Booth Display from the Ground Up

t is my observation that many exhibitors do not take the importance of floor treatment seriously or they consider it an afterthought. The purpose of floor covering falls into two basic categories: one is aesthetic and the other is comfort.

Floor covering should be attractive and appropriate

Your floor covering defines your booth space. No matter how much attention you pay to the walls, display fixtures, or your craftwork, until you bring the floor covering choice into the merchandising mix, your booth is visually incomplete.

Bamboo is an effective flooring material that is lightweight, durable and attractive.

The floor covering you choose has a lot to do with your customer’s perceptions of your display and your art. A floor treatment must compliment the artist’s work and be appropriate in all aspects of its design and materials.

One common offender is a carpet with a design or pattern that is too busy, the wrong colors or one that looks ridiculous with the work be-ing shown. Imagine high style, contemporary “industrial chic” metal and glass furniture pieces with a cheap, faux oriental rug, thread-bare in places.

Regretfully, I have seen this and it did not work. The booth described above could have been perfect with a gray or black rubber floor treatment or even colored foam core. Yes, believe it or not, foam core or even cardboard can be an excellent one-time use floor treatment, provided the environment is dry.

The most common rubber flooring used by craft artists is a product called Zippy Mats. They are foam rubber pieces that fit together like a puzzle. Relatively inexpensive — at approximately $1 per square foot — they are available from Wandis International Inc.

Many artists today are using a floor treatment that is the equivalent to a floor cloth so they can create a mood and visual effect that is perfect for the style of work being displayed.

Such is the case with the Mystic Mud Pottery booth where the floor treatment looks like an Italian tile floor, a perfect aesthetic choice for this booth (pictured left). The overall effect is first class.

A floor cloth can easily be made more comfortable by placing a carpet pad or anti-fatigue mat under it. The type of carpet pad I am referring to here is not the kind of pad that is used under installed wall-to-wall carpet. A non-skid type pad, which is used to hold a throw rug in place on a hardwood floor is a better choice.

Look outside mainstream for floor coverings

There are many floor covering materials that are perfect for creating a totally individual look. However, many have not yet broken into the mainstream of craft merchandising.

Bamboo is an effective flooring material that is lightweight, durable and attractive.

Bamboo flooring is an excellent choice for that clean Asian or Zen look that is so popular right now. The flooring looks like hardwood and it rolls up into a neat, tight roll. It’s lightweight, extremely durable and comes in three sizes: 3x6.5 feet, 4x6 feet and 6x9 feet. These are available from Linn’s Oriental Imports starting at $26 for the smallest size. They do not sell directly to the public, but you can open an account with them with a $300 order; or they will help you track down someone in your area that distributes their products.

Many materials used in other types of businesses could also be perfect for your flooring needs. For example, dairy mats (rubber mats used in dairy barns) could be an inspired choice for your merchandising. There are many other cross-over materials out there that craft artists can choose to use in their booths.

Comfort is as important as aesthetics

When the floor feels comfortable to customers’ feet and legs, they will hang around your space longer. If your customers spend more time in your booth, you have more opportunity to sell to them.

It is important that you make the areas particularly comfortable where people need to stand while they consider your work. Examples would be areas in front of jewelry cases or the floor space in front of a card rack, etc.

Comfortable floor treatment is for you as well as your customer. If you get a good anti-fatigue mat and put it in your booth where you stand, you will not believe the difference in your feet and legs at the end of the day.

These anti-fatigue mats are available at a variety of places from kitchen shops to the big retailers, but the best ones for durability and comfort are from industrial supply companies.

Koffler Sales Corp. is in the business of mats and treads and is very customer service oriented. They have numerous products for anti-fatigue purposes, but “airstrip” is a great choice. Made of rubber, it is easy to store and clean and with a little care, it will last a lifetime. In addition, airstrip has beveled edges for preventing tripping.

Make sure you don’t ‘trip up’ on safety

This brings up the greatest negative aspect of floor treatment — using a floor covering that people trip on when they enter your booth. You need to make sure that the edge of your floor covering is not a tripping hazard, or that it is not so soft that it grabs the customer’s stride and throws them off balance.

Sometimes exhibitors overdo the softness factor and the customer literally sinks into the booth as they enter. There is a balance to everything.

Carpet still the choice for most booths

Carpet remains the most common choice of floor covering, as remnants are cheap and readily available. If carpet is your choice, be sure you are getting one that really looks smart with your work and merchandising scheme.

Here is a tip for dealing with carpet in your booth. Roll your carpet by first turning the pile side down and then rolling it up. By this method, when you unroll it the next time, the edge will lay flat on the floor and not curl up and cause a trip hazard, as it would if you rolled it pile side up.

Remember that your booth’s primary job is to pull people off the aisle and into your space seamlessly and without much commitment on their part. If the look and feel of your flooring is right, it will attract more people into your booth, and more traffic usually equals more sales.

-Bruce Baker is a jeweler, gallery owner and nationally recognized expert on booth design. Visit his Web site at www.dbakerinc.com.