So, the day had finally come. About 3 weeks ago, I got an email about an opening for the bridal fashion debut here at the Phoenix Convention Center. I thought to myself, should I do this? So many different thoughts went thru my head. Then I decided that yes, I should venture out and show my work. So I signed up. With only 3 weeks to plan and get ready, my brain went to work. I knew that with my booth I wanted to stand out, I wanted to be different….but how? Then it came to me, that I am going to have to build a wall. I went to my father in law for help. He is a great builder and had some extra time to help me out. I told him my idea and before I knew it, he was off to The Home Depot and the materials were bought. Then the building began. He really built it exactly as I had envisioned. I wanted a fun, modern, earthy kind of booth. I was so excited.
While the construction of the wall was taking place, I called my Dad to tell him what I was planning and he listened and gave me some advice. He does these trade-shows all of the time. His company is PARKEON.
He knew a little of what to expect and gave me some good pointers.
As the days passed, I was up until 3 (only slightly past my usual bedtime of 1 a.m. My mind was working and with 3 kids, sometimes that is the only time for my creative side to really be turned on. I knew that I wanted to incorporate my color scheme and my logo over and over so that the image would stick. I also knew that I didn’t just want a hand out that would go to the “toss” pile at the end of the day. So the fun began. I looked at my favorite images over and over again. And narrowed it to 5 and had canvas gallery wraps made of those. Then with the other favorites I had large prints made and mounted. Of course, I wanted them to stand out away from the wall, as the gallery wraps did, so I attached a 2 inch piece of Styrofoam to the back of the board. It worked perfectly.
My handout consisted of a 5×7 metallic envelope that included a 5×7 post card: image on one side and info on the other. A “promo” card that had a special offer for the engaged couple one one side and an image on the other and a business card. The envelopes were then sealed with a business card- to give it a finished look. Again, I wanted it to stand out….be different from what everyone else was handing out.
So how did the day go? It was AWESOME! My dear friend Larisa (who would love to learn more about photography) volunteered to help me out! What a trooper. She was awesome! She was right out there talking to the brides and handing out my information…. I would have been lost without her. Thanks LOU!
I was so blessed to be complimented by so many other vendors on the presentation and the qaulity and beauty of my work. It was great to have other vendors tell me that they came down that particular isle just to look at my booth again. (Even a few brides did the same thing.) And the envelopes were a HUGE hit. Every single person touched the envelope, read the outer business card and complimented on how much they LOVED the presentation. I even overheard one bride say, “Now this is what you do to stand out!” It was exactly what my goal was- to stand out. I was so happy to hear that so many were impressed. IT was especially nice to have several photographers stop by and compliment the presentation and the quality of my work. So thank you to all that had something nice to say. My friend and mentor , RebeccaBouck came by to say hi and check out the booth! Thanks Rebecca!
Here are some pictures to see what it looked like
This was it after we assebled the wall and brought in the basics.
This was a stack of 35 8×10’s printed on mount board of a couple of images from a handful of weddings.
This is me on Saturday after we got most everything set up! My father in law took the picture!
This is what the booth looked like this morning.
And the best part of our booth was having the BOOB Table right across from us. It was a plastic surgeon that had binders and binders of pictures of boobs and other parts (the page was always open to the boobs) I am sure to get attention. He also had silicon implants laying on the table. So, need less to say, it was a lot of fun to watch the brides and others flock to the table. I had to take a picture of this because by the number of people standing there, you would think he was giving out free money. It really gave me a laugh all day.
I had so many really nice brides stop to talk, I booked some, and when I got home, I had already received a couple of emails from couples that are interested in my work.
At the end of the day, though tired, I can say I am happy that I did this and am blessed that all went so well!
9 Comments
June 4, 2007 at 4:49 am
What a great idea for a booth! I love the shelf and little accent pieces. The photos you’ve displayed are beautiful!
June 4, 2007 at 6:23 am
Wow, the wall is beautiful! What a fantastic presentation. I’m bookmarking THIS post for sure! Congratulations on a job well done.
June 4, 2007 at 6:57 am
Very nice booth! I like how it is decorated and you have beautiful images!
June 4, 2007 at 9:25 am
What a fun booth! It definitely stands out… great job!
June 4, 2007 at 2:25 pm
Wow! What an amazing job! I think your hard work definitely paid off! I think your presentation was very clean & let the people see your work on the wall behind you. Props to your father-in-law for making that great wall! Great job!
June 8, 2007 at 10:13 am
Well done in more ways than one you and your work stand out, you will be someone to watch for sure. well done…
June 25, 2007 at 4:56 pm
Awesome set up!
I hope that this was good for you. Your work is great!
July 22, 2007 at 2:32 am
haha! looks like that photo that the moms of the brides were more interested in the BOOB man! haha!
January 7, 2008 at 8:05 am
[...] forgot to take a picture. My booth looked very similar as last time- you can check it out here June Show. It was also great to see that my booth and marketing material was such an inspiration for so [...]