GOOD BOOTHS GONE BAD #20: When to Break the Rules

I’m back from the Westport Creative Arts Festival. It was a beautifully run show, well-managed and supported by the Westport Young Women’s League. They did everything right! Unfortunately, attendance was down, down, down and although I didn’t crash and burn, I did not do well enough to return.

It did give me a chance to see all kinds of booth set-ups, though. I’m here to report that sometimes it’s good to break the rules of good booth design.

One of my favorite booths was Riverstone Jewelry.
It was one that broke several “rules”, to great effect.

The tables were low and deep. There was barely enough room for more than three or four people to browse at a time. There was a lot of work on display.

But it worked.

I’ve been thinking why, and here is my theory:

She created an atmosphere of a true “trunk show”. It felt like she had just returned from a buying trip, set up her well-worn traveling cases in an exotic but peaceful tent in a bazaar, and invited you in to see her new wares.

The backdrops were simple, neutral-colored (sort of beige) but layered–some sort of matchstick blinds over similar-colored material (linen??), very “Thai” or “Bali” looking.

The cases seemed to be old wood cases or boxes, with the jewelry lined up attractively. The items that were laid out in great numbers still worked, too. Bracelets were aligned in rows, but each one was different. Your eye could quickly take in the one or two that jumped out at you, according to your taste. I don’t think they were displayed on black, either, although I now can’t recall the color. More neutral, I think.

And the reason I say “looked” and “seemed” is, all I could really focus on was the jewelry. Everything else was warm and attractive and blended into the theme, then fell away so you only saw the jewelry.

I overheard a little of her sales approach. She told a woman how, in the villages where she buys the components, a shaman consults with you when you are ailing.

Once the source of your ills is determined, special healing amulets are prescribed. You go to a amulet “pharmacy” and purchase the right amulets. The amulets are then made into jewelry for you to wear.

The entire effect was that you were participating in such a healing process. And, as we all feel the need for such care from time to time, it was a compelling notion. People were scouring for just the right piece for healing.

People felt justified in buying more jewelry–“It’s therapeutic!”

And because the experience also felt “exotic” and “traveling to faraway places” and “marketplace”, people seemed to tolerate the crowding better. It was part of the total adventure.

Perfect booth!

So why doesn’t this table set-up work for every booth?

Because here it recreated a specific atmosphere–exotic locale/shaman healing/ancient wisdom/community.

When misused, the recreated atmosphere is “yard sale.”

I also recant (a little) on the booth lighting thing. Sometimes the worst way to light a booth is what works best under the circumstances.

It is really hard to light a booth on 400 watts of electricity! I don’t know how you do it if the fair doesn’t provide any electricity. (There are batteries available for outdoor shows, but most indoor shows don’t allow them.)

My booth was way too dark. Of course, part of my problem is trying to display three different lines that demand three different display modes–2-D (walls), sculptures (shelves/table top) and jewelry (cases).

Under these circumstances, the best-lit booths were indeed the ones that had a rack of track lighting across the top front bar of the booth. Yes, when I turned around, I was blinded by the lights. But if I didn’t have jewelry, too, I would seriously consider doing that just to get enough light into my booth quickly and easily.

The one exception was a guy across from me who had the more-successful light set-up–track lighting on all three sides of his booth, with the track set up about a foot or two away from each wall (my recommended solution.)

But when I counted the lights, I saw he also had at least 9 lamps, and another bar of 4 lamps. Either he was using lower watt lamps or he simply ignored the 400 watt limit. I did find some on-line sources for low watt MR16 halogen bulbs so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. And I will consider these bulbs the next time I have limited electricity.

So remember, there are many good rules to making a great booth. But some rules are made to be broken.

The trick is to know when and how to break them and why.

p.s. Low voltage does not equal low wattage. Low voltage lamps are not the same as low wattage bulbs.

Some craftspeople (and I used to be one of them) think if we are using low-voltage lighting, we can use twice the number of lamps/bulbs in our booth. “I can buy 400 watts, and have 800 watts’ worth of low-voltage lamps in my booth!” we exclaim happily.

NOT.

