Merchanting Blog: re doing my displays
i have been trying to avoid this for some time.. re doing my display that is...
but the last few events i have been forced to realize that my display looked AWFUL.. and its because i literally cannot lift or move my old displays without help.
heck i cant load and unload them from the CAR without help
if loading my (wonderful lovely friendly useful) gridwall into the show wipes me out, i can hardly do much sales.. and if i leave it at home because i cant load it it doesnt help me much.
used to be that wayne could load and unload it easily, but with his health so far gone, and not even able to go to most shows, thats no longer an option.
so...i have to grit my teeth and re do my display set up again, preferably without spending TOO much
so, i pretty much do two types of shows.. the ones where i am taking primarily beads and other supplies, (with jewelry added)
and the ones where i take jewelry and finished goods and almost no supplies.
obviously they have slightly different display needs, and different customers.
for the moment let me concentrate on the "jewelry and finished goods" shows....
1. getting serious height/vertical space
so, first of all, i have to find a way to either replace the gridwall or do without it.
gridwall isnt optimal for jewelry in any case....and its too bulky and heavy to transport for MOST shows. (obviously if i have serious help in unloading and set up/breakdown that is an exception)
i do have some folding shelves painted white that can go on top of a sturdy table to get some height. they are marginally lighter than gridwall, and slightly more convenient to pack....
i have seen some PVC set ups to hang banners or lights from that looked pretty nice... and PVC pipe can be broken down into manageable sections...
i HAVE white cardboard risers.... they provide "stair steps" that displays can go on. they pack well and are light, but look pretty cheesy... i may need to experiment with decorating/painting and decoupaging them. i should be able to find a way to do that that allows a wide range of show uses....
2. risers/decor items/specialty display.
i need something to vary the height and add visual interest within that display that ISNT a uniform shelf or riser.. something to break up the monotony. it has to be light, portable, and preferably usable across multiple TYPES of shows. while still being strong enough to be functional as some part of the display.
what i have is some picture frames, and some interchangeable pictures... i plan on carefully punching holes in the pictures so i can actually display jewelry on the images (most of the images are old fashion illustrations. but i would like to do so in such a way that they are not "one trick pony" displays.
i may also put some window screen in front of a backing image to attach jewelry to.. will have to work on this one.
this will have to be packed in with my table covers because the frames are too big to go in most of my other tubs.
i also have, and just got a couple more on sale, of those decorative cardboard "trunks" and boxes. i plan on getting them in sizes and etc to nest, so they pack within each other. they can then be un nested and used as risers of varying heights.
i need to experiment on one of my older and less usable ones with thumbtacks and glue to see if i can make them into displays suitable to hang jewelry from the inside of the opened box... its worth a try but i don't want to destroy a good box. luckily i have some older banged up ones to practice on.
3. classic jewelry displays
oy
this is one of the trouble areas.
the stuff that packs down FLAT and small doesnt look good. the stuff that looks good doesnt pack well.
sigh
i found a few plans for building some necklace and bracelet T bar stands out of PVC pipe that look promising... i really need to look into that because frankly the regular t bars dont pack well.
neck forms are the band of my existence.
they are bulky, they take up a really awkward space in a box... but they show off the jewelry well. the pop up neck forms i have just dont look as nice as the 3 D displays.
argh
i suspect i may just have to grit my teeth on bulk on this one, but i REALLY need to find a better answer.
4. general display , color schemes, etc.
in addition i have seriously been considering moving to a wood tone and linen display rather than a black and white
my display thus far has been primarily black and white with a limited number of wood pieces.
if i kept my white trays with the linen inserts (already have these)
and started slowly replacing the black and white displays with wood or linen... i think it would look very nice, but it might lose out on the clean lines....
it would, however, potentially play well in the transition between SCA/steampunk/mainstream jewelry show.
so i need to consider how to do this without it costing too much. i suspect it may be just slowly adding more wood to the mix.
lighting
i like Ott lights. (daylight /full spectrum bulbs) they give a truer color on the stones and etc. i have a TON of them. they are, however not always easy to set up inconspicuously.
the prettier ones are heavy and bulky.
the lighter and easier to pack dont always work well for display.
a quandary
now i did see a nice option using what appeared to be adjustable track lighting, attached to a PVC pipe, which was then part of the "overhead bar" attached to a table display. if i can figure out how to do that and make it work i think that would be lovely. unobtrusive and usable.. but i need to figure out how it works. this will require a few hours spent in a home center , preferably with out a head cold.
oh yes, and i think i need to look into repairing or replacing my second rolling jewelry case (the silver colored hard sided case i use) since at least they have integral wheels.
please feel free to jump in with comments, suggestions and so on.
remember the ground rules though!
my goal is a show set up that can be completely loaded, unloaded, set up, worked with and then taken home BY ME with minimal to no assistance, in a reasonable amount of time, without exhausting me.
yes this may be impossible.
but anything that is MORE bulky, or heavier, no matter how beautiful, than my existing display stuff is automatically out of the question.
after all, the problem is i cannot use my current show set up!
