Booth Display; evolving and simplifying

This is my booth from my most recent trip to the South End Open Market on August 9th.  This past Thursday I had the pleasure of sharing a booth with my friend Stephanie from Atoms At Work at the Pittsfield 3rd Thursday, and my display was quite different for the most recent event.  Partially because I only had half a booth, and partially because I have been focusing much of my energy lately on SIMPLIFYING. In ever aspect of my life and work. It’s so hard to do for a visual thinker and pack-rat like myself. {Embarrassing admission: I still have boxes of birthday cards from, er, the past 28 years. I don’t save EVERYTHING. Just stuff I like or think I or my children would be interested to look at again someday. Yes, the children I don’t have. Or the historians that are studying my life after I’m gone. heh. hehehe. You know you think that way, don’t deny it!}

So… simplifying…. At the fair where I shared the booth, I chose to leave home a bit of my product, and focused instead on cards, bookmarks and prints, plus the newest addition to my product line: “BerkshireMade” baby onesies! They are too darn cute. Just sayin’. I will post a nice photo soon; I need to print more as I sold most of what I brought (which wasn’t a lot but good to know that people like ‘em!).  I really liked the way things looked so simple, though. I love my bird sculptures and original paintings and photo blocks and needle-felted things and clay things, but I think in a smaller space it’s really confusing to see all of those things together. I’ve been trying to keep it all in the same color family and it all seems to work together somehow, but I also found it much easier to focus on my customers and my simplified product display; I certainly knew all the prices of everything anyone asked about!

My mom found this old shoe-storage cabinet thingy for me at a yard sale recently, and John souped it up with the moulding to hold the cards in. I really like it and love how it adds some height to the display. Those are all cards inside and original paintings on top. This shot is from the Aug. 9th South End Open Market. Last week I didn’t have anything on top and just had more cards in front of it in small boxes and on the table.

I’m also thinking lower, too — I would like to find (or make!) some funky fabric to drape over the center and front of the table or some kind of great posters or imagery to draw the viewer’s eyes up onto the table tops. Right now I just have light-colored mismatched tablecloths and sheets, which do the trick of concealing the boxes under the tables and making things look all professional-like, but I would like to jazz them up a bit, of course with the “simple” idea in mind!

You can also see in that top photo that I have been playing with clothesline displays for my prints, which seems to work really well, better even than the bulletin boards in back that I think I’m done schlepping around. The clothesline is much more compact to transport and easier to change around if the mood strikes. And can be hung near the front of the booth, which is key in catching shopper’s eyes.

I’m also in the process of adding a curtain to the back of my display. We have had many opportunities to use the lovely rain curtains that came with the tent, but I’m thinking something lighter and more colorful! I tried out some nice bright blue fabric this Thursday, and now I’m going to add some rust orange and see how that looks. In that top photo you can see where I got the idea, from the curtain of the vendor behind me!  (who was lovely! thanks for the vicarious use of your curtain and the idea!).

Have you been through a process of simplifiying lately? Was it as darn hard as it seems to be? Why does it sometimes feel easier to just stay in old patterns of clutter and disorganization and complicated systems that don’t work? I mean… really, people. sheesh.