Hi all
It's my first festival and I am looking into renting a 10 x 10 tent. I am in Chicago. Does anyone have any advice on where I should start looking
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I have to admit... For me discussing canopies is like discussing politics or the difference between an artist and a craftsman.
To start with and it is most unfortunate that as a general rule all pop ups are referred to as EZ Ups and to do so is most unfortunate because many newcomers become convinced that they are all the same. There could be nothing further from the truth. Do some research, check out canopies and compare them for yourself.
I use a Caravan Classic which is a pop up but I made my own side walls out of 500 denier coated Cordura nylon.
I do agree. We used a pop up -- it was an EZ up brand, called an Imperial and it weighed 95 lbs. Tough old bird. When we left the business we had artists clamoring for our two.
I keep wondering if Aisha is scratching her head wondering "I asked about where to rent a tent in Chicago and got lots of advice about what kind of tent to buy. Hmmmm ... "
Robert Wallis > Camryn ForrestApril 18, 2014 at 10:29am
It's more along the matter of practicality. You can spend almost $200 on a rental, and when the show is over all you have is a receipt for the rental and the tent is no longer around. For about the same amount of money, and about 20 minutes of work to set it up yourself, you can buy a relatively heavy duty EZ-Up at Sam's Club. If you don't like the tent after the show, you can probably find someone to sell it to and not lose a whole lot of money. If you do like it, after the show is over you now have a tent for about the same amount of cash.
It all comes down to this - you can put in time or you can put in money. Pop-ups are cheap but they need to be waterproofed at least once a year and you need to learn how to do the pool noddle thing if it rains. They are also much lighter which means you have to pay more attention to weights. And most of them don't have spare parts so once something bends you need to buy a whole new tent. The cheap ones are made of camping tent material - the stuff they tell you not to touch when it rains because then it leaks.
IMO the best deals are used TrimLines or LightDomes or even Craft Huts. They hold their value pretty well and if you decide not to do shows anymore you can probably sell it (pretty quickly) for wha tyou paid for it. Plus if something breaks you can get spare parts instead of buying a whole new tent.
I usually don't give advice about tents. However, my first tent was an original Craft Hut, which they don't make anymore. Let me rephrase that. Flourish makes one in the old Craft Hut style. I did a show where I was almost the only one still standing after a storm. It lasted 30 years and I finally had to buy something. I bought an E-Z up which did not blow over, but, it created a lot of stress, especially at night when I would try to sleep and all I ever did was worry about losing everything in my booth. If you were going to buy a high end tent, I would suggest the Showoff. You could buy a mid range tent like the E-Z Up Majestic or the Eurmax, which retails for around $600. Whatever you do, buy the stabilizer bars which will keep your tent solid in the wind. I currently use the Eurmax, which has some quirks but is sturdy enough to give me the confidence that it will not blow over in a bad storm.
I rented a tent for my first ever show. It started raining just as I got home after setting up my work and rained all night. When I arrived at the rental tent I found that it had been leaking on my paintings all night. Thankfully I had taken home the one painting that would have been completely ruined by the water. The others were acrylic on canvas and had only a small amount of damage. So I guess with my experience I would say that if you can afford to purchase a tent I would recommend it. :)
aisha ahmed > Oscar Matos LinaresApril 4, 2014 at 11:20am
I am doing the Wells street art festival. Its in June so i am trying to get things figured out early. Although i am now hearing mixed reviews about this fair.
Replies
I have to admit... For me discussing canopies is like discussing politics or the difference between an artist and a craftsman.
To start with and it is most unfortunate that as a general rule all pop ups are referred to as EZ Ups and to do so is most unfortunate because many newcomers become convinced that they are all the same. There could be nothing further from the truth. Do some research, check out canopies and compare them for yourself.
I use a Caravan Classic which is a pop up but I made my own side walls out of 500 denier coated Cordura nylon.
Funny!
I do agree. We used a pop up -- it was an EZ up brand, called an Imperial and it weighed 95 lbs. Tough old bird. When we left the business we had artists clamoring for our two.
I keep wondering if Aisha is scratching her head wondering "I asked about where to rent a tent in Chicago and got lots of advice about what kind of tent to buy. Hmmmm ... "
It's more along the matter of practicality. You can spend almost $200 on a rental, and when the show is over all you have is a receipt for the rental and the tent is no longer around. For about the same amount of money, and about 20 minutes of work to set it up yourself, you can buy a relatively heavy duty EZ-Up at Sam's Club. If you don't like the tent after the show, you can probably find someone to sell it to and not lose a whole lot of money. If you do like it, after the show is over you now have a tent for about the same amount of cash.
It all comes down to this - you can put in time or you can put in money. Pop-ups are cheap but they need to be waterproofed at least once a year and you need to learn how to do the pool noddle thing if it rains. They are also much lighter which means you have to pay more attention to weights. And most of them don't have spare parts so once something bends you need to buy a whole new tent. The cheap ones are made of camping tent material - the stuff they tell you not to touch when it rains because then it leaks.
IMO the best deals are used TrimLines or LightDomes or even Craft Huts. They hold their value pretty well and if you decide not to do shows anymore you can probably sell it (pretty quickly) for wha tyou paid for it. Plus if something breaks you can get spare parts instead of buying a whole new tent.
I usually don't give advice about tents. However, my first tent was an original Craft Hut, which they don't make anymore. Let me rephrase that. Flourish makes one in the old Craft Hut style. I did a show where I was almost the only one still standing after a storm. It lasted 30 years and I finally had to buy something. I bought an E-Z up which did not blow over, but, it created a lot of stress, especially at night when I would try to sleep and all I ever did was worry about losing everything in my booth. If you were going to buy a high end tent, I would suggest the Showoff. You could buy a mid range tent like the E-Z Up Majestic or the Eurmax, which retails for around $600. Whatever you do, buy the stabilizer bars which will keep your tent solid in the wind. I currently use the Eurmax, which has some quirks but is sturdy enough to give me the confidence that it will not blow over in a bad storm.
GET WEIGHTS. Never underestimate the wind.
I rented a tent for my first ever show. It started raining just as I got home after setting up my work and rained all night. When I arrived at the rental tent I found that it had been leaking on my paintings all night. Thankfully I had taken home the one painting that would have been completely ruined by the water. The others were acrylic on canvas and had only a small amount of damage. So I guess with my experience I would say that if you can afford to purchase a tent I would recommend it. :)
Before you go crazy? what show are you doing.
I am doing the Wells street art festival. Its in June so i am trying to get things figured out early. Although i am now hearing mixed reviews about this fair.
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