What do you do?

[Grandpaw]

I would like to start going to some art shows or festivals and would like your ideas on how to hang some pictures. I bought a 10x10 canopy with four corner posts and attachable sides and I am trying to come up with different ideas that will let me display framed pictures for 8x10s to 20x30in. framed prints on them. I am looking for something that doesn't weigh a lot and is easy to set up and transport. The more ideas I get the better chance I have of getting something that will work well for me. Thanks, Jeff

[freygr]

I would not display the photos framed, just matted. I would have a small selection of frames. The art supply store I use has 8 x 10 and 11 x 14 inch acetate sleeves which can be sealed and a matted 8 by 10 print fits nicely in the 11 x 14 sleeve and a 5 by 7 matted print fits in the 8 by 10 sleeve.

[mjs1973]

This is a question of have been dealing with for a while now. I have done a
couple art fairs in the last 2 years and I have come to this conclusion. If
you're going to start doing them regularly, you might as well spend the $ up front and
do it right the first time. It's just like photo equipment. Buy the best
tripod you can afford so you're not replacing it 6 months down the road.

Since I only really do 1 big show a year right now, I came up with a DIY
solution that has worked for me. It's not the best and it's kind of a pain,
but here is what I did. I went to a fabric store and bought some canvas
duck cloth in a light tan color. I cut it into sections so it would fit
between the legs on my EZ-Up canopy. Then I went to the hardware store and
bought some brass gromits and attached them around the outer edge of the
canvas. If you can sew, I would double the cloth over and sew it so you
have a much stronger edge. Some of my gromits are starting to pull out! I
use plastic zip ties and attach the canvas to the upper frame and legs of
the canopy. The canvas isn't quite as wide as the legs of the canopy so I'm
able to stretch the canvas pretty tight. I also tie a small rope to the
gromits along the bottom of the canvas and tie them to tent stakes in the
ground. This really helps if it's windy, assuming you are set up outside.
(I tried using velcro to attach the walls canvas to the booth frame but I
think the groomits and zip ties hold better. The tighter you can get the canvas, the better your photos will hang. I then use drapery hooks to
hang my framed photos. The bottom of the canvas, cords and tent stakes are
hidden by the tables I have lining the edge of my booth.

For my matted work, I use 6 small tables lining the outer walls of my tents.
Each table is 4' long by 18" wide. I then use small easels to stand up
stacks of matted prints. By using the narrow 18" tables I'm able to leave
lots of open space in my booth. It allows for a lot of people to in there
at once without being too crowded.

I really think you need to have things some of your work hanging on the
walls whether it's framed or not is up to you. Personally, I only hang
framed pieces. Put a large, eye-catching photo on the back wall of your
booth. It really helps to draw people into your booth and gets them to look
at more of your work.

Another thing to consider is your chair. The first year I went with a standard folding lawn chair. It was comfortable, but I was constantly going up and down everytime I would talk to someone. This year I went with a directors chair. I HIGHLY recommend it. You can stay seated and still be eye to eye with the person you're talking to. Another thing I like to do is to sit outside of my booth. When I go into a booth with someone sitting at the back of it, I feel like I'm being watched or that someone is trying to sell me something. I feel much more relaxed when they are outside.

I'm not much for going to art fairs to look at the artwork, but I love going
to them to see how people set up their displays. You can get lots of good
ideas from what others are doing.


There is a company called
Flourish that makes
mesh panels for just this type of display. They are expensive but I think
they would pay for themselves pretty quickly with their ease of use. I have
seen several displays at art fairs with them and I think they look very
nice. If I did more shows, I would buy these. Seeing these in use at an
art fair is what gave me the idea to make my own out of canvas. If I did more fairs I would also go with a different canopy than the EZ Up too.

I have seen people make their own walls out of pegboard and it seems to work pretty well. I didn't want to go that route because of the size and weight of the materials. You can also get wall sections, both metal mesh and carpeted that look pretty nice, but again, you have a lot of weight to carry around.

[Grandpaw]

Mike, that looks like it would be easy to carry and work fairly well. I will check it out. Thanks, Jeff

[w.slayman]

Jeff,

Something you might consider would be to use nylon fish net for your three walls, attached with reusable wire ties, and then get some of those steel spring type paper clips to hold your matted photographs on the net, by placing the clips through the holes in the net. Using the net would also make easy work of changing the layout and spacing, it will also be light weight and take up a minimal space when packed. Living in Ocean springs you should be able to get the fishing net in town.

Just an idea.

[byjamesderuvoDHQ]

Have you considered PVC pipes? You can pretty much create anything of your own design and break it down for transport as you need it. Check out PVCProjects.com and PVCPlans.com for some ideas of what can be done with PVC Pipes and then come up with your own design.

[Grandpaw]

Thanks Bill and James for your ideas. I am still trying to figure out the best answer for me, Jeff

[mjs1973]

Have you considered PVC pipes? You can pretty much create anything of your own design and break it down for transport as you need it. Check out PVCProjects.com and PVCPlans.com for some ideas of what can be done with PVC Pipes and then come up with your own design.

When I originally started using the canvas walls in my setup, I built a frame for them out of PVC pipe. I was able to make the walls nice and tight around the frames, but what a pain in the butt. Very heavy, very cumbersome and a huge hassle to transport.