A common mistake we make is thinking low-voltage lamps use less energy. They do–but not in how much power you’re drawing. The BULBS use less energy, and last longer–and is safer to work with. That’s why low-voltage light systems are increasingly being used in outdoor residential lighting.

Think of electricity as a stream of water, like a hose, coming in your booth. If the nozzle has a wide-spread setting, the stream/current is wide, the power is diffused. If the setting is narrow, the water comes out harder and more powerfully.

But the amount of water coming through is the same.

To figure out how much wattage you’re using at a show, you still have to add the total wattage of your light bulbs. If you have bought 400 watts of power,the total wattage of your bulbs should not exceed 400.

My electrician tried to explain about dividing the total number of watts into the total number of volts in the system for figuring out the actual “draw” on the system, but he lost me several times along the way. When I repeated the above to him, he said, “Yeah, just stick with that.”

MAKE ME BUY IT!

I did some market research this weekend, and threw in a little retail therapy to boot. I went shopping with a friend at a small local craft fair.

My friend is just starting out with a product she wants to make. I wanted her to walk the show with a different filter in mind–to look at how booths were set up, how product was displayed, and how people acted in their booths.

It was an eye-opener.

Afterwards we went out for coffee and discussed our experiences.

There were glaring omissions in the booth set-up, display, lighting areas.

But mostly, people had no idea how to sell their work.

I was surprised how little lighting was used. It made me realize that electricity is probably not even offered at most of the smaller fairs like this one. Someone had set up a couple of clamp-on lights, but they were the kind you use for task lighting at home. They were oversized, top-heavy, falling down into the display, and not putting out enough light to produce much effect. The hall was bright, so the lights would mostly have been for drama.

But it made me think how to use what electricity I’ll have at these smaller shows to the best effect.

I was also surprised how poorly delineated most of the booth spaces were. Some people were sharing booths, but many simply looked like they were sharing. That is, it was hard to tell where one booth left off and another vendor’s space started. It was embarrassing to ask a question of someone seated behind a table, and have them glare at me and say, “That’s not MY stuff, ask HIM!” with an angry nod to their more popular neighbor.

That made me realize that even a very modest “walling” of my booth will have a huge effect. The lack of a fully walled booth will not hurt me much at this kind of show. I’ll think of other ways to create a secluded environment in my space.

I don’t think any of the booths had any kind of flooring, and in this environment, that was not detrimental.

People seemed to have either too much display stuff, or too little. Too little–product simply laid out on a plain table top, like a flea market. Too much–we couldn’t tell what was product and what was display! As an example we didn’t actually see at the show, if I see ten different kinds of wooden drying racks with mittens pinned to them, I would like to know instantly if mittens are being sold, or drying racks. Or if you are actually selling the clips holding the mittens to the drying racks. Or you are selling a decorative item which consists of a faux drying rack with fake mittens…..

I noticed most booths had very little signage, or poorly utilized signage. One person had a tiny booth filled with her goods–too filled, as there was only room for one person at a time to actually be in the space. (And once you were in there, you were keenly aware of other people behind you waiting for you to leave so they could look, too.) No pricing anywhere. When I finally asked how much an item was, the artist pointed to a handwritten sign stuck off the the side with the price of everything in the booth carefully listed on it. Like I’m going to stand in the booth skimming the list looking for the item I’m thinking of with that crowd muttering behind me….

I realize I will be a totally new vendor at the smaller retail shows I’m doing, with a brand new audience. I must be sure everything is clearly priced, and that my signage quickly tells my story.

I saw the person who makes “a little bit of everything”, including some items that were obviously buy-sell–which inadvertently made me question everything else in her booth.

I realize that, though I have no idea which of my “lines” will appeal the most at my upcoming shows, it will still be better to streamline them into a few cohesive lines. Or to group things in a way that makes sense and hangs together, yet still offers enough variety and choice.

Most of the vendors would stare at us as we shopped. You could almost hear their thoughts over the din of the crowd: “Buy something buy something buy something oh please dear god BUY SOMETHING!!” The men were the worst–they would stand there either with their ams folded or their hands in their pockets, staring or talking nonstop.

But not saying the things that would encourage us to buy.

I started a little experiment. I actually started selling stuff for them.

