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Bowl display in a booth

T

tom Obourn

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Apr 29, 2004
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I am interested what others are using to display turned forms in a 10 by 10 tent setting.My display is mostly bowl forms medium to large.

I interested in having a professional display that is easy to put up and take down .
Presently I have used ,for 6 years,1 /2 Bu wood fruit crates and 1by 12 in. boards to build display . All are painted black. I can quickly build a display area by laying crated on side and putting boards on top and doing this until I have four layers. It works fairly well but could be a lot more professional looking.

I would be interested to learn how others have approached this problem .

If shows don't get any better than the one I did last weekend at a high end venue I may not need display area.

Thanks ,

Tom Obourn

Tom Obourn
 
Three types of displays come to mind, Tom.

The easiest and quickest is table displays with various small boxes as display stands. Standard fold out picnic tables work fine or you can build narrower ones yourself. Cover with a nice table cloth or sewn cover that drapes to the ground. Place your little display boxes on top (after painting of course) and arrainge bowls on top of them. A black tablecloth and darkly colored boxes works nice. Breakdown freestanding shelving on top can extend the display space.

Second, are you familiar with ladder shelves? Basically, they are an A frame with shelves instead of steps. The back ladder leg is perpindicular to the ground to reduce space taken. Display one large, a medium and small, or 3 small bowls per shelf. Once again, a nice, dark stained color works nice.

Third and most involved, I'm sure you've seen folks with the large, wire mesh display walls. Two of these to bracket one corner of your booth with, once again, a nice dark cover cloth and a variety of appropriately sized floating shelves will display 8-20 bowls depending on size. Looks pretty cool too, with the shelves just floating out from the wall and the attachment gear covered by the cloth. Include a few small tables and you're all set.

Regardless of which style or combination you use, you want a prefab setup with a bit of flexibility built in, that you can just drop in and go, designed for you needs. Look around at the other booths and remember that "slick sells". Jazz it up with some shavings, some partially turned logs, a nice photo portfolio with descriptions tracking the making of a nice bowl that you have there from tree to bowl, things like that. A nice, professionally lettered (calligraphy is nice) sign is a good thing too.

Good luck,
dietrich
 
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Tom

So far I only do a few craft shows each year and include my Dad's flat work in the display (hobby horses, toys, etc.). I keep my bowl prices close to what they would be at the little gallery I am in or lower the price of stuff that hasn't sold there. Mostly I sell bottle stoppers and baby rattles at these craft shows. These shows are local (festival/street fairs)so I can ussually get my space close to a house where I know the owner where I can run an extention cord. If I can make that deal I bring my Mini and turn stoppers, it attracts attention and helps sell. It does make nieghbors mad sometimes. The two festivals I have done this at I have been chairman of in the past so all the volunteers know me and owe me favors so I get away with it.

Back to your question. I was in a Kohl's store recently and saw how they display platters and bowls on adjustable stands which hold mulitple units. I have Dad working on some for my display gear. Two mitered boards as a base with dowels that stick up to support the product.

Frank
 
dkulze said:
Third and most involved, I'm sure you've seen folks with the large, wire mesh display walls. Two of these to bracket one corner of your booth with, once again, a nice dark cover cloth and a variety of appropriately sized floating shelves will display 8-20 bowls depending on size. Looks pretty cool too, with the shelves just floating out from the wall and the attachment gear covered by the cloth. Include a few small tables and you're all set.
Click to expand...
http://www.propanels.com/
Makes ladders and mesh walls
 
What I use is a folding 6 ft table at the back of the display for my larger and more expensive items, also my book work. For the rest a quick stop at Wally Wolrd and you can pick up some plastic shelving of various sizes. I don't worry about table cloths except on the table in back as I store boxes etc. under it. Also use something plain, your trying to attract attention to your work not the fancy table cloth. I try to keep lower dollar stuff up front and have the price increase as you move to the rear of the tent. I will several times during the show re-arrange the display as pieces are sold, moved around or looked at frequently. If you have wind to deal with 5 gal. water jugs to hold the tent. For the shelves I bring along several pieces of rough wood (large) in the various stages of turning and put them on the bottom shelf for weight. You can dress that up to by including some of your tools as people really seem to enjoy seeing and hearing about the process and tools used. The shows I have done seem to indicate that a 4 to 1 mix in product. That being 4 under $75 to 1 over $100. I have set 80 pieces using the table and 4 sets of the shelving, 2-large and 2 of the smaller ones with plenty of room to mill around.

Good Luck,
Frank D.
 
Bowl Displays - Sono Tubes

Yep good old cement form Sono Tubes. Get various diameters so that you can nest them. Make bottoms from plywood or particle board and screw thm inside the tubes (after appropriate sizing of course. Make the tops easily removable (turn them with a groove to catch the top "lip". When transporting, take tops off. Nest smallest into next smallest, place lid inside. Repwat with nex largest, etc. Keep going. Soon you will have a nest of sono tubes. The tubes themselves can be covered in various materials and/or painted for effect. Set up is quick and easy as is tear down. Plus, you may even store items inside the inner most tube in complete security.
 
I think we spend as much time at shows looking at other displays and coming up with the "perfect" display as we do thinking of new approaches to our work. It is all a balance of cost, speed in setting up, flexibility, visual impact, professionalism, atractivness, etc. We have tried several ideas and now use a modified ladder approach mostly, like Dietrich talked about.

On a separate note but a follow-up to something you said- we have been working fine craft/arts shows for more than 25 years with a 10 year break in the middle when the kids were little. We still make money off some unique items and a little off of the usual woodturnings but not like we did years ago. Not sure of the reason, maybe it's too much competition or the economy, but it's struggle some shows to make it worth the trouble. These sometimes are shows we have done for many years at a big profit. I think it is also because there are so many more shows today than there was years ago. Don't want this to sound like one of the "good old days" replies, just an observation on the business of business. Thank goodness we make some unique stuff that galleries still move pretty good for us.
 
Nice, Anthony. It's a simple set-up that shows off the work without being artsy or cluttered. The tablecloth covers the mess and gives space for a little private storage on-site.

I've not done the craft show circuits (yet), but I know the importance of an attractive display. We're involved in other areas where we often have a table for our ministry wares. A little creative use of fabric on a plain-jane table and you can have a really special space. Special spaces draw folks so that they can see your special wares. Location is important, but appearance is, too. Cluttered, thrown-together, half-hearted attempts at display send a message to your potential clientele. What is your display booth saying???
 
A good friend of mine decided to go full time with her woodturning a few years ago, and works the crafts and art show circuit pretty solidly. She found it difficult to get back what she is investing simply due to low sales volume.

My friend does beautiful and unique work that is very accessable to all tastes. She also prices stuff very reasonably. Her report is that many of the other participants she speaks to are confirming that sales just aren't what they used to be. Lots of window shoppers.

What I've drawn from this is that, if you can get into the fairs free or cheap (as a demonstrator is how we do it), it's fun and an a nice hobby income. If you're doing it for your main or solid secondary income, it's really tough to clear much more than the booth fee out there these days. Read up on the Mahoney article in the last Woodturner magazine. Was quite good.

Dietrich
 
Thanks for replys to display

I want to thank all who replied to my concern on booth display ideas.
There were some very good ideas and I will be able to apply some of the sugestions to my situation.

I also read the Mahoney article in the Journal plus I recently completed a week course at Anderson Ranch with Mike.

Again thanks for the sugestions and information.

Tom Obourn
 
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