Inspired Displays

Here is a little follow-up to my post about displays. I was able to get some great pictures of the displays of some BEST members from Allison of Tigerlillyshop.etsy. Please take a look at the creative use of different items for display purposes. Again, please use these displays as inspiration and do not just copy their ideas. All of us have put a lot of time and thought into our table set-ups and you should do the same! After browsing through the displays, take some time to browse their Etsy shops too. Just click the photo to be take directly to their shop.

First up is Littlest Bean - jenmenkhaus.etsy. Great use of color, height and vintage items! I am seriously in love with her table covering.








Next is Thebrokenplate.etsy . Such a clean cut, modern design, just like her pendants. It really makes it easy to see everything she has available. I am guessing this is a handmade display. Hopefully Juliet will read the post and let us know.













Next up is jillpopowichdesigns.etsy . Jill takes it up a notch (sorry Emeril) with a very elegant display featuring glass cases with terra cotta and black accents. The color combination really sets off her silver jewelry.














Here we have Yummyandcompany.etsy . Jen keeps things simple with a crisp white table covering and wooden display racks. I like the use of the turquoise frame to display the necklaces and having it in the center makes an eye catching focal piece.




Bowerboxpress.etsy Uses height and some creative card holders to display her wares. She also has a great sign which you can't see in this photo. Another clean, fresh display that makes her journals and cards the centerpiece.







Here's miscelena.etsy . I was her neighbor at the show and can attest that her display was very "shopable". The use of a spinning rack (not shown) was very eye-catching and made shopping for the perfect card very easy. Her signs were also very clear about pricing which is very important.


























Here is Tigerlillyshop.etsy's display. She was set-up in a very small space, but made great use of her space. I mean just look at the quantity of items she has, but it doesn't look cluttered or messy. Eye-catching, yet easily shoppable. Another great table covering too.

Here's a fresh modern display from elisasherejewelry.etsy. I really like the bold print of the table covering accented with the green display boards. It makes a nice cohesive display.


jennyjen42.etsy has a really fun display. Some of the great features are storage bins on their side as shelves for her pillows, a decorative rack to hold pillows and purses, an easel like board to hold more bags and a picnic basket to hold her eyeglass cases. Everything is clearly organized and displayed for easy shopping.

The rustic feel of vwstudios.etsy's display goes perfectly with the rustic feel of her pottery.














Last but not least is greenstarstudio.etsy. A bright, fun and colorful display. She has a lot of different items, from soap to coloring books, knitimals, stickers, decals & magnets and cards. Each item is separated in it's own bin or display case and is clearly marked with the price which makes shopping through the different items very easy. The different height levels also help organize her table and carry your eye through the display.













We are missing a photo of Sweetpepita.etsy's display which was our only clothing display. I can tell you that she had the coolest hanging rack created from a branch. A small touch, but a big impact, plus it's functional. If I get a picture, I will add it here as well. Update: I found a pic of Shannon's display from Artscape. It's a great shot of the branch hanger I mentioned earlier. She also uses a clothesline and clothespins to hang her adorable dresses. I really love how she has the hats displayed to show off their points . Too cute. The whole look is very inviting.

So when thinking about the inspiration for your display, think about your style, the colors you use in your work, creative and eye-catching displays, height, functionality and "shopability"( I think I made up a new word). Also don't forget signage and a place to display your business cards! If you have any other suggestions or display tips, feel free to leave a comment.

Through My Eyes

I am trying to learn the art of the short post, so here are some things that inspired me this past week. Maybe they will inspire you too.

Be Inspired to Create an Interesting Display

The ladies of BEST and I had a great day at Hampdenfest over the weekend. It was a hot long day, but doing it as a group made all bearable. It started slow, but I ended the day with a pretty nice profit. I only had my little table , so I had to do some creative arranging to fit everything in. I actually ended up liking the rather crowded table. I thought the layering of items and displays was interesting and now I am trying to figure out how to keep that look with the 3 tables I have for Crafty Bastards at the end of the month. I am kicking myself now becasue I didn't go around and pictures of everyone's displays. They were all creative and each complemented the feel the artist was trying to convey with their work. Here are some shots of my display. Sorry for the terrible pictures, but the sun was on us all day and by the time it started to go down I was too tired to take another picture.