“You have to try this cream!” I exclaimed to my friend. “I’ve been using it for years. It is absolutely the only thing I’ve found that works on my dry feet.” I went over the things I liked about it. I have to tell you, the packaging on this stuff looks like it was designed by the tractor company, John Deere. There is no schmoozing of the product in the packaging or anything. But I buy it because I know and like the vendor and because it works. Slowly, a small crowd formed around us. My friend was impressed with my testimonial, and bought some herself.

I met up with another friend the next day, and she said that show is typical of “shows in Keene.” In Keene, she says, “It’s all about price.” People in Keene just won’t spend money.Well, I have been in some homes in Keene over the years (!!!) and I’m here to tell you, people here have just as much money to spend, and inclination to do so, as people anywhere else.

Here’s proof:

We looked at some beautiful wood boxes, which my friend collects. She admired one square box that turned out to be a sort of night light or lantern. But not until she’d decided to buy it did the guy open it and show her there were multiple panels inside that allowed her to change the scene.

And she had nearly walked out of the show before I convinced her she really should go back to that guy’s booth and look again at his boxes. She almost never knew about those panels.
She almost bought nothing at all, thought she clearly loved the work.

Because I knew how much she wanted those bowls, I urged her to go back. And she ended up spending a nice chunk of change in that booth.

So what was missing for that guy to sell his bowls at that show? I’m sure the guy is convinced that people in Keene just won’t spend money on nice wood bowls.

In fact, my friend I was shopping with had plenty of money to spend, and wanted to do so.  She collects wooden boxes, fercryinoutloud.

But she had talked herself out of buying one. She has “enough”, she “doesn’t need more”. Just what we all tell ourselves when confronted with something we love.

People, it’s not about the price.

I think if you have a remarkable product, and if you price it appropriately, and if you display it nicely, and are able to talk about it intelligently, you can sell it.

My friend needed to have that box pitched to her so she could give herself permission to buy it. She needed someone to tell her that it’s okay to collect boxes. It’s okay to love them. It’s okay to enjoy them. It’s okay to display them. It’s okay to show them to your friends! Heck, I didn’t even know she HAD any wood boxes. I’ve never seen them. (They’re all upstairs in the family’s private quarters, it turns out.)Let me pick on this wood box guy. Because he had a nice product at decent prices.

If I were him…..

Instead of displaying a ton of boxes and bowls on plain lattice shelving, I’d set aside at least one section of a wall for a few beautiful display shelves–NOT unfinished pine, which made the boxes look like cheap pine, too.

I’d put my best pieces here, including the lantern. I’d make it look like it was someone’s private collection of beautiful handmade wood bowls and boxes (which, just coincidentally, all happen to be made by “moi”.) Maybe two or three displays–one for a formal living room, one for a children’s room, or a kitchen.

I bet if he had, my friend would have started thinking, “Wow, that looks beautiful, having all the bowls displayed like that.” And then, “Hmmmm….maybe I could do that in our living room….and another display of my bowls in the kitchen…..?” “Oh, wouldn’t that lantern look nice in my daughter’s bedroom?!” And then…”I could do that, and I would have more display room to buy a few more bowls!”

I’d have a few–a very few–obviously decorative accents–perhaps a few small branches of fir branches, some candlesticks, perhaps a stack of lovely old, well-read children’s books on the “children’s” shelf. The lantern, I’d set up with a light inside, just as it would be used. (If there’s no electricity, I’d get a nine-volt battery and hook it up to a 4-watt light bulb for this purpose.)

I’d have a sign that said “Handcarved lantern–Four gifts in one!” and a little blurb with something like “Perfect gift for that special niece or nephew!” or “Great wedding gift!” or “A housewarming gift they’ll enjoy for years to come!” Maybe even “gift box available!”

I’d either make it very clear there are four panels that are interchangeable, AND they all store neatly inside the lantern when not in use. OR as soon as people seemed hooked on the lantern itself, I’d show them the extra panels. What a finale!

If people still weren’t sure, I’d tell them the story of how my kids always needed a nightlight because they were a little scared of the dark when they were small. But the nightlights were always on the floor in the outlets, and they weren’t very pretty. So I made one that could sit on their table by them at night.  (“Oh, my child/niece/grandchild is afraid of the dark, too–this would be perfect!”)

