I figured the 2017 Lucketts Spring Market, the last market I went to as a vendor before we moved to Minnesota, would be my last one.  We had a huge crew of helpers and two 20-foot trucks packed with antiques and furniture I had sourced, painted, repaired, upholstered, tagged, loaded, unloaded, styled, photographed, and written about over several months.  It became overwhelming, and I needed to take a step back and do something different.  I’ve sold a few things here and there, mostly online, out of my house, or once at the Junk Bonanza in Minneapolis, but I never thought I would consider popping up a tent and manning a booth again.

But it keeps coming up.  People ask if I’ll be a vendor here or there.  I get invitations to fill a booth.  And, after testing the waters at the Lucketts Spring Market earlier this year with some success, I’ve started to seriously consider it.  There are two factors that have deterred me so far.  One: I can sell original paintings quickly online, which is much easier than setting up a booth for 2-3 days.  Two: I sold almost all of my market gear when we moved to Minnesota.  I sold my white pop-up tents, folding counter, wire display racks, and shelves that were lightweight, traveled easily, and fit my aesthetic.  Aside from my heavy antique register, which is completely impractical, and I only kept because I love it, I would have to start from scratch again.  Setting up a booth for artwork is also entirely different than setting up a tent full of furniture.  Walls are sort of important.

So, I’ve been researching art display ideas, from building portable, lightweight walls to cool antiques that are ideal for showcasing original artwork and prints.  The Country Living Fair was a great place to potentially source some of those display pieces and collect ideas.

I was very tempted by this antique music stand.  It had a cool look; I loved the color, but the ledge was very thin and likely wouldn’t hold framed pieces securely.  Anything I get needs to hold art against incidental bumps and light breezes.  I wasn’t sure this would do that.

I’m definitely going to be on the lookout for an old spinning rack for 5 x 7 prints and cards.  I can always buy a new one, but I’m going to wait a while in the hopes I trip across a cool antique rack.  I did like this idea of using an old chicken feeder with wire dividers to display prints.  I thought that was pretty clever, although it might feel a bit too rustic for my work.

I took some pictures of this narrow plant stand as something that would be easy for Jeff to build and modify.  If we put back on the “steps” and a ledge on the front to keep art from sliding, this would be a nice way to display originals and framed prints.

I think this display was my favorite, and I definitely want Jeff to build one for me in a couple of sizes.

One art vendor I spoke with for a while (I’ll share more about her in another post) used wooden pot-lid racks for her prints.  While they aren’t antique, they are inexpensive and sort of disappear when the prints are added.

For the Luckett Fall Market, I’m going to use baskets, easels, an antique wire dish rack, and a few other things I already had on hand, and we’ll see how that works.  Once I get more figured out, I’ll share what works well and what doesn’t!

Have you seen any clever art displays at markets and fairs?