Belt Buckle Display

The belt buckle display is made of PVC and wood, and the cost of all the materials was about $20. The goal for the display was to put many of the buckles at eye level and keep the belts themselves from getting tangled up. Bonus points for being able to easily see the backs of the belts to view sizing info.

Parts list:

• 18" long piece of 1×6
• 2 metal flanges for 3/4" pipe
• 4 6" lengths of 3/4" PVC pipe
• 2 16" lengths of 3/4" PVC pipe
• 6 3/4" PVC straight couplings
• 2 couplings to fit the 3/4" pipe into the flange threads
• 3 16" strips of rectangular molding
• Scraps of 1/8" plywood
• 18 magnets
• C clamp to keep it from falling over

To make the rails to hold the buckles/belts, I took the rectangular molding and glued magnets evenly along them, 6 per rail. The buckle backs are steel, so they stick to the magnets pretty well. I used some ceramic magnets and some neodymium magnets because that's what I had lying around, but if I were to do it again I'd probably use all neodymium.

To attach the rails to the PVC I laser cut some rings (shown on the left) out of some scrap 1/8 plywood and glue them to each end of the rails. While I'm lucky enough to have a laser, it's something you could pretty easily cut by hand with a little patience and an appropriately sized drill bit. 

The rings slip over the PVC, and rest on top of the coupling. The whole thing is surprisingly sturdy, and breaks down easily to fit in my Big Box of Craft Show Gear. The C clamp helps keep things stable. The last show I did had super wobbly floors that shook the table any time someone walked by.

Eventually I'd like to make some cloth covers for the PVC pipe, so it's not so ugly, but for the time being the display worked pretty well. I sold a good deal more belt buckles than usual, and I think having them all easy to see was a big part of that.

Pendant Display

The pendant display was made literally the night before the show. I grabbed an Ikea frame and a 12" square piece of grey industrial felt I had lying around. I cut the felt to fit the frame, and had some leftover. From that I cut narrow 1/4" strips of felt the same width as the frame. I glued them at pendant-sized intervals, and the pendants are just thin enough that they can sit on the felt rails. And unlike my last slapdash jewelry display, this one doesn't have nails sticking out the back to stab me.

Overall I'm pretty happy with the two displays, although I sometimes wonder what craft shows would look like if it wasn't for Ikea. The Tinysaurs themselves are in need of some new display furniture, so I'll probably put something together for them in the spring. I'm free from craft shows for a whole four months!

There are no shortage of creative ways to display earrings, it makes me wonder why anyone uses boring mass produced ones at all. CasaSugar makes an old shutter into a tall display perfect for earrings.

[Via Craft]

Displaying jewelry at a show is always a challenge. There is never one really great solution that works for all situations. And depending on the type of show, time of year, and number of people attending, I always want to give my display a sort of custom look.

My next show was to be a home party, during the holiday season, in a high rise condo in Chicago. Since I was low on funds and crunched for time, the hunt was on for a way to display my jewelry with the biggest bang for the buck. My solution came to me as I passed the dollar discount bin at the craft store. Piles and piles of packages of blank holiday gift cards! Playing on the holiday theme, here’s what I came up with…

I used sets of blank greeting cards in two different sizes, matching coasters, and blank scrapbook paper cut-outs. I chose three different styles with similar color schemes. Using a tiny hole punch, I made holes in the cards for the earring wires and displayed the cards like festive little table tents. I used the larger sets of greeting cards for longer earrings and even some necklaces. The two different sizes allowed me to have different levels on my table, making the display more interesting.

Of course, some pieces were to heavy or too long for the cards to hold. I used the matching coasters and scalloped paper cut-outs to display those pieces directly on the table.

The whole display cost me around $10! And because the earrings were already pre-hung on the cards before the party, it was easy to transport and took only minutes to set up. Maximum flash, for minimum cash!

Mary Ryan is an Artist, Jewelry Designer, and Interior Design Consultant.  Please visit her on line shops at http://littlebrownbird.etsy.com, http://thelittlebrownbird.com and http://urbanmetal.etsy.com

Got a display you’d like to write a How-To for? Send it to blog@indiecraftshows.com!

I created this standing riser display due to some space restraints at Depart-ment at the Pitchfork Music Festival in 2008. Before this, we were laying the cards out on our table which takes up a ton of space, and you can’t always see the cards in the back because of glare on the clear bags. I needed to have a display that would maximize verticality while maintaining stability and being relatively easy to transport.

I began with deciding how big to make the display. The size was dictated by the Depart-ment rules and by the standard sizes of my cards. The resulting structure is 20″ tall and deep by 24″ wide with risers which fit five different designs of cards vertically or four horizontally. There are five risers meaning that I can potentially show 25 different designs in 24 inches of table space.

The main body of the structure is made from foam core. I cut out three stepped shapes which measured (left in the above diagram) for the base supports and ten flats (right in the diagram) for the bottoms and backs of the risers. Working one flat at a time, I affixed the flats to two of the stepped bases with a high-temp glue gun; so that I had a base on either end of the flat. I continued that process to create all of the risers. Basically, it’s like building a little staircase. When I completed basic structure, I then placed glue on the edges of the third step shape and inserted it into the middle of the underside of the display. I did this for added support to keep the display from sagging in the center.

