Display panels for show

[Terry Curtis]

I'm looking for suggestions/recommendations on hanging display items in a show booth. I've looked at Pro Panels and would prefer not to spend the money on them at this point in my sales career. I'd love suggestions on how those of you that are doing shows display your wall art/mirrors/etc.

thanks for your help
terry curtis

[Judd]

I got a Mexican metal tri-fold room divider. I cut the hinges off, drilled holes for threaded rod, covered the rods in 1/2" pipe, and slid the rods into the holes. At least once a year, someone asks me to make one for them. The answer is always no.

[Laurie Spray]

So many street artists have given up doing shows. I am sure there are plenty in basements etc. Maybe a "wanted" on Craig's list?

[Morganica]

The "gallery walls" and niches are 1/4 inch plywood zip-tied to plain old Rubbermaid storage shelves on 3 sides. The 4th side (in back) is used for storing supplies and extra inventory.

We made the niches by laying a board across the center shelves of two units and zip-tying it to the sideboards. We drilled holes into the plywood, put machine bolts through the holes and wing-nutted them in place for very sturdy hangers. The shelves on the walls are wood boxes attached to brackets. It looked really good, and it breaks down and stores almost flat.

Downside is it's really intended for showcasing only a few pieces at a time; if you want to display hundreds of small glass items it is the wrong setup.

At some point I will blog the details but it's not that hard to figure out. If you count the cost of 3 new shelving units (and without the lights), we spent probably $250 for the setup: (3) 72" shelving units, 5 sheets of underlayment plywood, two shelves, zip ties, big roll of 2" masking tape, paint, nuts, bolts and wing nuts.

[Marty]

3 negatives to that booth- no floor covering, walls should be at least 7' tall, need to come out on the sides to enclose the booth a little.

[Morganica]

3 negatives to that booth- no floor covering, walls should be at least 7' tall, need to come out on the sides to enclose the booth a little.

Thanks for the insights. We'd decided to fix at least two of those already--the walls definitely need to be taller, if only because we need a place on top to conceal cords and things, above the shelves. It would definitely increase the presence. We'd decided against any floor covering, but it was pretty obvious at the show that we needed it.

On the third--hadn't considered enclosing the booth a bit more but we weren't exactly sure what we'd encounter with the location--it changed from what we expected. I'd agree that it could have used some grounding. If this is used outside, we need to think about an outdoor tent, which I guess would manage that.

Actually there are a number of things we want to change to make this a real booth system. We'll probably hinge the front/sides of newer/taller panels to speed setup and make the joints easier to conceal, we want to add moulding or something top and bottom to both fortify and give some definition to the "walls," we want to unify the walls with the display table at right somehow, we want to figure out how to make this work in other configurations. (This is 5x20 feet, but it's more usually to have 10x10, for example).

[Terry Curtis]

Thank you for the suggestions. we are planning our booth design. We have the pedestals but need to figure out how to display mirrors and other wall hangings. I'll give Craigs List a look. I also like Cynthia's process but we'll see how to do it taller like Marty suggests

[Eryc F.]

I built walls for my booth that consisted of white-painted wood, in sections. Each section is 5' across, and about 6' high - fit into a pickup, and not too heavy. Framed out in the top half and bottom half of each section are two "boxes" for displaying glass. I hang some shear fabric behind if I'm up against another booth. And I use a freestanding triangle frame in the front for large pieces.

[Marty]

If you use painted panels, make sure you paint both sides (the back can get away with just primer).
I didn't and had to watch my panels slowly warp over a 4 day show.

[Eryc F.]

Thanks Marty! Yep, it's treated lumber, and painted on all sides! I'm also going to hang VERY sheer white curtains on the outside of three sides that will allow light, but that you can't see the booths next to or behind me (if any are there).