I have been involved in shows for about 5 years. I am trying to make the "leap" from high school craft fairs, to the more elaborate art shows. Since I am a jewelry designer, I am competing with some displays that cost thousands of dollars. I also don't know if I believe that a customer should not be able to touch the item. If I use display cases, the customer can't touch....Is there a way to have a more relaxed booth while still being juried into a more dignified art show? I took a picture of my booth from this past weekend. Any help would be appreciated!!
I'm a cheapy, I love to save money wherever I can! Snap Poster is an online printing service that primarily prints... well... posters. They'll arrive in a tube and you can put 'em light acylic frames so they'll hang. I made the mistake of mounting mine to fiber board and after all the rain this year they are now warping, so next time I'm going with frames. I would suggest finding the frame size you want first then sizing your photo to it (layer it on a black/grey backround if you need to fill space?) I had five posters printed for $20. REALLY!
Lindsay Pless said:
Larry always give great advice and backs it up with helpful information and photos!
I'm also a jewelry designer and know how expensive it can be to 'better your booth look' for better shows. I'm still in the process of doing that and have made so many mistakes over the past year and it costs money for sure. Luckily I've been able to sell the props I end up not using to other artists.
I think what Larry means is if those are table skirts you are using, they should hang perfectly even and not droop or drag on the ground or floor. If you look at his photo in his link of the booth where he removed the wrinkles in the tablecloths with Photo Shop, it gives a much more elegant look. Table skirts can be very pretty but they have to hang right and have enough folds in them to look right.
As for using display cases or not, it's been my experience that those that have very expensive jewelry use cases but if you're prices are in the 'below $150' price, it's not necessary to have things in cases as they can still be elegantly displayed.
I've seen jewelry booths where some ornate display pieces are used and getting some large photos made to hang in your booth is an excellent idea to draw the customer in. I'm hoping to do that myself.....just have to figure out where to have it done where I live.
There's one jewelry artist I met at a show whose work was just gorgeous and all out on display pieces. Her theme was gold........all gold............all white display pieces, gold table cloths and skirts, beautiful ornate gold lamps for lighting, some other gold ornate display pieces.........it didn't seem as if that much money was spent, it was just the clever placement of each display piece with the lighting that made the entire booth really flow.
Wow I need to really work on my display thanks to Larry's suggestions.......Thank You Larry!
All of this information is greatly appreciated. I guess I have some decisions to make regarding my booth development and some things to try. I have a local Sam's and the art coop that I belong to has a business membership, so I am going to try making some large pictures. Larry, thanks for the info on how big to make the file, I would have had to continually bring larger files until I found the correct formula! If anyone else has any other suggestions, I am ready!!
There was another post in this forum about cheaper photography enlargement at CostCo. That would probably help with the cost of the large photo for your background.
I have a very mixed media display, but for the jewelry that I engrave, I make sure it is well lit! Lighting helps so much in grabbing attention and showing off details.
Larry always give great advice and backs it up with helpful information and photos!
I'm also a jewelry designer and know how expensive it can be to 'better your booth look' for better shows. I'm still in the process of doing that and have made so many mistakes over the past year and it costs money for sure. Luckily I've been able to sell the props I end up not using to other artists.
I think what Larry means is if those are table skirts you are using, they should hang perfectly even and not droop or drag on the ground or floor. If you look at his photo in his link of the booth where he removed the wrinkles in the tablecloths with Photo Shop, it gives a much more elegant look. Table skirts can be very pretty but they have to hang right and have enough folds in them to look right.
As for using display cases or not, it's been my experience that those that have very expensive jewelry use cases but if you're prices are in the 'below $150' price, it's not necessary to have things in cases as they can still be elegantly displayed.
I've seen jewelry booths where some ornate display pieces are used and getting some large photos made to hang in your booth is an excellent idea to draw the customer in. I'm hoping to do that myself.....just have to figure out where to have it done where I live.
There's one jewelry artist I met at a show whose work was just gorgeous and all out on display pieces. Her theme was gold........all gold............all white display pieces, gold table cloths and skirts, beautiful ornate gold lamps for lighting, some other gold ornate display pieces.........it didn't seem as if that much money was spent, it was just the clever placement of each display piece with the lighting that made the entire booth really flow.
