Looking for some low buck solutions for hanging work in an outdoor booth

Jasonuncloned · #1 05-14-2009, 03:20 AM

Hi everyone,

I'd like to say first that I am new to the forum and have been searching this subject already, but I am literally OVERWHELMED with the amount of good information there is on this website in general. That being said, I feel like I'm just spinning my wheels at this point trying to read all the past threads about festival booths. Some of them turned into personal dialog too.

So, for that reason I wanted to start a new thread.

I’m doing my first outdoor festival in June, and I’m kind of wondering how I want to approach this. I’m going to buy the standard obligatory 10’ x 10’ white EZ UP tent this week, and I should be able to borrow a set of side panels from a friend of mine, provided they’ll work with my tent. I should also be able to weight down the legs with some 25 or 50 lb weighted bags from work.

What I’m not sure on yet is how I want to hang my work. I’m really just looking for something that will be sturdy and cheap to setup. This is my first time doing a festival, and I’m not sure that I’ll be doing this more in the future, so spending a large amount of money on displays, etc. is something I’d like to avoid at this point.

I’ve read about the Pro Panels and Graphic Display Systems Mesh panels, but I think at this point I’m not ready to make that kind of an investment. I really am not sure if my artwork will sell, and putting out $400 + on my setup isn’t within my budget anyway. I know it may not look the greatest presentation wise, but I will try my best to “dress it up”.

Can anybody give me some suggestions on some real low buck, zip tie it up, kind of solutions?

I read in a thread someplace about using plastic chicken wire or "hardware net" from Home Depot, but I'm having zero luck finding that in white. I've thought about PVC lattice or peg board too. I'm looking for some good ideas to pull this off.

I'd like to stick within an $80 - $100 budget tops in that regard. By the time I've bought the tent, had giclees and prints made of two of my paintings to compliment the rest of the my work, I'll probably have spent over $500 on this endevour. The reality is I could end up selling one print for $35 the whole day, and come home with a huge loss. The prints and giclees will be of use to me later, but spending a lot on display panels may not be. Thanks.

Jason

timelady · #2 05-14-2009, 05:16 AM

I'm not sure how the walls work, but could you use picture rail hooks over the top of the walls, and then hang the paintings using fishing wire? (this way you can hang several down of the hook with long pieces of wire.

Picture hooks look like this so your hardware or interiors store might call them something else: http://www.fxhangingsystems.com.au/wall_timber.htm And here's another page that gives you an idea how they hang: http://framing4yourself.com/equipmen...cture_Rail.htm Ignore the screw and nylon cord in the first image, that's part of a gallery hanging system, you can just loop your fishing wire around normally: http://www.rejuvenation.com/fixshow3...election.phtml

If you put your string or D-rings near the top of the frame or stretcher the pictures would hang flat against the walls.

Tina.

Valrichardson · #3 05-14-2009, 10:50 AM

I posted a similar question about a month ago. We used the chicken wire that had been suggested at our festival this past weekend, and it worked fine. As I was wandering around looking at other booths, I noticed one person with a nice quality clothesline, strung around the booth at two heights, which also looked like a good solution. Another person used 4 x 8 foot boards, standing vertically, with ledges attached, on which his paintings sat. I didn't like the one booth that had the high-end panels because it closed off the space too much and made the booth too dark and claustrophobic.

Best, Valerie
www.valerierichardson.com

Slinky78 · #4 05-14-2009, 10:56 AM

Neat ideas in here. I currently use the curtain hooks in my propanels to hang my work, and that works fine, but I know it will damage the panels over time, so I was thinking about investing in hooks and line or another system, too.

One guy at a festival showed my his panels after 10 years of use, and the middles and insides barely seemed to even stay together! I don't know how on earth they supported the weight of his big, heavy pictures!

Slinky78 · #5 05-14-2009, 04:43 PM

I'm not sure what exactly these are, or where you are, but maybe he could send a picture:

http://harrisburg.craigslist.org/art/1168684730.html

Mr Leal · #6 05-14-2009, 06:55 PM

Slinky does have a good idea, buy used display systems. If they're scuffed or whatever spray paint them.

My advice is to look at other booths, if the outdoor festival isn't running yet(if it's an ongoing thing), go to a farmer's market and take a look at what they use for displays in the different booths. Those will be cheap, but effective, because they obviously have to show the products well enough to sell them. Plus if you borrow stylistically from a farmer's market it could add to your image.

Jasonuncloned · #7 05-14-2009, 11:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valrichardson

I posted a similar question about a month ago. We used the chicken wire that had been suggested at our festival this past weekend, and it worked fine. As I was wandering around looking at other booths, I noticed one person with a nice quality clothesline, strung around the booth at two heights, which also looked like a good solution. Another person used 4 x 8 foot boards, standing vertically, with ledges attached, on which his paintings sat. I didn't like the one booth that had the high-end panels because it closed off the space too much and made the booth too dark and claustrophobic.

Hi Valerie,

Glad to hear that method works!

Did you zip tie to the bracing on the sides (between the legs at the bottom of the canopy)?

Did you have any issues with the walls and the chicken wire blowing around in the wind?

How did you hang paintings on it? Just with S hooks?

Jasonuncloned · #8 05-14-2009, 11:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slinky78

I'm not sure what exactly these are, or where you are, but maybe he could send a picture

Thanks for the idea Slinky. I searched all the CL pages in my region and I couldn't find anything in the art and crafts section for displays, but I tried the Business listings on a hunch and I found 2 listings for metal grid wall. I'm going to try and contact them tomorrow and see how much they want.

Slinky78 · #9 05-15-2009, 12:55 AM

You can also post an ad that you're looking for some, too! If someone's out there debating on whether or not to sell theirs, or has some they want to sell but hasn't written up the ad yet, they might respond.