Or if they don’t have little ones, I share the story of how I made one for our familiy for Christmas, but my wife loved it so much, I made a different panel that could be put in after Christmas, with a different theme–and realized we could now use it year-round. (“Hey, this would be one Christmas decoration I wouldn’t have to pack away every year!”)

And how I’d made one for each of our kids, so they’d always remember our Christmases together.  (“Hey, I could get one for each of my kids!”
And every year, I’d offer another set of 2 to 4 new panels for people to come back and buy. Perhaps even a few limited editions. (“Get ’em now, because there’s only so many of these.”)

When someone new asks if they are good gifts, I’d be able to say, “Yes, not only do people come back to buy more panels every year, they buy MORE–because the people they gave them to like them so much!”

And I’d have a little gift enclosure card to go with each one, telling them about the little retired guy who used to make these for his grandkids and figured other people might like one for their grandkids, and now you can have one for your grandkids. Or sister, or niece, or friend. With a little contact info so they can order new panels from you, too.

Don’t you just want to run out and buy ten of these?!

And for heaven’s sake, I’m not going to tell you I’m going to be at another show in a week and you can get them from me then. And I’m not going to tell you I have a website, either, until AFTER you’ve purchased it. I want you to buy it NOW. I’ll tell you if you realize you could use more of these as gifts later, you can order more from my website.

To wrap this up, it’s all about how you act in your booth and how you talk about your booth that’s going to turn a show like this around.

Here are some things to think about for your next show:

Figure out a game plan for talking to people. There were people who totally ignored us when we came in the booth, and people who hung on us like lemurs.

Pay attention to business. There were vendors who stopped to take calls on their cell phones while we were waiting for our purchases to be wrapped.

It’s a short show–stay in your booth! Wives left husbands to mind the booth while they went to chat with other vendors–and their husbands knew absolutely nothing about the product.

Be of service to your customers, and help them S*H*O*P. There were vendors who watched as I struggled to look at an item with one hand while holding my purchases and struggling to maneuver with my aircast who never said, “Here, let me hold your packages for you a minute while you shop”, or “Let me help you get that down.”

Listen to your customers. One woman kept trying to sell my friend a doll’s nightgown for a 16″ doll after my friend said her daughter had a 10″ doll, and the vendor had already said she had nothing for a doll that size.

Don’t be afraid to let your customers know you love what you do. Tell us why you love it, and make us love it, too!

Get serious about selling. Your product is simply not going to sell itself, no matter how wonderful it is.

And it IS wonderful, isn’t it?

You know I want it.

Make me buy it!

GOOD BOOTHS GONE BAD #6: Let There Be Light

Lighting a booth is such a difficult topic to cover, I was kinda hoping to sneak out the back while you were reading the other essays in this series.

But that would be wrong. And I promise that’s the last time I quote Richard Nixon in this series.

There is so much I don’t know about lighting. I’m not going to even attempt to cover wavelengths and warm and cool colors, except that halogen has a brighter look to it than most incandecent bulbs which are usually yellowish. Though sometimes those cases of cheap halogen bulbs you can buy on eBay can be yellowish, too. (Think cheap lighting at Salvation Army stores….) And I would say never use fluorescent bulbs, except the newer, daylight-quality bulbs are pretty nice. And I have no idea which bulbs work well with jewelry and precious stones, and which ones work with textiles. There are wiser minds than mine you can listen to when it comes to the tech side of lighting.

I also don’t do outdoor shows. So I don’t have any information on powering lights if it’s not already provided for you by show management. Sorry!!

So as always, I will simply share what has and has not worked for me.

TO LIGHT, OR NOT TO LIGHT…??

Why should you light your booth, anyway? Especially if you have an outdoor booth. Isn’t plain ol’ sunlight good enough?

I think you’ll find even a little extra lighting in a sunny booth is a good thing. You will always have either dark corners or dark times of the day. And once that sun hides behind a cloud, you’ll wish you’d figured out a way to get some extra lighting on your goods.

Even more importantly, good lighting creates drama, focus and movement in your tent. Light something up, and that’s what people will look at.

