I’m exhibiting at the California Gift Show in Los Angeles this week as part of the Beckman’s West Handcrafted division, and I made this little video to showcase some of my favorite booth design secrets.
My booth has evolved a lot since I started doing trade shows, but I’ve finally settled on a display that works for me. (Though this particular booth is actually a modified version of my main New York Gift booth.)
There are a few other things about my booth that didn’t make it on the video but are also really key. (If you’re reading this post via RSS, you may have to click through to see the video.)
The first is that the shipping crates that double as display tables also have one more added feature – they have plenty of hidden storage! This is great for stashing order writing supplies, line sheets, and of course drinks and snacks.
The second is that every display fixture in my booth is custom and handmade. (Either by my husband or myself.) I think that there are plenty of different solutions when it comes to show displays (hello, Ikea!) but I love the idea of having handmade, unique fixtures to compliment handmade unique products. Plus, when you make your own displays, whether it’s tables or smaller fixtures, you aren’t limited by traditional sizes and availability.
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Want to learn more about setting up a great trade show booth? Check out my best selling class on Creative Live, Sell Your Products to Retailers.
Great display! I love the idea of using the crates as part of the display and the floating wall. Thank you for sharing.
I really loved the use of the wall. Even though I wont be packing my own floating wall around, I am going to look into using decals- What an awesome way to showcase your items! Thank you for sharing-
I actually didn’t lug the floating wall there myself – it was something I had the show install for me!
I love your display tables/shipping crates – Clever!!
The shipping crates look great! Love the finish on them. They really compliment your booth design. Also, I agree, images of your product as it’s meant to be used is a great tool to help a buyer visualize how the merchandise should look.
My secret:
I was in big debate over whether to use hard walls or curtains for my show booth design. Since I sell artwork meant to be hung up, hard walls made sense, but I’m new to this for my first show and wasn’t ready to invest in a whole system. I went with curtains for ease and value. They ended up looking really great. I had them professionally sewn with grommets and hooks already attached. I used a really heavy weight canvas which hung straight and stretched taught. Put them up, a quick steam using a portable steamer and, in my humble opinion, it looked great. Transport and storage is simple. My curtain walls were so easy to put up and take down that I was pretty much all packed up before some of my neighbors even had their first screws out.
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Lots of great ideas… very inspiring, makes me feel like a trade show in the future would be attainable. The floating wall is brilliant, as is the shipping crate as display.
The shipping crate/display table idea is genius! So if I’m understanding correctly, you actually shipped those crates through the mail? I would worry about any damages to the crates during the shipping process, which would affect the way they look as a display. But they seemed to hold up beautifully! Maybe you put them into a bigger box or crate? Thanks for sharing those tips!
Wow, those are some fantastic tips! I’m in the process of working my way up to my first show, so unfortunately I don’t have any of my own ideas to share. I work in original paintings and prints, and one look I think works really well are draping clothes lines across your walls and then pinning up your art. I think it’s such a fun, retro look! Thanks for the great advice, Megan!
really love your handmade displays, especially the necklace holders. i have a craft fair in 2 weeks and am still brainstorming display ideas. this post really helps w/ inspiration!
Great great tips, Megan! The booth looks soooo lovely!
I get consistent compliments on my craft show table from customers (many tell me: I love your jewelry but your table is AMAZING) and other crafters alike. My biggest tip for trade shows/craft shows is: LESS IS MORE! Megan, you’ve obviously mastered this in your booth–amazing use of white space to showcase the product. But it’s easy to accomplish this even if you’re not doing a big trade show booth.
Take some product off your table. It allows customers to REALLY see what you’re offering and keeps them from getting overwhelmed when they are perusing your table. It also gives the impression of RARITY because when a customer sees just a few things showcased on a table, it seems like there’s only a few of them available, which can increase their urgency to buy. By also removing the amount of things on your table, you convey a more professional, polished look that is always a draw as well.
Great post and video!
I love the simplicity of your stand, it definately makes the striking shapes and lines of your work stan out.
The crates are brilliant, the brink the whole space together, and the height is perfect for buyers.
Love this post! I haven’t done any big trade shows but my craft show booth design includes high tables so customers don’t have to stoop over the see my jewelry. Freestanding mirrors are then at the right height for viewing jewelry on ears and necks. Also everything is completely accessible. No glass or showcases to hinder that impulse, must try, feeling you get when you see something you love! The tables were designed to fit in the trunk of a little Mazda…very compact.
I am so impressed with your shipping/display crate! My grandmother (a die hard yankee who believes that everything should have double duty and be a hard worker) would be so impressed, lol.
Good luck with the shows!