To reinforce the glue connections, I inserted straight pins in all of the seams. This probably didn’t do much, but it made me feel less like it was all going to fall apart. You may be concerned about the look of foam core with hot glue and straight pins all over it, but my next step was to cover the exposed surfaces of the structure with craft paper which created a smooth and uniform backdrop for the cards. The paper did crinkle in places, but that wasn’t an issue because the cards cover up most of the paper anyway. Lastly, I glued some small diameter, squared Balsa wood rods along the front edge of the risers so that my cards wouldn’t slip off.

The result was a sturdy and lightweight display. It fits through the doors of the bus which was a concern seeing as I had to use public transit to get to the festival. A bonus to the display is that my business partner, Kathy, had made some display stands for our stationeries which also fit on the risers. I was able to make a sign out of some left over foam core which I attached to bamboo skewers. I then inserted the pointy ends of skewers in to the foam core of the sign and the blunt ends into envelopes I attached to the back of the stationery displays producing an almost floating sign.

I am currently building another out of Balsa wood, which I hope to be able to make collapsible for my trip to Renegade San Francisco this year.

Donovan Beeson is a Craft Engineer who lives in Chicago, Illinois. She is the Directress of Production & Clever Ideas for 16 Sparrows and also creates her own line of stationery and office supplies for sale on Etsy.

Got a display you’d like to write a How-To for? Send it to blog@indiecraftshows.com!

There are about 1,000 things I ought to be doing right now, but yesterday was the first time I had a chance to work on *my* stuff for the show, and I just have to show off. As an added bonus, it’s a tutorial!

I have been through about 50 different displays for earrings, and I generally don’t like any of them. Most recent was the Case Of Doom, a big acrylic spinny case, which works well for some things but kind of sucks because a) no one can figure out how to turn it and b) someone has to go in and get stuff out. Not convenient for group shows.

And so I present to you, my latest display, which is by far my favorite:

Also it was amazingly easy to make. Really, it took all of two steps, which I will share with you.

Materials

• A big box. Lucky me, Michaels had some cute vintage-wanna be trunks on sale for half price. If you’re not as lucky, the local thrift store might have something to fit your needs.
• Ribbon that matches the big box. I got a wee little spool from Michaels that was just long enough for $0.99
• Glue Gun. Don’t leave home without it
• Screwdriver

First things first. The box I got from Michaels had a little brace on it to keep it open when you set it down, and also prevented it from opening more than 90 degrees. Using the screwdriver, I removed the two screws holding the brace so I can open it up enough to see inside properly.

Then cut the ribbon in lengths that are *just* long enough to fit across the box. You don’t want them to be slack at all. Decide how far apart you want your rows, and cut enough ribbon for them.

Use your hot glue gun to secure the ribbon to the box. Start by gluing down all of one side on one half of the box, to get your spacing right. Then go back to the first one you did, and pull it really tight, then glue in place.

Voila! An earring display.

Hang your earrings on it by the hooks, not the earring card. Just slip the back of the hooks over the ribbon. It’s a little hard to see, but I took a picture with the ribbon twisted a little so you can see what I mean.

It works best with earring cards that don’t have a lot of top weight, otherwise the cards tend to fall forward on the display and look silly. I haven’t thought of a way to attach post earrings to it (except for peircing the ribbon), but feel free to share any ideas!

If you’ve got a display item you’d like to share we’d love for you to write an article for us! And all blog writers get a month of advertising in exchange for articles.

The new series will launch next week, so stay tuned!

via The Artsy Crafter

1. Raise your tables. I did this using bed risers from Bed Bath & Beyond.
2. Make sure your table covers reach the floor. This gives it a finished look and hides your storage boxes. My covers are actually long strips of fabric wrapped around the tables and duct taped (I duct tape, velcro and hot glue EVERYTHING lol). Then I added black fabric panels to the table tops.
3. Have multiple levels. This serves several purposes. It allows more merchandise to be displayed in a small area. It adds visual interest. It brings your product to the eye level of the shopper.
4. Make sure there is visual contrast between your display colors and your product so your merchandise will stand out.
5. Lots of light. (This may be more important for jewelry than anything else. We need that sparkle!) A well lit display will attract more attention than one that just blends in with the others. If the venue charges more for electric, pay it.
6. You must have a sign and/or banner. Make it visually similar to your other marketing materials. I had a woman come looking for me and she recognized my sign because it is the same style and colors as my business cards. In fact, the look of your display, Etsy shop and marketing materials should all tie together well.
7. If you want to sit, sit high! Get a bar height director’s chair so you will always be at eye level of your buyers.
8. Space permitting, have a separate small pay-out table. This moves the buyer away from the front of the display so others can move in to look. It also allows for a wrapping area if necessary. I keep my mailing list sign-up book there. While I write up the receipt and package the purchase, the buyer can sign up for future event notifications.
9. If you accept credit cards (and you should) have a sign saying so. I’ve had people stop at my booth simply because they could use their Visa with me.
10. This is an odd tip I’m just gonna throw in to make an even 10: At outdoor shows I always have a bowl of wrapped candies, but I also bring dog treats. So many people bring their dogs everywhere they go and always appreciate the thought. Also, if you have a friendly dog hanging around it attracts other dog lovers to your tent!

Here’s a few we picked from the group…

By Needlings

By A Scrappy Design

By Steppie

Got photos of a booth setup you love? Post a link in the comments!