Lighting lets people actually see what you’re selling, so they can decide if it’s the right color, quality, texture they’re looking for.

Lighting makes people relax and feel comfortable in your booth. We are not little bat people–we still tend to mistrust the dark. We gravitate towards bright spaces and feel safer there.

HOW MUCH LIGHT?
Most people are perfectly happy with 500 watts of light. But that’s only ten 50-watt lamps. If you only have wall art, or you only have ten items to illuminate, that might suffice.

My problem in my booth is I need wall display for my 2-D fiber wall hangings, shelf display for my sculptures, and case display for my jewelry. Ten lamps gives me a light fixture every three feet in the booth, with one left over. Not enough. I almost always go for 1,000 watts in my outdoor-under-tents 10’x10′ booth. And at wholesale shows, I’ll spring for 1,500 to 2,000. That gives lots of light to play with, even allowing me to devote 2-3 lights to a single wall hanging if I want to. (And since some of them are seven-to-eight feet tall, they need more than one light….!)

HOW NOT TO LIGHT

One of the most common mistakes I see is people putting up some sort of light bar across the top and front of their booth, then shining five or six lamps down into their booth. The effect is a giant spotlight, and looks okay–until someone steps inside your booth. Now all the lighting is behind them. Wherever they look, whatever they look at, is in shadow.

Now the worst part. They turn around to ask you a question–and they are instantly blinded by the light.

I’ve found the best people to assist me with setting up my lights are my daughter and her friends who have some tech crew experience in their drama club. They understand how to use lighting to highlight and accent what you want noticed on your “set”. And a set is an excellent metaphor for how to think about your booth.

THE BEST LIGHTS ARE….???

What are the best lights?

I’m not going there, but I’ve had five different systems. You are free to pick and choose from the good, the bad and the ugly of my set-ups.

Track lighting is nice because it’s versatile. You can buy as many units as you need, and if you buy from someplace like Home Depot, you can always buy extra units and replacements if you need to. There’s almost always a Home Depot around… You can buy all kinds of lamp units to suit your needs and style, and most of them come in at least two colors, white or black, to go with your booth.

The basic problem with track lighting is it wasn’t designed to be put up and taken down over, and over, and over again. It wasn’t designed to be used outside, in the rain and heat and cold. It wasn’t designed to be held in place with cable ties. Originally, you couldn’t even buy it with plug-in cords. It was meant to be hard-wired in place, in your office or home. My first sets had to be rewired with extension cords with plugs.

My first lighting set-up was an expensive set of low-voltage track lighting from a very popular on-line lighting company, supposedly marketing to the craft show industry. The track was actually pretty good quality. I had issues with the low-voltage lamp units from day one. They were so heavy, they would actually pull apart under their own weight. I was constantly having to strap them back together with cable ties. I think they are still upstairs in my barn attic somewhere.

BWT, here’s common misconception about low-voltage lighting–you are NOT using less wattage! This is a very layman explanation, but wattage is the AMOUNT of electricity/energy you are using. Voltage is how hard and fast that electricity/energy coming through your set-up. It’s sort of like water coming through a squirt bottle in a fine, hard stream that travels 15 feet, and a wide, fine misty spray. Same amount of water coming through. So don’t think you are going to pay for 500 watts of electricity and you can put up 1,000 watts of low-voltage units/lamps. If you have 1,000 watts’ worth of bulbs, you are using 1,000 watts of energy. The low-voltage thing is a safety issue, not an energy conservation issue.

In fact, in low-voltage units, that extra energy is dissipated in the transformers in the form of heat. I’m told that build-up of heat can be a source of some of the problems I experienced with low-voltage systems.

I’m also told that other kinds of transmissions can interfere with low-voltage set-ups, like if someone in the next booth at a big trade show is using a TV in their display. I have no idea if that is true. Maybe a techie person can research that and report back. I do know that my system would work beautifully at one show and totally conk out at the next.

My second set of low-voltage track came from Home Depot. I had the same issues with reliability, but fewer than I did with the expensive mail-order set.

