I alway find arriving to set up for a trade fair exciting yet daunting at the same time. My work is small so I find it a challenge to fill the large space that I'll occupy for a number of day as well as to stand out in a very large and talented crowd. As buyers fly in from all around Australia and a few from overseas and they have a lot to see in a very short time, it's important to be able to grab people's attention very quickly.
They are many large, elaborate set ups but traveling to Melbourne from Queensland I try to keep my freight costs low and flat pack as much as possible. For this latest show I sent one box of ikea flat pack furniture down and the rest of the display and stock fit into two suitcases and one carry-on bag.
The back wall was the first thing I set up to get a feel for the space. I think I should start buying shares in the Blu Tack brand as I went through about four packets to hang my display, it makes taking it down so much easier at the end of the show.
I mapped everything out with masking tape and pieces of paper...
Then hung frames onto the wall. The frames were filled with pieces of sushi grass to add a bit of fun to the display.
My fabric and resin pendants were then hung with the designs featured in the frames.
I had more grass cut from acrylic for my hairclip display...
And for the earring from that collection.
The space I'd booked was 3x3 metres so I had tables at the front with my other collections.
While lighting at the show is good, especially on the back wall, even more, especially for jewellery is a bonus. To avoid the need for power cords running through my stand, I used battery operated LED lights.
Soon I'll post some other photos from the show, there were so many amazing displays.
