On the theory that the purpose of a booth is to support the sales plan, here's my sales plan:
- Target market is casual art-fair attendees who want an affordable photo to take home and frame.
- I'll be showing at non-juried craft and art shows, and some non-top-tier juried shows, mostly in Colorado.
- For sale in the booth are 10x15 prints matted to 16x20, and un-matted 5x7s (in the wicker box on the table). There are 24 photos for sale (in both sizes).
- Some shows don't allow un-matted prints for sale; the 5x7s will not then be in the booth.
- Matted prints are $35; 5x7s are $5 (with quantity discounts).
- Larger sizes are for sale on special order, with free shipping.
- If you want to see my photos, they're at MarcRochkind.com.
Now for the booth:
- There are 24 photos in the black grids, sold individually. The grids are part of the booth, not art for sale.
- Stock is in the racks, and only stock (i.e., all 10x15s matted to 16x20, and only what's shown in the booth). Art is not sold off the grids. That is, there is nothing in the racks that isn't also on display.
- As I'm completely new to art shows, I wanted to keep my investment small. So, no ProPanels or mesh walls. I made the grids, which are hung directly on a double set of stabilizer bars, two per wall, as you can see in the photo. (As a bonus, my tent is extremely rigid.)
- The shelves are for display only and do not contain anything for sale. Those are old cameras on the shelves, but they weren't used for any of the photos shown.
- No signage (price list, photo labels, artists statement) appears in the booth photo.
The 6 grids can also be hung on lighting stands, for use at indoor shows where the space is typically 8x10 instead of 10x10:
In case you're wondering, the matted prints slip into grooves in the grids. In this photo, the mat and backing board are inserted. The plexiglass that will be present during shows has been removed for the booth photo.
I'd like comments on three separate things:
- My sales plan,
- The design of the booth, and
- Given the booth as it is, the booth photo.
Replies
Curious.....what did you use for the stabilizer bars running the length of the walls and what material for the grids, looks very interesting. Have you had this setup in the wind with the walls up?
Jay
My tent is a Undercover Canopy R-3 Commercial Vending CRS Popup Shade (from Amazon), and the bars (6 total) are EZ Pop Up Canopy Tent Rail Bars (from Eurmax), which fit perfectly and cost only $50 per pair. Not shown are 3 steel bars per leg, 1.5 inches square and 36 inches long, which add about 75 pounds to each leg.
Can't tell you whether this setup withstands wind, as I haven't had my first outdoor show yet. But, with 300 pounds of weight, plus the weight of the stabilizer bars and my art, and the stiffness of 6 stabilizer bars, my guess is that my tent will do just fine.
Interesting... I can, of course, open up the solid walls and hang mesh, for an airier and brighter booth. The stabilizer bars and grids are independent, so wouldn't need any changes.
With my tent, the sides are hung from a cable, using clips. I could easily hang another fabric from that same cable.
I think the small table will be replaced by a bigger one, and a vinyl banner with my business name will be on the front of it.
Do you think it's more because of the grids, or the silvery tent walls? Or, neither/both?
--Marc