Well, this year is the year that I'm going to try out some Florida shows since my application was finally accepted to the Coconut Grove Arts Festival. Since I just updated my website, you can see my show schedule online as well.
I'm less than 3 weeks away from my Florida trip. My boyfriend and his dad left a week ago to drive since they are sculptors and are doing more shows to make the whole cross country trip worthwhile. I'm lucky enough that part of my display could fit in their van, mainly my booth, weights, signs, drapes, and 3 small folding tables (which are rather short), which means that I can fly with the rest of my display, inventory, and other sales and clothing essentials.
In early November I did a show in Sacramento where I set up my booth like this, where the jewelry was pushed out close to the aisle:
This sort of setup would be possible to replicate with folding tables and drapes, although I won't have my cases. Honestly, I really didn't like being behind the wall of cases. I couldn't figure out how to naturally hand jewelry to someone looking. I also just didn't like being separated from my customers; in general I like standing near them and pointing out things so we can engage together. And it's easier to access mirrors in an open booth.
I modified my booth for a show in San Francisco, which was much more successful, but I'm afraid that without my columns, shelving, and cases, trying to recreate this setup with folding tables will look too much like a yardsale.
So I'm thinking of creating an island of tables with some hanging panels in the middle of my booth that I can display jewelry on. I want some of it to look like art pieces yet not be daunting on display. I have no idea quite how to achieve this (I'm thinking frosted plexi to not block too much light?), but it's all I can come up with as an interesting concept that would be easy to fly with. I'll have to make sure I don't block the visual on my jewelry too much if I'm going back to no cases... I want the jewelry to be touched, enjoyed, and tried on but not stolen.
My first step will be to make a mockup panel as a test... I'll keep you posted. Then I will have to create drapes for the tables or some sort of simple covering... Not sure if it should just be the cinnabar color from the sidewalls in my booth or if I should mix in some of the colorful print as well because that's so eyecatching yet not distracting once people are engaged with the jewelry. It adds some fun and flair I think but am open to opinions. Let me know what you think! Do you like the print? Or do you think simple is better?