[Jewelry making - Article 00723] - Re: [Orchid] First wholesale show

[Lisa Gallagher]

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>     Oh my! I have a lot to learn before I try a retail show.... they
>     don't usually let babies and kids into the wholesale shows I used
>     to use cardboard boxes (36" tall and skinny) as pedestals with a
>     1/4" square plywood top. Not sturdy at all, but never had a problem
>     at a wholesale show. 

    I'm happy to say I've never had anyone place a baby in a carrier on
    my display (I would quickly ask them to kindly use the floor
    instead), but I have often cringed as people lean fully onto my
    plexiglass cases, watching as the plexi bends under pressure. I have
    my setup such that it's not easy to just use is as a resting place
    for stuff - no open counterspace other than the little area where I
    do the sales, and my cases sit on counter-height stands & are 12"
    tall, so they tops are realtively high - but I do often have people
    put their hands or arms on them & lean on them as they look into the
    fronts of the cases. One guy was doing that for an extended period of
    time, just leaning with both arms crossed on my case while he chatted
    with my helper, and he finally noticed me watching him nervously. He
    made a joke about it, but he still took his sweet time moving off my
    bending plastic! I have also had a few elderly people holding onto
    the cases at the front of my booth as they walked past, and I
    certainly wish they didn't do that. My stands are pretty stable (I
    made sure of that when I built them!), but they're still only meant
    to handle so much. They aren't permanent, after all! 

    In creating a booth display, it's good to have something that's
    pretty stable, you never know what you'll encounter. Although I've
    never done a wholesale shows, I'm sure with the "general public" you
    get a lot more folks who don't understand as well how to relate to
    these temporary setups. Also, if you ever expect to do an outdoor
    show (I'm assuming the wholesale ones are never outdoors) you have to
    have something that can be sturdy on all sorts of ground, usually
    uneven ground, as well as in a "breeze", which can often turn into
    some downright nasty wind. It seems it doesn't take much breeze to
    get a tent into action, especially if it can't be staked. A show can
    be stressful enough, you don't need to worry about your display
    falling over! My stands may be a bit heavy to schlep around, but once
    in place I feel confident they'll stay there. I've had to lash tent
    legs to my stands a few times because even with 40lb weights at each
    corner, my tent legs weren't resistant to the "breeze", but those
    case stands were good and strong to hold the tent legs in place. 

    By the way, if you do use something tall & skinny as you mentioned,
    you might try getting a stone landscape paver (or 2...) to place in
    the bottom to add some weight to it, that'd add at least a bit of
    stability. 

Lisa
Designs by Lisa Gallagher
www.lisagallagher.com

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