Bowl display advice

[Don C Davis]

It's the time of year when we do a decent number of craft shows, and the one thing I don't know a good way of displaying is bowls. Typically we would want to display 12-15 bowls, and just sitting them on the table takes up to much real estate--how do you folks that know recommend displaying bowls in such a situation? I'm open to any suggestions/feedback--Thanks for any input-Don

 

[Donna Banfield]

This is a photo of my booth. I use forged iron plate and bowl stands to get them off the flat surface. For smaller items I use a variety of riser blocks to lift them.

 

[Don C Davis]

Thank you Donna, your setup is VERY nice--we only have like 2 of 6 foot tables and 2 of 3 foot tables--no walls setup--just not practical for us to haul/erect the wall system--but your display is impressive ma'am! Looks like a permanent setup really. Maybe one day!.....

 

[Roger Chandler]

Great booth, Donna! I like the bowls sitting on edge a lot better than flat on a table. Good looking digs in that display booth!

 

[Perry Hilbert]

It's the time of year when we do a decent number of craft shows, and the one thing I don't know a good way of displaying is bowls. Typically we would want to display 12-15 bowls, and just sitting them on the table takes up to much real estate--how do you folks that know recommend displaying bowls in such a situation? I'm open to any suggestions/feedback--Thanks for any input-Don

I saw a display last weekend at a craft show that caught my eye, and would have a solid-ish wall for part of the display. The vendor has folding louvered wooden doors hinged together so they would fold into a flat stack. When he set them up, he left them partly accordian style and used hooks on the louvers for hanging his wares in the little vertical alcoves created. The doors were painted a dark flat green so his wooden crafts showed up bright in contrast. The doors were about 18 inches wide, so he only needed 6 of them to cover about 7 ft. I even measured the door thickness, only 1.125 thick, so all of them flat were less than 7 inches There was even a way to strap them together to lift them with a handle. I thought it was pretty slick. He had an interesting display for small items that had several tiers and sat on a lazy susan. I am going to try to copy that one. .

 

[Bill Boehme]

I don't sell stuff, but here is the type of clear acrylic easel that I like. You can find them at the Container Store and Michael's. I prefer the ones that Michael's carries because they are less obtrusive.

 

[Donna Banfield]

Don, thanks, but my reason for posting that photo was to show you that even on a flat surface, by using risers and plate/bowl stands you can maximize the space of your table. The iron stands can be purchased at Michaels, and the acrylic ones that Bill posted can be purchased by doing a google search for acrylic displays.

By the way, that 'permanent' display really isn't. All those cabinets are made from 1/8" Baltic birch plywood in a 1x4 frame. They drop individually onto a base, and are kept in place by two MDF boards that serve as the top. Everything can be moved and installed by one person. Easier with two, but I can do it by myself if necessary.

 

[hockenbery]

Thank you Donna, your setup is VERY nice--we only have like 2 of 6 foot tables and 2 of 3 foot tables--no walls setup--just not practical for us to haul/erect the wall system--but your display is impressive ma'am! Looks like a permanent setup really. Maybe one day!.....

Photo below is from 1999 shows a shelf unit we used for many years as a back wall.
Supports were 2 hinged pieces each hinged piece was made with vertical 1x2 with 1x2 cross pieces about 1.5 x the shelf width. Quite stable. You can design your own we use shelves 6” wide.
Shelf stacks into a space about 6 ft x 1 ft x 6”

 

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Some years ago I tried the craft shows, for 2 years at a couple of different places, never was worth the effort for me,but I have a picture of my stand here.

There are 5 racks that are connected after placing them at the appointed spot, then hook on arms have acrylic plates on them, so light gets to everything and the placements can be changed as needed to hold the pieces that are shown.

 

[John Torchick]

Many good ideas. Donna, my complements on the thinking of your display. Leo, the clear acrylic would have a sort of "mirror" effect that would show off the bottom of the turning piece. BTW, Leo, what is the large piece at the extreme left on the pedestal?

 

[Don C Davis]

Thanks folks, those are some good looking displays--will give me some ideas to work on...appreciate the pics a lot!

 

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Many good ideas. Donna, my complements on the thinking of your display. Leo, the clear acrylic would have a sort of "mirror" effect that would show off the bottom of the turning piece. BTW, Leo, what is the large piece at the extreme left on the pedestal?