When creating your craft show display try to come up with creative ideas to display your items. These days crafters/artists are very competitive and it can be difficult to stand out. A creative eye-catching display can pull people into your booth where they can get a better look at your items which obviously can lead to more sales. The strategy is simple, the more people you bring in, the more sales you will likely get. My displays are a mixture of my own creations, traditional displays, wall boxes and tablewear. When looking for display items, let your imagination run wild and don't forget to look at items that are not traditionalyl used as displays. Houseware stores, craft stores, thrift stores and hardware stores make great places to look for non-traditional displays. Just always keep functionality in mind. Make sure that it will show off your items while also keeping them in place. Feel free to share some of your display ideas in the comments. I'd love to hear about the creative ways people are displaying their wares. As always, please use this these ideas as inspiration and don't just copy what others are doing. Make your diplay your own and use it to reflect your style.

If you remember from my last post, we were also collecting art supplies for Art with a Heart in Baltimore to help replenish supplies that a middle school lost in a fire over the summer. I am happy to report that we were able to collect a large box of supplies and our blog post about the collection even led one reader to begin volunteering with Art with a Heart. So thanks to all the BEST members, wonderful customers and blog readers who donated some supplies! I also wanted to say thanks to all my customers and all the lovely people I talked to on Saturday. It was wonderful to meet you all.

Be Inspired to Give Back to your Community & Save on Handmade Goodies

Block Party Press and the ladies of BEST (Baltimorecraft.com) will be at Hampdenfest from 11 AM-7 PM, on the Avenue, W 36th St, Baltimore, MD, this Saturday, September 13th. Come by and pick up some wonderful handmade items. It's never to early to get started on your holiday shopping.

You can even save 10% just by donating some craft supplies to our first “Craft Supply Drive!” Please bring any unused craft (or office) supplies or gift card to our booth at Hampdenfest on September 13th, and receive a coupon for 10% off any one purchase from a BEST member at the show! Participating Best Members:

BlockPartyPress
BowerboxPress
DandelionBlu
ElisaShereJewelry
GreenStarStudio
JenMenkhaus
JennyJen42
JenyGwen
JillPopowichDesigns
Miscelena
SweetPepita
TheBrokenPlate
TigerLillyShop
VWStudios

All supplies will be donated to Art with a Heart, a Baltimore charity which provides interactive, hands-on art activities to disadvantaged families and children, and to people with developmental and physical challenges. They lost many of their supplies to a fire this summer, and we would love to help get them fully stocked again! Here's a list for the items we are looking for:

Most Needed:

* Deco Markers / Paint Markers
* Elmer’s Glue
* Erasers
* Fabric Glue / Fabric-Tac
* Hot glue guns and glue sticks
* Glue sticks
* Markers
* Masking tape
* Mod Podge
* Paint brushes
* Pencil sharpeners
* Pencils
* Single hole punchers
* Scissors
* Scotch Tape
* Tacky Glue

Also Needed:

* Aluminum foil
* Beads
* Disposable/plastic bowls
* Elastic string
* Glitter glue
* Jewelry hardware
* Mat board
* Mat cutter
* Mini hot glue gun sticks
* Paper towels
* Puffy paint
* Screw gun
* Sculpey clay
* Self-hardening clay
* Tag board/poster board
* Thread
* Watercolor paper
* Wire

So come see us at Hampdenfest and be inspired to give back to your community!

Inspiration Revealed

When I can, I will try to create a piece inspired by some of the themes discussed here and of course I will share it with you. Here is a new ACEO I created with texture as a large part of the inspiration. The texture is created with the circles as well as the distressing and even the raised hills and trees create a relief texture. I really enjoy creating things that you can feel as well as see. I need a name for this piece too. A name usually comes to me by the time I finish a piece, but this one is stumping me. The word "layers" repeats in my mind whenever I look at it, but I'm curious to hear some suggestions from my readers.