In my third set of track lighting, I decided to skip the cheap made-in-China stuff and invest in good-quality lamps. That’s when I found that a) everything electrical is now made in China and b) expensive means H-E-A-V-Y. I set up my brand new units for the first time at a wholesale craft show, on my angle irons I used for supports–and watched the angle irons actually bend under the weight of the new lamps. There was no time to search for other supports, so I had to just strap the track onto the top poles of my pole-and-drapes booth.

The track is NOT sturdy enough to just suspend with lamps in it–you MUST have something to attach it to to span across your booth. Some people always install their track lighting this way, but I found it limiting. Also somewhat unsafe–your neighbor goes to hang their own drapes or display from those S-hooks that go over the pipe, and can actually stick their S-hook right into your track. ZAP!!!

That issue of finding what was sturdy enough to hold track lighting, long enough to span my booth, yet short enough to carry or ship to shows without incurring extra shipping charges, also kept me awake many, many nights.

For a long time, I used angle irons, which you can buy at any full-service hardware or lumber store, or places like Lowe’s or Home Depot.. Angle irons are perforated metal bars, L-shaped in profile, that can be bolted together to get the length you need. Then you can take them apart into shorter lengths for easier packing and shipping. They come in two weights, and I found out the hard way that the heavier weight is needed for most track lighting. It’s also nice because it provides a flat surface to strap the track onto, for more stability.

Some people use those extendable, telescoping metal “handles” for attaching to paint rollers for painting ceilings. I worried because they looked like they wouldn’t be strong enough to hold track, and they were round–so you would have round pipe attaching to round pipe. But it might be worth the experiment. Other people have used lengths of electrical conduit. I’ve seen it, I’ve never used it. And I can’t remember what I thought of it. Rats, I was hoping to get through this paragraph without admitting that…. Again, it doesn’t break down into smaller lengths, so be aware of this if you have to ship your booth.

My nice new MD ProPanel booth has stabilizer bars which “lock” the walls together and keep it…well, stable. These also double as light bars. YAY!!!!

I eventually went back to Home Depot track lighting, using their new long goose-neck lamps. They are small, lightweight and infinitely flexible. I LOVE them. One caveat–they hang down into your booth about a foot. So if your booth is seven feet tall (about industry standard) and your track is attached at seven feet, and the lamps hang down a foot….you are going to burn people who are over six feet tall. Just so you know. You can see these dangling lights in this image of last year’s booth at the LNHC fair. Don’t bump your head! (I fixed that this year.)

Also, as you insert, remove, reinsert and remove lamps from your track, you are constantly squishing apart the track. Eventually, it deforms enough that your lamps will not make good contact with the track. You may have to strap cable ties around the track itself and squinch it down good and tight to hold it together.

Look at the end where you screw in a screw to hold that plug-in extension cord. That can be another trouble source. You want that screw tight enough to hold the unit snugly. But again, if you screw it in too tight, you will actually force the track unit apart slightly. Enough to lose that electrical connection. And again, a cable tie strapped tightly around that section of the track may help hold things together.

If you use your track lighting outside a lot, you may get a build-up of corrosion on the contact points (the long thin copper strips in your track, the little copper clips in your lamps.) Keep a piece of steel wool on hand to scrub these contact points clean if you’re having trouble getting your lights to work. (Unplug everything first, of course.)

At one point, I invested in expensive clamp-on halogen wall-washers. They were designed to work on pole-and-drape. (Pole-and-drape are difficult to work with, because clamps are usually designed to hold onto something flat, and poles are round.) Unfortunately, it turned out they didn’t really work well on poles or flat walls.

AND THE WINNER IS….

I’ve now discovered individual clamp-on goose-neck lamp units. They each have their own extension cords, which is a bit of a hassle. But I also don’t have to fuss with track, track lamps, light bars to support the track and risers to raise the light bars out of range of six-feet tall people (or shorter people with tall hair.) So far, my favorite units are these offered by Pegasus Lighting: Flexible Display Light I am praying the low voltage issue does not raise its ugly head again.

These lights are good because they can light work on a shelf or on the wall, and be between the customer and the work–no shadows. But they also don’t shine in people’s eyes. They are infinitely flexible. I was able to use them at the Las Vegas Convention Center, which has a strict lighting safety code–although the cords/plug aren’t grounded, they are low voltage and self-contained. One light per cord. Also, the halogen bulbs are covered–there is a layer of glass across the front of the bulb, so the halogen filament is not exposed. The C-clamp is very secure on flat surfaces, and the cord is long enough to reach most of the places it needs to.

