Artist Alley Displays & Setting up our table at GeekyCon (VIDEO)

Hey Guys! 
A few people have asked me about the table displays Matt and I have when we vend at conventions. They've changed a lot over the years, and definitely for the better! Overtime we've learned so much about making our displays practical and easy to travel with. Matt really has a great eye for design, and creates most of the elements that we have, and I am so thankful for that! It's always really cool to see what he'll come up with next. ^.^

Our table at GeekyCon was by far my favorite with fun pops of color, and these great speech bubble signs that included quotes from both Pumpkin Spiced & Confidence (they could be removed to use as props in pictures) It was our most interactive and fun display yet!

I thought it would be really neat to do a time lapse of our set up process, and show how we turn the standard plain table into something that really pops. So I brought along the tripod, and filmed before the marketplace opened on the first day of GeekyCon

Here are some of the things we used in our set up 
-Wire cube shelving.
I always see these used by vendors at conventions, and I never knew where to get them or what they were called. We actually happened upon them while shopping at Aldi for groceries. (so random!) But it turns out you can get these at target, amazon, and walmart. They're great for hanging prints, or in our case suspending speech bubbles.

-Table cloths 
We are just using simple plastic table clothes from party city. But they have so many fun color options to choose from! Table clothes are a really fun way to give your set up a pop of color and personality. In the past we've done everything from pink polka dotted,  skull and crossbones. I love how well the pop of teal in our current display is slightly muted by the lace. For me, it's just the right amount of color.

-Book Holders - This wanted something that wouldn't take up too much space and I was so happy when we found these Small Plain Sliding Wire Easels  from Hobby Lobby. They're small, compact, and don't distract at all from the books.

-Binder Clips  We use these to hang up our signs! 

-Yarn Was tied on the top and bottom of our shelving to suspend the signs. I love how it kind of made them look like they were floating.

-Banner/Signs  Our banner is handmade with scrap booking paper and ribbon. And all the signs we have are designed, printed, then spray glued to foam board. Let me know if that's something you'd like to see a tutorial on in the future!

-Odds & Ends Decorative birdcage, homemade mini suitcase (to hold plushies.)

Emergency Supplies.  Duct tape, Scissors, Safety Pins, Zip Ties, Paper, Sharpies, A needle and thread, and sometimes even a hot glue gun. Even if you don't end up using them at all. It's good to be prepared. And at some point in time, another artist is bound to yell "DOES ANYONE HAVE SCISSORS?!" And you'll be able to help, and maybe even make a new friend.  :)

A sheet to cover your table with at the end of the night. You want something to say "We're closed for business!" in the evening. plus it'll make opening in the morning so much easier!

One final thought. 
Always be prepared for something unexpected to happen. Things break, Display pieces get left behind, and sometimes the table you end up with might be smaller than you intended. Our banner was originally made for an 8ft table. As you can see in the video, it took some trial and error to get it to work out. Hiccups happen, and in the moument it can be really easy to get worried or stressed out. I know I have in the past. Sometimes things don't workout, and that's okay. All we can is move forward, make the display as nice as possible with the tools you have, take a deep breath, and remember to relax and enjoy the convention! They always go by so fast.

Do you vend at conventions? If so, what advice have you learned over the years?

Looking forward to hearing from you!
xo Paige

P.S A hugeeee thank you to everyone who stopped by our table at GeekyCon! And for everyone who's reached out and shared their support for the book. Seriously, it means so much to me <3 Thank you!!