PS. this also sadly means minimal or no glass.. as glass is very very heavy and when it breaks its dangerous. i will keep my nice glass mirrors, but any suggestions that involve glass vases or etc as a major part of the display will not work FOR ME. they used to, a long time ago.. but that isnt now. :(
but the last few events i have been forced to realize that my display looked AWFUL.. and its because i literally cannot lift or move my old displays without help.
heck i cant load and unload them from the CAR without help
if loading my (wonderful lovely friendly useful) gridwall into the show wipes me out, i can hardly do much sales.. and if i leave it at home because i cant load it it doesnt help me much.
used to be that wayne could load and unload it easily, but with his health so far gone, and not even able to go to most shows, thats no longer an option.
so...i have to grit my teeth and re do my display set up again, preferably without spending TOO much
so, i pretty much do two types of shows.. the ones where i am taking primarily beads and other supplies, (with jewelry added)
and the ones where i take jewelry and finished goods and almost no supplies.
obviously they have slightly different display needs, and different customers.
for the moment let me concentrate on the "jewelry and finished goods" shows....
1. getting serious height/vertical space
so, first of all, i have to find a way to either replace the gridwall or do without it.
gridwall isnt optimal for jewelry in any case....and its too bulky and heavy to transport for MOST shows. (obviously if i have serious help in unloading and set up/breakdown that is an exception)
i do have some folding shelves painted white that can go on top of a sturdy table to get some height. they are marginally lighter than gridwall, and slightly more convenient to pack....
i have seen some PVC set ups to hang banners or lights from that looked pretty nice... and PVC pipe can be broken down into manageable sections...
i HAVE white cardboard risers.... they provide "stair steps" that displays can go on. they pack well and are light, but look pretty cheesy... i may need to experiment with decorating/painting and decoupaging them. i should be able to find a way to do that that allows a wide range of show uses....
2. risers/decor items/specialty display.
i need something to vary the height and add visual interest within that display that ISNT a uniform shelf or riser.. something to break up the monotony. it has to be light, portable, and preferably usable across multiple TYPES of shows. while still being strong enough to be functional as some part of the display.
what i have is some picture frames, and some interchangeable pictures... i plan on carefully punching holes in the pictures so i can actually display jewelry on the images (most of the images are old fashion illustrations. but i would like to do so in such a way that they are not "one trick pony" displays.
i may also put some window screen in front of a backing image to attach jewelry to.. will have to work on this one.
this will have to be packed in with my table covers because the frames are too big to go in most of my other tubs.
i also have, and just got a couple more on sale, of those decorative cardboard "trunks" and boxes. i plan on getting them in sizes and etc to nest, so they pack within each other. they can then be un nested and used as risers of varying heights.
i need to experiment on one of my older and less usable ones with thumbtacks and glue to see if i can make them into displays suitable to hang jewelry from the inside of the opened box... its worth a try but i don't want to destroy a good box. luckily i have some older banged up ones to practice on.
3. classic jewelry displays
oy
this is one of the trouble areas.
the stuff that packs down FLAT and small doesnt look good. the stuff that looks good doesnt pack well.
sigh
i found a few plans for building some necklace and bracelet T bar stands out of PVC pipe that look promising... i really need to look into that because frankly the regular t bars dont pack well.
neck forms are the band of my existence.
they are bulky, they take up a really awkward space in a box... but they show off the jewelry well. the pop up neck forms i have just dont look as nice as the 3 D displays.
argh
i suspect i may just have to grit my teeth on bulk on this one, but i REALLY need to find a better answer.
4. general display , color schemes, etc.
in addition i have seriously been considering moving to a wood tone and linen display rather than a black and white
my display thus far has been primarily black and white with a limited number of wood pieces.
if i kept my white trays with the linen inserts (already have these)
and started slowly replacing the black and white displays with wood or linen... i think it would look very nice, but it might lose out on the clean lines....
it would, however, potentially play well in the transition between SCA/steampunk/mainstream jewelry show.
so i need to consider how to do this without it costing too much. i suspect it may be just slowly adding more wood to the mix.
lighting
i like Ott lights. (daylight /full spectrum bulbs) they give a truer color on the stones and etc. i have a TON of them. they are, however not always easy to set up inconspicuously.
the prettier ones are heavy and bulky.
the lighter and easier to pack dont always work well for display.
a quandary
now i did see a nice option using what appeared to be adjustable track lighting, attached to a PVC pipe, which was then part of the "overhead bar" attached to a table display. if i can figure out how to do that and make it work i think that would be lovely. unobtrusive and usable.. but i need to figure out how it works. this will require a few hours spent in a home center , preferably with out a head cold.
oh yes, and i think i need to look into repairing or replacing my second rolling jewelry case (the silver colored hard sided case i use) since at least they have integral wheels.
please feel free to jump in with comments, suggestions and so on.
remember the ground rules though!
my goal is a show set up that can be completely loaded, unloaded, set up, worked with and then taken home BY ME with minimal to no assistance, in a reasonable amount of time, without exhausting me.
yes this may be impossible.
but anything that is MORE bulky, or heavier, no matter how beautiful, than my existing display stuff is automatically out of the question.
after all, the problem is i cannot use my current show set up!
PS. this also sadly means minimal or no glass.. as glass is very very heavy and when it breaks its dangerous. i will keep my nice glass mirrors, but any suggestions that involve glass vases or etc as a major part of the display will not work FOR ME. they used to, a long time ago.. but that isnt now. :(