GL!

I got my Craft Hut tent used on Craigslist for an excellent price! I highly recommend Craigslist for display stuff. You have to keep after it and sometimes not be in a hurry though.

timelady · #10 05-15-2009, 03:53 AM

I had another idea as I fell asleep.

Hang chains. You can get light-duty ones at a hardware store by the yard. Then put eye-hooks on the backs of the paintings. Put the eyehooks through a link in the chain then use something like a zip-tie or twist-tie through the eye and it's secure.

Means you can have as many vertical chains as you need, and you can hang anywhere along the chain for more flexibility in lay-out. We even have white plastic chain in our garden so that would blend in with fabric walls.

Tina.

Kassie Mays · #11 05-15-2009, 04:12 AM

I've used chains in the past when I wanted to do a double tent. I hung them horizontally from the metal part of the tent in two tiers. I used the S hooks to hang my already wired frames. It was OK for one show.
I'm looking to sell my graphic display system, 8 panels in good shape. I live in Philly. I also have two old tents and a canopy. At 70, I don't plan on doing any more shows.
Know any place where I can sell off my prints (100's)?
Kathy

WEB: http://www.artbyspencer.com.
or e-mail artbyspencer7@aol.com
Blog: http://Kathy-mynewestpaintings.blogspot.com.

kasunart · #12 05-15-2009, 10:45 AM

Be careful if you hang work...slight breezes will make it swing and bang into people in your booth or your neighbors walls if you're close. Also...be careful of the weight you put on an EZup hangwise--they're not designed for that as the criss cross roofline is very weak and bendy. They're referred to as Easy Downs for lots of reasons. Not that they won't work, I do have one and use it on occasion.
Unfortunately doing art fairs without a great deal of frustration requires quality and sturdy things to haul around, and that's not cheap.
There's a few companies that rent out displays and gridwalls, all set up for you. I've known some pro's who've utilized the services for convenience sake. I can't recall names but they shouldn't be hard to find. Howard Alan Events always refers artists to them. They cost 2 to 3 hundred bucks but all you need to do is show up with your work and drapery hooks...
I have the heavy steel Graphic Display Systems 3x6 panels, and have used and abused them for about 12 years now and they're still like new.
It's hard to just dip your toe into art fairs...you really need to try a string of them before deciding. Any number of reasons can kill sales at a show...weather, news that day, etc...so just doing one or two is tough.
Good luck!

dorith · #13 05-18-2009, 01:48 PM

For just trying out the waters, you probably don't want to go through the trouble of building walls, etc. - see if you can find another artist on craigslist, that would let you borrow their Propanels for that weekend.

Curtain hooks for hanging paintings are a pain - it's hard to get them level, it takes forever, and really: they are a pain, mainly in your thumb and fingers.
After using those for a year, we moved to using industrial strength Velcro (available through Home Depot, I think) on the back of the frames - stick it on. Take it off. Crooked or Straight - it works.
If you have large paintings, use more than just four pieces on the corners of the frames.
If you use this, make sure you put the Velcro on a day or so in advance to give the glue a chance to adhere to the frame correctly.
We do about 25-30 shows a year and this is all we use, without trouble.

Gridwalls are heavy, clunky, and also a pain to deal with (on that note: we have gridwalls for sale, black, including shelves, wire bins, etc. - we're in upstate SC. PM me if you're interested).Same goes for eZ up tents - if there is any weather that will cause tents to come down, EZ up will be the first to leave the premises. Always.(so happened this weekend in Gatlinburg at the Fine Arts & Crafts show.)
And it's not just about losing your work: they often will blow into your neighbor's tent, damaging their tent as well. And: they are not very rain-proof.

So if you are planning on doing this even more than once, bite the bullet and get yourself a crafthut or trimline tent, and some Propanels - it's well worth the investment.

Either way - it's great to get to meet real people at real shows and get feedback verbally and financially. Hope it goes well for you - good luck!

Slinky78 · #14 05-18-2009, 04:06 PM

Yeah, my built walls (in another post) cost < $30 to build and it wasn't TOO time consuming, but I only used them for 2 shows. After that I had enough $ to start buying some propanels- but I wasn't going to spend the dough on those if I didn't sell anything at my first two shows!

The other thing I've noticed about hanging work, a lot of people use clothes pins and hang work on a line and honestly, it does look VERY cute. But you have to be careful because the clothes pins will definitely put a dent in your mats (or the print itself). If you are able to clip to the top of the bag and not onto the mat, or just the very tippy tippy top of the mat it might be okay, but you don't want your mats and prints getting dents in them like that.

Jasonuncloned · #15 05-19-2009, 12:09 AM

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I do see what you are saying about making an investment in a proper setup to make sure that everything goes smoothly, but I think right now isn't the time for me. As it stands right now I know it's pretty likely that I'm going to take a bath on this one. Thus far I have $75 in booth fees, $120 in a tent, and I'm getting ready to spend about another $425 to get a small number of giclees and prints made of two of my more popular paintings so that I have something "take a walk to an ATM" affordable. I did the math and figured out that I will have to sell all of my prints (8 @ $35 ea) and giclees (6 @ $100) + and original painting or two to really make a profit on this. That's a pretty lofty goal. I won't be crushed if I'm skunked or I only sell a print or two, but that's why I want to find something low buck for the display. At least the prints and giclees can be sold in the future.

I've been diving into finding grid walls this week, and I haven't had much luck. I contacted 3 places that sell store fixtures about renting. One wanted $100, another wanted $130 for renting them. I might as well spend another $70-$80 and buy them if I go that route, but as I said, I hate to make that investment now.

I've sent out an email to the artist group I'm a part of now about borrowing something to use, and I'm posting on some regional art group pages as well too to see if I can find something.

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