Thanks John, I found it gives an open airy feel to the stand, kind of inviting I thought, the large piece on the bottom right is a large Honey Locust bowl, and the turning on the left up on the pedestal is a Willow burl (24”) with a NFS card in it, we have it here in our house.

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

This is a photo of my booth. I use forged iron plate and bowl stands to get them off the flat surface. For smaller items I use a variety of riser blocks to lift them.

My goodness!! What a beautiful way of displaying your work!! By far one of the best I have ever seen!

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

I don't sell stuff, but here is the type of clear acrylic easel that I like. You can find them at the Container Store and Michael's. I prefer the ones that Michael's carries because they are less obtrusive.

I'm guilty of using these plastic holders, or others, very similar. They are leftovers from my antique and souvenir shop I had for 10 years. On the WOW, I got some advice from Terry Scott and I have started making a wooden base. I bought a very inexpensive compound miter saw, they take about 15 minutes to make. They really enhanced a turning. Terry is right, why displayed an expensive platter on a Dollar store chinese made holder. A few years ago, a couple came to my shop, I had a Milo platter. The wife said she wanted it, IF, I could make a wooden stand for it. I believe it was around the same time Terry sent me his article about making his holder... For the couple I made one that takes some work, it's about 5 spindle turned pieces... I'm glad I don't have a picture of my set up, it's not the best. I do however have some advice, a cheap shelve covered with a table cloth, gives you more room...

 

[Paul M. Kaplowitz]

We have 3 tables in a u shape and shelves on each that I built out of 1x10" and covered with fabric. This fabric is a table cloth the same as I use to cover the tables. ( Walmart) The shelves are 5' and have legs on the ends that raise them 10" above the table so bowls can go under them.

 

[Paul M. Kaplowitz]

Found a picture of my booth.

 

[Gerald Lawrence]

I'm guilty of using these plastic holders, or others, very similar. They are leftovers from my antique and souvenir shop I had for 10 years. On the WOW, I got some advice from Terry Scott and I have started making a wooden base. I bought a very inexpensive compound miter saw, they take about 15 minutes to make. They really enhanced a turning. Terry is right, why displayed an expensive platter on a Dollar store chinese made holder. A few years ago, a couple came to my shop, I had a Milo platter. The wife said she wanted it, IF, I could make a wooden stand for it. I believe it was around the same time Terry sent me his article about making his holder... For the couple I made one that takes some work, it's about 5 spindle turned pieces... I'm glad I don't have a picture of my set up, it's not the best. I do however have some advice, a cheap shelve covered with a table cloth, gives you more room...

I found this pic in a article on Terry Scott. Is this the stand and is it is it could be made on tablesaw also.

 

[Lamar Wright]

Found a picture of my booth.View attachment 26848

Very nice display Paul, looks very inviting.

 

[Bill Boehme]

I'm guilty of using these plastic holders, or others, very similar. They are leftovers from my antique and souvenir shop I had for 10 years. On the WOW, I got some advice from Terry Scott and I have started making a wooden base. I bought a very inexpensive compound miter saw, they take about 15 minutes to make. They really enhanced a turning. Terry is right, why displayed an expensive platter on a Dollar store chinese made holder. A few years ago, a couple came to my shop, I had a Milo platter. The wife said she wanted it, IF, I could make a wooden stand for it. I believe it was around the same time Terry sent me his article about making his holder... For the couple I made one that takes some work, it's about 5 spindle turned pieces... I'm glad I don't have a picture of my set up, it's not the best. I do however have some advice, a cheap shelve covered with a table cloth, gives you more room...

These aren't anything like the cheesy dollar store plastic junk. These easels are very well made heavy duty polished acrylic and cost about $13 apiece. I like them because they look classy and don't obstruct the view the way that a wooden easel does. It's very difficult to have a wooden stand that doesn't look out of place with the turning or fights for attention.

When viewed from the front the easel is barely visible as you can (or can't) see in the picture below. This is my basket illusion that was an auction item at SWAT. The juniper twigs are there because they are part of the legend of how juniper leaves were the inspiration for the herringbone rim that was created by Changing Woman, the Navajo deity who wove the first basket.

