I would like to design and construct a unique, hard-walled, indoor booth suitable for some of the high-end fine art/craft shows. I have been able to locate a wealth of good information on tent-style outdoor booths, but very little on the more elaborate hard-walled displays seen at many of the national shows. Do you know of a comprehensive source of such information? I would greatly appreciate any information you may have in this regard.
-Anthony, via e-mail
How smart of you to want an upscale booth to showcase your work to its best advantage and add immeasurably to the quality of your brand. Often the hard walls seen at high end shows are provided by the show owner. However I think you can make your own as long as you have the ability to move them around. I would suggest you consider using hollow core doors. They are available in a wide range of heights and widths. Consider making your booth 8’ high, the extra height helps isolate your work and creates an elegance you can’t get with lower walls. You will want to have a selection of widths that will allow you to make a booth to fit the various booth sizes you may encounter. Structurally you will need to have right angles to hold this together, corner brackets can be used behind the back corners to hold the walls together. I have seen door booths that use baseboard at the bottom and crown molding at the top to hold the straight sections together. You get a bit of elegance and structure at the same time. Walls that are perpendicular to outside walls can be secured with brackets that go on under the moldings; these walls may also need a return on the top going back to an outside wall on an angle. You will also want a top brace that goes across the top of the open/aisle side of the booth. All the components can be precut and finished at home, including predrilling for screws and of course painting. It will be impossible to put this booth up alone. You’ll either have to bring a helper or perhaps a friend is also an exhibitor and will trade setup time with you.