Leave Nothing Behind...Again

It was time to clean the old palette out again and of course I had to do something with the dried paint that I peeled from it. I still just couldn't throw it away. Last year I made some wall art and took some fun pictures of the paint blobs. Then earlier this year I made some earrings, and an ACEO and I'm still working on my palette sculpture. This year I trimmed the domes and will be adding magnets for my favorite 5 year old magnet collector. I took some photos of the scraps and the domes and played with them a bit. I like the random nature of this type of art. You never know which colors will end up together or how they will interact.

I upped the saturation in this one to add some fun and interest. I like how it brought out some of the shapes that you didn't really see in the original.








This one has great color and texture. It reminds me of a planet or another world. I love the cracks and the circles created by bubbles in the paint.

When I was done with the domes, I had to take some pictures of the pieces that I cut away. I just randomly piled them up and looked for interesting compositions. It was like a tiny sculpture. One day I will try putting them in some resin. I think they would create an interesting piece of jewelery or just a small piece of art like an ACEO. Another project to add to the "to do" list.


























So keep an open mind and experiment with your leftovers.

Be Inspired by Texture

When looking for textural inspiration, there is really no limit on where to look. Just about every surface has some sort of texture. Even smooth is a texture, so take some time to look closely at the things around you and their texture. Try not to be distracted by color and pattern and focus solely on the texture. In your home, look at your rugs, wood floors, wood grain in your furniture. Look in your closet and pay close attention to the fabrics and how they look and feel. Outside your home, pay close attention to the vast amount of textures created by mother nature. Tree bark, rocks, flower petals, leaves,clouds, water, soil, shells and even animals offer up interesting textures that can recreated in creative ways in your art. Do you live or work in a city or urban setting? This environment offers a dazzling display of textures. Sidewalks (cracks and cement texture), the architecture of the buildings and the materials used to create them, dirty, distressed items or items worn down over time, as well as fresh new structures whic are always sprining up.

Don't be afraid to reach out and touch the textures you see. Touch can be important when being inspired by texture. You can be inspired by the feel of the texture, especially if you are created something that will be touched like a scarf or hat. Try to recreate the feel while being less concerned with the visual.

Don't feel that the only way to be inspired by texture is to recreate what you saw. Think "outside the box" (cliche I know) and notice shapes and patterns as well as texture. Look at how the light and shadows created by texture offer even more interest. Take a look at the texture in different lights and see how it changes.

How you add the texture will obviously depend on the medium you are working with, but don't be afraid to experiment. Here are some free turorials I found to help you add some texture to your work.













Photoshop texture tutorials for adding texture to your photos and/or digital art
Handmade texture tools tutorial for polymer clay from Polymerclayweb.com
Tissue Paper Texture tutorial for watercolor painting
How to create textured art for your walls at home from DigsMagazine.com
Creating texture with caulk by Val's Altered Heart Journey
Hammered silver cuff bracelet tutorial from Loose Wire Studios
Texture Crochet Stitches tutorial



Want to see textures form all over the world? Check out these Flickr groups for some amazing textural inspiration (remember inspiration, not copying).

Texture Whores ( Don't be turned off by the name, there are over 30,000 texture images to be inspired by)
Texture
There's even a textured art group where you can showcase your textured art pieces: Tactile Art

So without further ado, give them something they can feel (Thanks En Vogue) and make textured art!

Photo/art credits:

Photo#1: Wrist Rings Bracelet 3 by dorijenn.etsy.com
Photo#2: Turf Textured Tile, Chartreuse by elementclaystudio.etsy.com
Photo#3: Zany Zinnia Scarf 2 by knittingguru.etsy.com
Photo#4: ANATOMICAL HEART SERIES, Original Textured Artwork by Donna David
Photo#5: Trinity ACEO by me , blockpartypress