DISPLAY BOARDS
Displaying and selling my work at a craft fair is something I've wanted to do for a long time, but it seemed like an overwhelmingly time consuming and expensive prospect. When I was presented with a spur of the moment opportunity to have a booth at a brand new art/entertainment venue in downtown Louisville a few weeks ago, I jumped at the chance.
AN EASY DECISION
Deciding to participate in this art show was a no-brainer. The entry fee was only $30, the table & chairs would be provided and no tent was required since the event would take place under a covered area (in a court yard under a bridge).
The fact that it was a last minute thing strangly added to the appeal for me. This meant that I would have only 2 weeks to make all of my preparations, purchases, and to design and make my entire booth set-up. This time crunch was actually a good thing because there was no time to sit around and stress out over how much work there was to be done. I simply had to spring into action, which is exactly what I did...
MY FIRST ITEM ON THE AGENDA
I started with the most challenging & time consuming element of the project: to design and make my table top display boards. I needed somewhere to hang and display my embroidery hoops and wall art. This is what the display boards needed to do:
- re-create the effect of my pieces hanging on a wall (without a wall)
- give some height to my table top displays
- show off my goods from a distance
- draw some traffic to my booth
THE DESIGN
First, I came up with a triangular, tripod design for the boards. To create the structures, I immediatly thought of the cardboard that I'd been hoarding in my basement (I knew that I'd eventually have a use for that!).
CORDUROY MAKES EVERYTHING BETTER
After the structural element was taken care of, I just needed to find something to cover & beautify the cardboard with. Corduroy seemed like the obvious choice to me since I frequently incorporate it into my designs and it seemed like a perfectly neutral yet interesting backdrop (and frankly I just LOVE CORDUROY!).
Next I needed to find a way to attach & hang the hoops onto the board. This was possibly the most challenging part of the whole project. After several unsuccessful attempts, I ended up using a combination of picture hanging wire & jewelry making supplies.
My final task was to get approval from my studio assistant.
...No complaints there.
Although some improvements and additions will be made to the boards in the future, for my first show, the final product looked pretty decent and did the job.
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