. It folds down to 35″ x 8″ x 70″ for transport. It fits perfectly into the trailer, right behind the rolling shelf unit, up against the rear gate.
After living with it for one weekend, I’m 100% happy with the new verticality in the booth. My only quibble is that I’ve built a wall … so that when people are looking at boards from the aisle, I can’t make eye contact with them. I can walk outside of the booth to stalk engage them, but I am seldom that aggressive with shoppers.
So, I may try and be a bit more aggressive when people are talking & touching the boards outside of the booth. And, by aggressive, I mean that I’ll approach them and say, “Good morning. Let me know if you have any questions.”
Well, do you?
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Very cool. Glad you like your new display stand. I used to do trade shows many years ago when I had my outdoor products company. Your quandary about the customer interaction versus display space is a good one.
I don’t know the square footage of your booth space, but have you considered these two options. If you have a corner space, maybe think about a tall but thin display stand that would sit on the floor but extend upward to maybe 5 to 6 feet, but with a small footprint. That could be placed on your outside corner, leaving you plenty of open space to make eye contact and let folks browse.
If your booth is not on a corner, maybe put your new stand on the table, but place it toward the rear of your booth. Then make sure there is plenty of walking space to allow the customers to step in more closely and browse.
If you get most or a significant amount of your revenues from the shows, you may also consider a bigger space to exhibit your crafts. More floor space makes for more comfortable and casual customer interaction. They would feel more free to browse if the space between you and them was larger and more open.
Just some thoughts, and I love your work.
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