Wow I need to really work on my display thanks to Larry's suggestions.......Thank You Larry!
Not behind the covers, instead of the covers or wrap the front of plywood with the fabric. What I'm suggesting is to not have wrinkles and make the display look more professional. To save weight, cut out the center of pieces of plywood leaving about a three inch border and wrap the fabric tightly around the front and staple it to the back. Have something like three or four inch legs so it doesn't sit in the water when it rains. You can work with a local carpenter to create something transportable.
Thanks so much for the critique. I guess that I am going to have to go the display case route! Please help me understand how I can place wood panels behind the tablecovers. Is it plywood that is laid against the table? Is there anyone that has tried this and can give me some information? Thanks in advance.
Larry Berman said:
I'm not a jeweler but can make some suggestions. Starting from the ground up. Either take the wrinkles out of the fabric table covers or use wood panels so it looks perfect. Hang a few large photos of your jewelry to draw people into the booth. I would also reverse the way your display is set up. Sit or work on the inside of a "U" or "L" arrangement of your tables. That way you can respond to questions (or sales) from anywhere within your booth without getting in the way of your customers.
Not having fine expensive jewelry, at the better shows you are competing for fewer spaces in your category. Using glass cases gives the jurors the impression that your work is more expensive than if you have everything sitting out on the tables. You can balance your presentation using some glass cases with a few pieces on top of next to the cases for people to pick up and handle.
I'm not a jeweler but can make some suggestions. Starting from the ground up. Either take the wrinkles out of the fabric table covers or use wood panels so it looks perfect. Hang a few large photos of your jewelry to draw people into the booth. I would also reverse the way your display is set up. Sit or work on the inside of a "U" or "L" arrangement of your tables. That way you can respond to questions (or sales) from anywhere within your booth without getting in the way of your customers.
Not having fine expensive jewelry, at the better shows you are competing for fewer spaces in your category. Using glass cases gives the jurors the impression that your work is more expensive than if you have everything sitting out on the tables. You can balance your presentation using some glass cases with a few pieces on top of next to the cases for people to pick up and handle.
Replies
Lindsay Pless said:
Larry Berman said:
http://bermangraphics.com/artshows/booth-banners.htm
Larry Berman
Digital Jury Services
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100
I have a very mixed media display, but for the jewelry that I engrave, I make sure it is well lit! Lighting helps so much in grabbing attention and showing off details.
I'm also a jewelry designer and know how expensive it can be to 'better your booth look' for better shows. I'm still in the process of doing that and have made so many mistakes over the past year and it costs money for sure. Luckily I've been able to sell the props I end up not using to other artists.
I think what Larry means is if those are table skirts you are using, they should hang perfectly even and not droop or drag on the ground or floor. If you look at his photo in his link of the booth where he removed the wrinkles in the tablecloths with Photo Shop, it gives a much more elegant look. Table skirts can be very pretty but they have to hang right and have enough folds in them to look right.
As for using display cases or not, it's been my experience that those that have very expensive jewelry use cases but if you're prices are in the 'below $150' price, it's not necessary to have things in cases as they can still be elegantly displayed.
I've seen jewelry booths where some ornate display pieces are used and getting some large photos made to hang in your booth is an excellent idea to draw the customer in. I'm hoping to do that myself.....just have to figure out where to have it done where I live.
There's one jewelry artist I met at a show whose work was just gorgeous and all out on display pieces. Her theme was gold........all gold............all white display pieces, gold table cloths and skirts, beautiful ornate gold lamps for lighting, some other gold ornate display pieces.........it didn't seem as if that much money was spent, it was just the clever placement of each display piece with the lighting that made the entire booth really flow.
Wow I need to really work on my display thanks to Larry's suggestions.......Thank You Larry!
Larry Berman
Digital Jury Services
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100
Larry Berman said:
Not having fine expensive jewelry, at the better shows you are competing for fewer spaces in your category. Using glass cases gives the jurors the impression that your work is more expensive than if you have everything sitting out on the tables. You can balance your presentation using some glass cases with a few pieces on top of next to the cases for people to pick up and handle.
I have a few example jewelry booth photographs in the booth section of my web site. Scroll down on this page:
http://bermangraphics.com/artshows/booth-slide.htm
Larry Berman
Digital Jury Services
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100