Over the years we have exhibited at a number of Craft and Trade fairs. As this is not an every day thing for us, it takes a bit of time and effort working on display ideas to show our jewellery at it’s best. Sometimes we are also asked to incorporate a theme that the event has asked us to join in with, for example Christmas or a specific special event. Each venue is different, so we need to tailor the display to each event.
As for the overall display area we have had various ideas over the years. Firstly, we made our own back drop using linen canvas with images of our jewellery ironed on using t-shirt transfers. We were quite pleased with our efforts but the problem was that the images were too small and could not be seen from a distance. The material also gained a slightly brown look when we sprayed it with a fire retardant coating, as demanded by the exhibition organisers. We then had a couple of large banners made, which looked very professional but were a pain to hang and they curled up at the edges after the first use.
Large photographs of our jewellery came next. Even though they were mounted on card they soon got marked and were easily damaged. They were also difficult to store and transport and would have been even more troublesome if we had framed them. We then thought about laminating the photographs but we couldn’t find anywhere that could laminate very large prints with a thick lamination.
At last, we think that we have found the perfect thing, Roller Banners!
We are really pleased with these banners. We had them made by a company called nitro branding in Great Yarmouth. We put together the art work and sent it off to the company to print and make into these wonderful banners. The printed material is quite tough and won’t curl at the edges and the great thing about them is that they roll down into a casing, which makes transporting and storing them easy. We wanted large images of the jewellery that can be easily spotted from a distance. Unlike ceramics, sculpture, paintings etc., we found that unless people were right in front of the cases then they could not see the jewellery. It was easy for people to miss us, especially if there was already someone stood looking at the display. Hopefully these new banners will do the job. We think that they are the bees knees!
We also got some new post cards made this week. We use these for promotion and hand them out at the fairs. We also give a selection of them away with a silver cleaning cloth as a little gift, when people buy jewellery from our website.
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