hey artists: quick thread on doing an affordable "pipe and drape" style convention booth setup for illustrators/printmakers/etc that looks professional and can fit in a checked bag... info and links and such as i go... 
this is assuming youre doing a convention where the pipe&drape walls are provided. theyre always ugly, so we want to cover them up. i've used @banner_buzz and these fullly printed fabric banners a few times now and theyre great and often have great sales.
bannerbuzz.com/polyester-fabr…
bannerbuzz.com/polyester-fabr…
big vinyl banners are too heavy, too hard to wrangle. the polyester fabric banners are super lightweight, dont get too creasy wrinkly, and have a nice matte finish that takes to photos well.
your average con booth is 10x10' and about 8' tall, so you're gonna want a couple banners that are 10' wide but only 7' tall (you dont want them actually touching the floor, they hang cleaner this way). get the add-on Top & Bottom Pole Pockets and do the 260 GSM Upgrade just cuz
art wise, do something textural and fun and panoramic that relates to your whole brand or vibe or whatever, youre gonna cover much of it up with your work but its cool to have a big open area with a large blown up illustration. work your sign/name into one of the banners.
note: this is a discount printing company. the banners will not be flawless perfect printing, so avoid huge areas of black or dark colors. i've been very happy with the ones theyve done for me and they were like half the price of anywhere else so expectations? check em.
given its cheaper to do multiple banners that are the same (price drops at 2 with bannerbuzz), make another banner and use it as your new table cloth instead of the generic ones provided by the con.
so through each banners top and bottom "pole pockets" goes a collapsible camping tent pole, top pocket pole to attach it to the existing pipe and bottom pocket pole to act as a weight to keep the whole banner wall straight. amazon.com/gp/product/B07…
there are 11' poles available, but whatever, if it sticks out you can just take one section of the pole and shove it back in the hole.
then buy a bunch of tarp clips like so...
amazon.com/gp/product/B00…
...and clamp them to the the top tent pole through the banner all across the top (i so 4 clips per wall). attach THAT to the existing pipe with some cable ties tightly. let it drape. do all your walls that way.
amazon.com/gp/product/B00…
...and clamp them to the the top tent pole through the banner all across the top (i so 4 clips per wall). attach THAT to the existing pipe with some cable ties tightly. let it drape. do all your walls that way.
for hanging artwork work, youre just going to use neodymium magnets on both sides of the banner, looks super clean and repositioning stuff is easy. you can get em at home depot, but theyre way cheaper online. youre gonna want 8 per hung piece, so get alot.
in the above photo im using post-it notes for prices, because im a clown. just get in photoshop and make a nice template for price tags $5, $10, $20, $40, $60, etc... and print yourself a folder of them. slide them under one of the magnets.
thats more or less the gist of it. three fully printed wall panels, the poles, clips, cable ties, and magnets will probably clock in under $700 (less if you watch for sales), but the entire setup will fit in a carry-on suitcase.
@banner_buzz i expect a hearty discount code for my plugging. just fire that on over.
@banner_buzz also i like that i said "professional" but i have all these random cardboard boxes in my booth in the above photo. clearly i hadnt cleaned up yet.
