Update on Me :)

[Amber]

So I'm starting to work more with glass again, after getting a few small craft shows under my belt before Christmas and then taking some time off after the holidays. Those shows were all just little ones with 6 foot tables or something to that effect. Right now I have some more small shows on the April 23/24 then again a small show on May 2, those ones are easy, local and good to go :). Another show came up for May 8th that I'm registered for and it's in a very small town but it's close to the US/CDN border and get's about 2000 people for the day. Mind you it's a Women in Business Show so it's going to be a variety of vendors not just crafts, which I'm interested in trying, and the big difference is I get a 10' by 10' booth.

I'm really excited because it gives me chance to buy shelving and tables, banners, things that I'll use for the big show in the end of summer and this show helps to absorb some of those crazy expenses. Well, to be honest all these little ones do too *lol. I had this grand vision of all my display material, everything being white so that people's eyes were drawn to the rainbow of glass, then reality hits  . Everything is so expensive, and well...... I'm so cheap *lol. My budget is hard to control, no matter how much I try, I think I'm going to spend a painful thousand dollars before I'm done with these shows *yikes*, to me that is a -lot- of money. But I need 6 foot tables, a shelf, chairs, a new receipt book, more retail bags, display props and paint for them and the list goes on and on and on!

In my path of cutting corners I found a really cheap 25 dollar wood slat shelf and I figured I'd just paint it white and call it a day. It seemed perfect at the time because I didn't want anything like a book shelf that had a back and sides, I wanted the lights to travel through and the option of putting the shelf anywhere I pleased. (Plus it has to be something I can take apart and fit in the truck with my other stuff). Well I just finished the second coat of paint this morning, let it dry and screwed it all together. When I actually got it downstairs and put all my glass votives on it I was really excited, the light came through like I wanted and the votives were organized in a flow of reds, oranges, yellows, and my purples, blues and greens, it all looked great. THEN it got scary, the shelf is wobbly and all it takes is a wrong move on someone's part and everything will fall forward and crash :(. Did the math on it has 800 bucks in pretty votives......... on a 25 dollar shelf, sigh time to spend even more money *LOL.

So that's me in a nut shell right now, paint splattered and poor as I look at my credit card again *winks*.

[Kev]

Getting everything together is can be very expensive depending on the image you want to set for your business. There are not many shortcuts that  know of that I can share with you, though there are members here that sell frequently that might be able to give you some tips in that regard.

BTW...WELCOME BACK!!!!!!!

[PiscesGlass]

Hi Amber!

You have been BUSY!!  Busy is good though! 

You'll love having a 10' x 10' space to decorate..I feel that I so much stuff now, there's not room for me in the booth anymore. LOL.
But I managed to get everything together on a pretty strict budget..one that's called having a practically zero bank balance.  Over time you will get there.
I bought a couple of really neat looking folding chairs, a little higher than your usual folding chair, with foot rests even at Walmart.  They were very cool looking and didn't cost much.
My banner came from a company in California..Stats Inc..I can't seem to find them online now, but you can find sites that will let you design your own banner for less than $50.00 and they will ship it to you.  Mine is 3' x 5' and I think I paid less than $30.00 for it.  It has the shop name, my contact info and even had room for a logo and descriptions of what I sell, classes, etc on it.  Pretty reasonable.
I purchased plain colored bags in 3 sizes, again online, and made my own labels to put on the bags to personalize them.  It was a lot less expensive to do it that way in the beginning.
I know that Joan had good luck with the vendor she purchased her display stands from, I'm sure that she'll be along to give you more info about them, but I do believe that they come in white and I think that you can get clear plexi shelves to go on them as well.

I purchased three (now up to five) metal trellis's at Lowes (hate to give the big box stores a plug..but that's where I found them), shaped like a stained glass window actually.  They were black, but you could paint them white.  And I zip tie them together and stand them up with the outside sections angled toward the inside..I don't see why you couldn't have some glass shelves made that could be also attached to something like that and it would make it even more stable.  I've had up to 20 panels hanging on mine at one time and it's been just great, and allows light to show through.

Also give some thought to lighting..such as even inexpensive Christmas light strings that could be wound around the structure.

LOL..someone gave me an extremely heavy 6' table..which I still use..and I used a sheet for the first layer of tablecloth and overlaid that with a nicer looking tablecloth to jazz it up..my colors were gold and black.  But you get the idea.

Good luck, I KNOW you don't need that, because your work is beautiful and will sell itself! 

