by Bruce Baker
t’s booth makeover time again. I’ve chosen a booth that looks good overall, and readers may say: “What is wrong with that booth? I wish my booth looked that good!” But a few low-cost tweaks would make the artwork pop and, hopefully, generate more sales.
You must evaluate your personal needs and limitations for your booth with a wide variety of criteria. If you physically cannot transport or set up your booth, you obviously will have a problem. If you don’t merchandise for your ultimate customer, you won’t attract that customer into your booth.
 |
| Photo 1 — What’s good: Professional and tidy appearance; table heights are raised for better viewing. What needs changing: Work should be on multiple levels. Lighting needs improvement. There are too many framed photos/ribbons on display. |
I chose Gourd Art (www.gourdartoriginals.com) for this makeover because it shares some common merchandising missed opportunities that I often see. Patti Quinn and her partner Susie Matsuyama employ just about every surface technique possible — from wood burning, inks and dyes, to gemstone inlay — to embellish their award-winning gourds.
Quinn and Matsuyama, who will both be 70 next year, transport their gourd masks and jewelry in a 24-foot motor home, doing 30 shows last year alone. While age doesn’t seem to be slowing them down, they have limited storage space in the RV and weight issues regarding how much they can carry and set up.
These conditions set the stage for their needs and limitations of displaying their work. Portable, lightweight and compact displays are desirable and can look professional and attractive when designed using the right style and materials.
The booth (see Photo 1) has a professional and tidy appearance. One excellent feature is that the table heights have been raised 6 to 8 inches with leg extensions. This allows standing customers to look at the gourds without stooping or bending.
Multiple levels are the first change I would make in this booth. Multiple levels are a good way to pull customers out of the aisle and into your booth. They allow customers to see pieces individually whereas work displayed on one level all runs together in a visual blur. So, the more levels you use the better.
 |
| Photo 2, a closer view of the display area — What needs changing: Redo the shelves using a low-cost shelf and riser system; use light-colored walls and black shelves to help work “pop.” |
First I would make the tables various levels by using different height leg extensions. For example, one table raised 6 inches, two at 8 inches, and one table at 10 inches would go a long way to vary the levels.
Next, I would reconsider the shelves being used. Photo 2 shows that the current shelves used to create levels are only about 6 to 8 inches up from the tabletop. A custom-built, low-cost shelf and riser system could create levels that would go from the tabletop to about 6 inches above the customer’s eye level. This would improve the look of the booth, showcase the work and improve sales. Quinn is very concerned about weight and volume, but the levels and shelves can be easily created using foam core risers. Foam core is a fantastic material — lightweight, remarkably sturdy and easy to break down.
My suggestion is to create four-sided foam core columns, which can be cut so that they fold up to make a column (Figure 3). When not in use, these risers can be folded flat for storage and transportation. Foam core pedestals could be used to showcase individual pieces, creating even more levels. And, you can create a lightweight shelf that is amazingly sturdy by laminating two or three layers of foam core together.
 |
If the oak shelving isn’t replaced with the foam core shelves, my recommendation is to paint them a rich cream color if they keep the dark background. However, for this booth I would suggest they lighten up the background color and go for smoother lines.
The walls would be excellent if they were made of a light-colored matchstick blind or another window treatment that isn’t too dark. With light-colored background walls, the shelves could be painted black. The gourds would pop in contrast to the dark shelves and risers.
he lighting in this booth is detracting from the artwork. Improved lighting always generates more sales and pays for itself very quickly. Track lighting is the best modular lighting and doesn’t involve a great deal of expense. Be sure to use floodlight bulbs in the fixtures for the best quality of light.
If track lighting isn’t in your budget, use clip-on lights with appropriate bulbs. Paint them for a finished and professional look; coordinating them to match the display will make them disappear.
Notice there are three photos and several ribbons and awards in the booth. I recommended that Quinn and Matsuyama not show the awards in a prominent place. They bring a “county fair” element to the display. A ribbon from the year before or a particular show might be appropriate, but too many will take the focus off of your merchandise and your sales.
The three framed photographs in the booth show a green gourd hanging on a vine, a dried gourd and a decorated gourd. These photos would be more effective if they were larger in scale, but I’m not sure that these particular photos even provide maximum merchandising power. The photos should tell a compelling story about how owning one of these gourds will enhance your customers’ lives. I would consider a series of five or six photos showing the steps from a gourd on a vine to the final product, and photos showing how the gourds look in a man’s office or a contemporary home. I would place these photos off to one side, using the power of the back wall to show them off.
While we’re on the subject of the back wall, a bolder, more professional trade sign would go a long way to brand this business. Good graphics on a trade sign send a strong message to the customer about the quality of your work and your professionalism.
I think the use of place mats as landing spots for the gourds is a great touch. It’s low cost, lightweight and produces the “ta da” factor. They could use placemats as tops to foam core pedestals. However, regarding the animal skins and pelts, I would be very selective about which shows I bring these to. In the Southwest this merchandising technique could work well, but at other shows some customers may not relate to them and, in some cases, customers may object to them. Ultimately, merchandising for the demographic of the person attending a show is the way to go. It is not one size fits all.
My final recommendation is a floor covering even if it’s just for looks. If the flooring’s naturally hard, customers will stay longer if you make it comfortable on their feet in your booth. In the grass, the floor treatment is mostly cosmetic.
As you can see, the improvements to this booth would not be a major investment of time or money. However, if Quinn and Matsuyama make these changes — and do them right — I am sure they’ll attract more sophisticated customers and get a boost in sales.
For more information on booth design and sales techniques go to www.bbakerinc.com. Bruce Baker has two CDs on the subjects of booth design and sales techniques.