Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Booth Upgrade Step One- Pro Panels!!

If you follow my facebook page, you may already be aware that my art show booth has undergone some major changes over the past few months. First I bought Pro Panels in February. That was enough to really improve the the appearance of my display, but I didn't stop there. Last week I also purchased a new canopy, and it feels like a new booth! It is a new booth! The difference it has made has been tremendous, and I'm so pleased with the choices that I made, that I wanted to share them with you.

The photo on the above shows my booth last October with my old grid walls.

I've wanted Pro Panels for a long time. As soon as my husband, John, and I started participating in art shows with my watercolors, we noticed that the really professional-looking artists had "those carpet-covered walls". If you don't already know, you can probably guess that they are not cheap. They're totally worth the price, if you ask me... but weren't in my budget yet. As a beginning artist I purchased black metal "grid walls", and I stuck with them for a couple of years. They work fine, and are sturdy, but not so attractive or lightweight as Pro Panels.


So... I was really excited when John found a large set of Pro Panels and accessories on eBay for an awesome price! They were all the way in Connecticut, 700 miles away, but we both felt like a road trip, and they were such an a great deal, so we decided to drive there and back quickly, with one overnight stay.

Here we go, and boy, am I glad John does all the driving! I get to look out the window and take pictures..

Since we found the panels online, we were a little worried on the way, that they wouldn't be in good shape, or some other problem would occur. But we worried for nothing... the panels were in excellent shape, were a fantastic value, and came with more pieces than we expected! Of course we didn't pay for them until we saw them. I wouldn't recommend anyone make such a purchase sight unseen. If the panels weren't what we expected, at least we would only be out a fun road trip!

Speaking of which... our trip took us through New York City and Philadelphia. We'd never been to either city before, so we took advantage of the situation. We stopped in Philly on the way, and got cheesesteaks from Campo's (oh, they were delicious!!), and we spent the night at the Day's Inn in Queens! (comfy, but we only stayed a few hours, so we would have time to see a few sights!)

We saw Times Square at night, and the next morning we drove around Manhattan, and saw ground zero, and the Empire State Building, and rode the Staten Island Ferry right past the Statue of Liberty, and basically had an awesome time! I even did a little sketch of Manhattan in my travel journal while we were on the ferry.


I've done a few shows since we replaced our grid walls with Pro Panels, and I think they look fantastic. I really think they were worth every penny and I bet that I will find that the improvement in the appearance of my booth will boost my sales, too. I've been getting a lot of compliments from my customers, so I think they agree! What do you think?

The photos below show my booth "before", with grid walls, and "after" with Pro Panels.



After you leave your comments below, check out my facebook page for more photos and info, or visit my website, LauraPoss.com. Thanks!

PS- If you want to see more photos from my trip, click here:
I ♥ NY Photos
Click here to zoom into the future and read my post about making skirts for my Pro Panels.