 

[Chuck Lobaito]

This is a photo of my booth. I use forged iron plate and bowl stands to get them off the flat surface. For smaller items I use a variety of riser blocks to lift them.

Nice Display Donna.

 

[Don C Davis]

Paul, you do beautiful work and that is a nice way of displaying it. I am thinking of some similar arranging on our 'booth'.
Bill, I do like the acrylic easels you posted, look decent quality and simple unobtrusive look!

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

I found this pic in a article on Terry Scott. Is this the stand and is it is it could be made on tablesaw also.

I have the PDF article. I tried to upload it here, but it's too large of a file and its a PDF and I don't know how to shrink it. If anybody wants it, send me your email.

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

These aren't anything like the cheesy dollar store plastic junk. These easels are very well made heavy duty polished acrylic and cost about $13 apiece. I like them because they look classy and don't obstruct the view the way that a wooden easel does. It's very difficult to have a wooden stand that doesn't look out of place with the turning or fights for attention.

When viewed from the front the easel is barely visible as you can (or can't) see in the picture below. This is my basket illusion that was an auction item at SWAT. The juniper twigs are there because they are part of the legend of how juniper leaves were the inspiration for the herringbone rim that was created by Changing Woman, the Navajo deity who wove the first basket.

View attachment 26854

That works great! In some occasions this might work better than the Terry Scott holder.

 

[Steve Doerr]

Here is a picture of the booth display that my wife and I use. The walls are made by a 2x4 frame with an 1/8" panel covered by indoor/outdoor carpet. The walls 30" and 40" wide. the shelves are attached with brackets that bolt into the back of the walls. The pedestals pull apart and stack flat. The walls, pedestals, tent and all of our booth supplies fit in the bed of our pickup. All of our turnings fit in the jump seats inside the truck.

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

Here is a picture of the booth display that my wife and I use. The walls are made by a 2x4 frame with an 1/8" panel covered by indoor/outdoor carpet. The walls 30" and 40" wide. the shelves are attached with brackets that bolt into the back of the walls. The pedestals pull apart and stack flat. The walls, pedestals, tent and all of our booth supplies fit in the bed of our pickup. All of our turnings fit in the jump seats inside the truck.

Beautiful set up! And the tent gives some nice diffused light.

 

[john lucas]

Is wind ever a problem with large panels.like that.

 

[Ricc Havens]

I don't have a photo but I was walking thru and arts and craft show a couple years ago and saw a turner who had only tables. But, he used 3" and 4" PVC pipe cut at various heights (2", 3", 4") to raise random different bowls off the table so everything wasn't the same flat level. He painted them flat black so they blended in with his black table cloths. Some he even cut the top of the pipe at an angle so the bowl displayed at an angle.

 

[Steve Doerr]

John, it has never been a problem. We will usually have a portion of the back tent flap open to let a breeze come thru the tent. If it gets too windy, we close the back flap. I have also zip tied the front corners of each section of panel to the front metal support beams. It really helps stabilize both the tent and the panels.

As a side note, behind the rear panel on the left we will set up a "half" table for wrapping and writing receipts with some storage underneath the table. Behind the long back panel we have about 2' deep space that we use to store our extra turnings and a few other things.

This is about our 4th version of our display booth. One of the versions included the bi-fold shutter doors with shelves spaced at different heights. We found it to be not very stable because of the unevenness of the ground and also wind. We are very happy with our current version and do not see any significant changes in it in the near future. This is our second year using this setup.

 

[Philip Rose]

I h!d a similar display as Steve, using EMT tubing with some 1x to attach adjustable shelving, wrapped in the same gray carpet. Once I made it self standing with overhead stabilization, so it wasn't attached to the tent, no problems in the wind. I've since upgraded to wood walls with coffin locks to hold them together. A lot more stable, and other than leveling it is at least 10x faster to set up and tear down. Since I've moved into more artistic, the shelves are now free standing metal and glass units.

 

[John Torchick]

Gerald's pedestal is similar to what is used to display lamps in high end (expensive) stores. I was in a high end (again, expensive) shoe store in NYC. Instead of tables, shoes and handbags were displayed onsey-twosey on pedestals.

 

[Mike Peace]

Perhaps there might be something useful in this video I did a while back on displaying bowls and platters.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m8yN5_aaXQ