How do I know these are the best lights? My daughter says if I stick with the MD ProPanels and these lights, she will always come home to help me set up my booth for shows.

CASE LIGHTING

Unfortunately, I’m still on a quest for the perfect case lighting. I have light strips I bought with my original Dynamic Display System cases, with all three of the light bulb styles they’ve sold over time. Dynamic Display Systems case lighting The little “eyeball” units are the most versatile–they rotate in every direction and allow you to pinpoint an item in the case. But they are outrageously expensive, and it’s hard to find replacement bulbs. And the metallic backing paint is chipping off, allowing the brilliant halogen bulb to glare through. When I inquired about heat-proof paint to recoat the unit, I was told the paint would severely cut down on the life of the bulb. OY VEY!!! I don’t see these for sale on their website anymore, just the strips with the little 20 watt halogen bulbs. These are good, reliable bulbs, and easily found at stores. Okay, relatively easy to find. But they are not directional, or at least minimally so. I did love my eyeball bulbs….

SAFETY ISSUES
Use the heaviest gauge extension cords recommended by the show. 14 gauge is getting to be more and more common, but can still be hard to find. (Just because a cord is really thick doesn’t mean it’s 14 gauge.) Use the shortest cord you can get away with–cord that is coiled that cause heat to build up, which isn’t good.

If you are doing an outdoor show, keep all your connections off the ground. This will keep rain, dew, other moisture from shorting out the system.

If the show provides electricity and is using GFI’s do NOT attempt to circumvent them. During set-up at my big retail show, people complain constantly that the lights keep going out. As they plug in their cobbled-together lighting systems, the ground fault interrupters trip, cutting off power. They say, “The GFI’s are so damn sensitive!” As the show electrician carefully explained to me during my very first show, “Yes, GFI’s are sensitive. They trip at the very slightest flare in power. That’s what they are supposed to do. It keeps you from being electrocuted.” Get your lights set up, and test the circuit by plugging in a light then turning it on (rather than just screwing in a light into a live circuit, such as sticking a lamp into a track unit that’s live.” That helps prevent a little surge of power that triggers the GFI.

Use 3-prong plugs wherever you can. Sometimes it’s impossible, and some convention halls prohibit rewiring your own lighting set-up (like I did to rewire my two-wire extension cords to make 3-wire plug-in extension cords for my track lighting.) And always look for that “UL” (Underwriters Laboratories) label to signify your system has passed some basic safety testing. Here’s an interesting article on what that label means and how to recognize fake labels: Understanding UL by Gerry Zekowski

Remember that lights get HOT, especially halogen bulbs. Turn off and let cool before touching, handling, repositioning a hot lamp. Do not touch a halogen bulb (the part that actually lights up) with your fingers–the oil in your fingertips can actually concentrate the heat and cause the bulb to break. And periodically check your lamps to make sure they aren’t touching fabric or other combustibles, or causing your display to overheat and actually melt.

Lights themselves are hot, too. As I said earlier, I try to always go with at least 1,000 watts of lighting in my 10’x10′ booth. But I’m learning not to go over that much in my outdoor-under-tents August show. It just gets to be too much heat.

ALWAYS, ALWAYS ALWAYS unplug your units when doing any kind of work on them. I like to even unplug the units when testing my lamps. It takes a few more seconds, but if your hand should slip, or in your set-up frenzy mood you should forget and stick your hand in the track, you will stay safe. Yes, those pesky GFI’s should save you, but why take the chance?

Have I forgotten anything? Tons, I’m sure. I’ll check back and add stuff as I think of it.

Ooh, I forgot this: If you use low-voltage lamps or little case lights, they come with transformers–just like your phone charger. Transformers take up a lot of space on your surge strips. A power squid is handy to conserve space, or I use a set of short little 12″ extension cords, both from Herrington Catalog: power squid and

mini extension cords

And be sure to add your own suggestions and experiences in the comments section. Together, we can keep our fair booths looking bright and shiny–and safe.