Megan, your booth looks great! I love that its very clean and simple. Is the space with the table and chairs off to your side in the video also yours? Love the floating wall and Love your shipping/display cases. This aesthetic works well for you but could easily be modified for a slightly different (less industrial/raw) look. Kudos and thanks for sharing the behind the scenes!
Love you once, love you still. Always have, and always will.I’m not suoepspd to love you, I’m not suoepspd to care. I’m not suoepspd to live my life wishing you were there. I’m not suoepspd to wonder where you are or what you do. I’m sorry I just can’t help myself, I fell in love with you.A million words couldn’t bring you back, I know because I’ve tried. Neither could a million tears, I know because I’ve cried.Relationships are like glass. Sometimes it’s better to leave them broken than try to hurt yourself putting it back together.Someday you’ll love me. Someday you’ll care. Someday you’ll treasure the moments we’ve shared. Someday you’ll learn, love is not a game. Then you’ll realize, I’m not the same. My heart will have left you, my love will have died. Then you’ll realize the tears I’ve cried. Someday you’ll love, someday you’ll care, someday you’ll want me and I won’t be there.
It’s interesting seeing how other people come up with display for their booth. I admit to being guilty of buying almost everything for mine at Ikea. I’m so impressed that you made all of yours!
Love your display ideas. I like the mats under each item, the cones for each necklace. I like how uncluttered your display looks. Sorry but I may have to copy those ideas, hope you do not mind.
Eryka Garbutt Designs
Great booth! I hope it was a good show for you! It was fun meeting one of my favorite bloggers in person!!!
Genius shipping crates!!! I will steal that idea 🙂 Fortunately I also have a very handy husband. I love the idea of a “handmade” booth/display. Your booth looks amazing!
I love the shipping crates. I’ll need to think of something to give our tables some height. The cones are great too. What are they? Check out the pendant display my Mom made (with the help of my Dad) This rack can display about 60- 70 pendants. I’m so glad they are handy and thought of this. http://littlebitsoftime.com/?p=185
Thanks for the tips!
Megan your blog is AWESOME! Thanks so much for all the tips! I love the idea of using shipping crates for display, and I am curious – what do you do about the inevitable scuffs and scratches? Do you just bring a little paint and touch them up?
Also, would you be willing to share the materials your floating wall is made of? I love how it enables you to have such a nice clean space, since you can store all the extraneous “junk” behind it.
Again, thanks for sharing what you do!
I love your idea of using your shipping crates as your display tables, very clever!! I’ve been wanting to go the wholesale route but recently had a set back. I’m having to find alternate sources of funding for my first show. I’m not giving up, just might not happen this year.
Any suggestions?
Megan,
Thank you! This site is so informative and I really loved this video. When I set up my first show I scoured the internet for photos and video of crafting booths and it’s rare to see a top notch display with innovative ideas like this. I hope you’ll follow up with more posts about the national gift shows you’re doing, what works, what doesn’t, and all you learned by participating in them. I haven’t taken that leap yet, but I wonder if it’s been huge for you. Seems like a real opportunity to take a jewelry business to the next level. Thanks again for your work!
Sincerely,
Sarah Jane
(owner/designer http://www.lifeisrosey.com)
Thanks for sharing that crate trick … Another Awesome Answer!
Thanks for sharing this video–I don’t do trade shows any longer, but I really appreciated what you said about making your shipping boxes into display cases. My version of that was to design a modular booth made of square panels that were the size of a shipping palette and attached in the back with bolts and nuts. Two panels made up the height of the wall and I had about a dozen of them so there were some slight variations I could do on the floorplan when I was in the mood.
good luck at the shows!
Such a stunning booth! Now I’m sketching ideas for my own dual-duty crate display. Thanks for the inspiration!
I love your display, especially the display crates!
My first hint for anyone doing their first show is to read your ebook! Honestly, it helped me out so much!
I’ve tried to keep my design simple and sleek and allowing a lot of room for buyers to look without feeling cramped. But it’s also important to have your booth stand out from the rest with an interesting design.
I also ship everything down so I use Ikea furniture as it’s all flatpacked and easy to assemble and then take apart at the end.
What I’ve learned from last time is to make the product stand out a little more (I had a number of buyers comment that they came into my booth because they loved the design and were curious about what I was selling as they couldn’t tell from the aisle), so I’m adding a digital picture frame that will have images of the jewellery and also some more products that people can pick up and touch.
I hope you don’t mind me adding a link… here’s my booth from last years show;
http://kimonoreincarnate.blogspot.com/2010/08/booth-design.html
Megan,
Thanks for the great tips and the video. It’s always helpful to see everything in action and your set-up is great. We’re preparing to head back to the National Stationery Show this May and are looking forward to creating a more permanent display vs. disposable item. The shipping crates doing double duty as display pieces is genius!
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