De

[Amber]

I'll take any and all tips *lol. Right now the only thing I can think of is buying something that's more along the lines of garage shelving. They are built so much better, I'm looking medium duty, and are often more flexible when it comes to taking it apart often without degrading wood holes, since they are all metal. The problem is ..... well they look like they should be in a garage *lol. My vibe that I'm going for is more boutique, with pretty bags, tissue, nice pamphlets with two tone white fabric draping the tables and nice display props, of course in again white *L. I have no idea if I can paint his metal in white with a spray paint..... I can't see why not but all the metal painting I've done so far is on a ~much~ smaller scale.
I'm also in a tight spot, between cost being a big factor I need to look in Canada, if not in town, since I need it by May 8th.

Also, big thanks for the welcome back Kev!!! It's like coming home again :)
I'm ready and raring to go on the glass front *woohoo*.

[Kev]

Rock on girl!

[JoanFrances]

HI there Amber.  go online to www.storesupply.com

they have an online catalog and they are wonderful to deal with.  I purchased the grid system and bases from them.  I am planning on getting shelves next.  The 4 sided grid system is really good and hold a lot of sun cathers, on in your case you can put shelves on them.  Eventually I will be using all grids and no tables at my shows. 

Good luck Friend.  Before you spend, think it out.  Draw the floor plan of your display area so you know what you need to bring and that you will have enough room.  You can always add supplies as you go instead of jumping in to fast.  Don't forget you have to store all this stuff in between shows LOL.  And you also have to know it it will all fit in your vehicle. 

[Amber]

Before you spend, think it out.  Draw the floor plan of your display area so you know what you need to bring and that you will have enough room.  You can always add supplies as you go instead of jumping in to fast.  Don't forget you have to store all this stuff in between shows LOL.  And you also have to know it it will all fit in your vehicle. 

tee hee, you should have seen me and the hubs 2 weeks ago! I wanted to do exactly as you said and plan it out to check how much room it really is.
I know my neighbors likely wondered what in the heck we were doing because we also had the gazebo out and set up in the driveway, as a test for the bigger outdoor show later on. We had to time set-up and tear down, lay out for tables to have a planned floor plan, and also test run how it loaded into the Ford.
I'm pretty proud at how fast we moved ;).
We're also using our summer patio gazebo, it's 9.5' by 9.5' to save some money rather then spending a couple hundred bucks on an EZ up with walls. So this one takes a little more time to put together, that and it's not white which I would have preferred (it's beige fabric with black metal bracing) but it's more then good enough since we already own it :). But that's all for the later shows. Right now I'm going to check out your link!

[Audrey]

I was wondering what happened to you, Amber. Glad everything is okay. I am also glad you started this thread, as we are seriously considering doing some craft shows starting this fall as we are planning to sell the business and "retire". I am not wanting to purchase much to start out till we see how it goes, but hope to make any displays we need from what we have in our shop.

[ct4mom]

Good to see you back Amber. My you have been a busy girl. I used this idea for the table top for hanging small items. I took 2 metal grids that are purchased at Target ( cubed grids)for under 15.00 for a box with enough to make 6 cubes and zip tied them together they are pretty sturdy and fold flat to store. Also keep an eye out for store going out of business I bought a rack similar to what are on the site Joan posted for 20.00. Its white and looks great with extra lighting behind it.

[AglassAct]

Just curious, when you said trellis.. do you mean as in rose trellis?

Deb in Ohio

[PiscesGlass]

Hi Deb,

Yes, they are trellis's, I suppose they could be used for a fairly good sized climbing rose. The trellis's I bought were made of a fairly decent sized square metal tubing, soldered together into a Cathedral window shape.  Pointed at the top. They are probably 2' wide and 5 or 6' tall.  Good sized.  I found mine at Lowe's, in the Garden center, that seemed to be the only place I could find them. 

I bought them a couple of years ago, so I don't know if they still have this particular style, but I've found them to be easily carried around, they can be adjusted to stand in a Tri, or Z style and they are very stable.  Sometimes I separate them, in the picture I used 2 on one side and two on the other I think... That space is a little larger than 10' x 10', the show people put me in a really good spot that I could maximize. lol.

[AglassAct]

Thanks for the picture. That is a really great idea..I haven't ventured into the craft show area yet, but I will keep these in mind! Thanks.

[nansea121]

I was hoping some pictures would appear. Nice one De:)

[PiscesGlass]

Thanks Nancy!  Now if only I could lose the 20 lbs I've managed to eat my way into...

De

[ct4mom]

De is that a pole connecting them? Great display!

[PiscesGlass]

Not connecting them, but connected to them, I need to get something better looking.  I used it to hang several of those Moravian Stars from...it would have looked nicer had it been black..lol.

Thanks for the kinds words Di,

De