GOOD BOOTHS GONE BAD

I’m literally watching paint dry today. I’m finishing up the last of my teeny tiny wall hangings, a special series I’m doing for this year’s annual League of NH Craftsmen’s Fair.

For some reason, booths and booth design is on my mind today. A friend asked me to critique her new booth, which got me thinking about it. I also came across a blog of a new artist who did a major trade show for the first time. A picture of the booth was featured.

It was quickly obvious to me that several things were wrong with both booth layouts. They just didn’t look right. With my friend’s booth, I didn’t want to walk in. It didn’t feel right.

The more I thought about it, these two booth issues–not looking right and not feeling right–are the essence of bad booth design.

So over the next few days, in between my panic attacks and preparations for the Fair, I’ll share insights about what makes a bad booth.

Now, if you want a wonderful treatise on booths and booth design, run don’t walk to Bruce Baker’s website and order his CD on booth design. Actually, I can pretty much guarantee any CD you purchase from Bruce will help you tremendously, whether it’s his booth design CD, his one on selling your artwork, or the one on jury slides. Better yet, get yourself over to one of his seminars at the first opportunity. You will not regret it.
Bruce Baker, Guru of booth design

Another good book to read is Paco Underhill’s Why We Buy

Underhill’s consulting team actually watched people shopping, and discovered what makes them stop shopping.

I’ve learned a lot from Bruce and from Paco. (I’m not really on a first-name basis with Mr. Underhill, just striving for a friendly note here.) I do not intend to channel either of them. I encourage you strongly to invest in their products. Bruce’s CDs are a steal at less than $15 each when you buy all three, and Mr. Underhill’s book is not expensive, either.

My point is that you can start thinking differently about your booth set-up, using what you already know about shopping.

In fact, your first assignment is to go shopping. Yes! Right now! Stop everything and go out and buy something.

Just kidding. I mean the next time you have to go shopping, pay attention to what’s going on.

Hey, where did everybody go?! Get back here!

Pay attention to what compels you to pick something up and think about buying it, and what makes you put it down (besides that whopping price sticker, that is.)

Pay attention to what parts of the store and display you are drawn to, and what drives you away.

Pay attention to how you feel about the salespeople–what they say and do that keeps you shopping, and what makes you want to run out the door.

One thing leaped out at me in the new exhibitor’s comments. The artist said, “Hey, it’s about the work, right? If the work is GREAT, then nobody really cares about your display!”

That’s true….and not true.

It’s true that great work overcomes a lot.

And it’s true we are born to shop.

I think it’s part of our hunter-gatherer heritage. We love to look for the best little tidbits, the juiciest grub, the prettiest pebble, the biggest mammoth. Just substitute “perfectly marbled sirloin steak”, “coolest little pair of earrings” and “sexiest strap-back shoes” and you’ll find we have not come very far from our ancestral roots at all. (“Are you gonna eat that?”)

But I also I think when a buyer has hundreds, if not thousands of artists to choose from, then as they walk the aisles they are automatically looking for reasons to eliminate you from consideration.

They have to. They can’t look at 1,000 different things and choose the best. They have to cull out the things that are obviously not of interest, and only focus on the things that might be.

And somewhere in the middle is a whole bunch of stuff that might be worth considering…maybe…but maybe not….? Anything you do that gets you eliminated in that first few seconds means your wonderful work never made it into the final running.

I do this when I shop. For awhile, I was bored with most jewelry. It all looked alike to me. I’ve only got an hour or so to scout out an entire store. So to save time, I would skip past the entire jewelry section. Hard to believe, but there you are.

If you were a jewelry designer, how would you encourage me to stop?

We all do this as a way to organize the time we have to shop, or to stay in a budget (if only for a few hours!) “I have enough short-sleeved shirts, I’m only looking at dresses today.” Or, “I already have too many dishes, I don’t have room in my cupboards for more.” “I don’t really need any tomatoes today, I don’t care if they’re on sale.”

Our buyers do the same thing. They is us.

Stay tuned as I share some simple, common mistakes people make with their booths. You do it, I do it, we all do it. But we can turn it around.

No bad booth. Just booths that have temporarily lost their way….