Doily Boutique

When participating in craft shows, you'll either be setting up indoors under their roof and safe from the weather, or outdoors where you have to provide your own roof.

Each show application should tell you if their show is an outdoor show, indoor show, or if there are spaces available both indoors and outdoors.  The second thing you really need to take a look at is the actual SIZE of your space.  Most spaces are 10' x 10', but some shows allow 12' wide spaces, or even if you're lucky 15' wide spaces.  Outdoor tents, however, do not come in 10' x 12' sizes, they are 10'x 10' or 10'x20' (for a double space).

There are a few choices for outdoor tents and you have to be careful when choosing the roof over your head. 

Frist there are two basic styles.  One opens up easily like an umbrella which is known as an EZ-Up and the second requires some assembly and it's known as the Craft Hut.  There are definite pros and cons to each style of tent.

The Craft Hut is the more expensive option, however that being said, it's also the more professional looking option, and the sturdier option.  Many exhibitors swear it will hold up to hurricane strong winds.  Here's an example of what it looks like http://www.flourish.com/trimline_10x10.html.  The legs are definitely more sturdy than other styles, and the roof and sidewalls are usually made of a thicker vinyl.  The main drawback is that it takes longer to set up and tear down, and usually two people are required.  At the Florish company's site, they offer a video that will show you how "one person" can set this tent up, but compared to the EZ-Up, it still takes much more time.

The EZ-Up is less expensive and much easier to set up.  This is the style that I use.  One person can do it in less than 5 minutes, but I personally always end up asking for two seconds of assistance to get me going.  The EZ-Up opens like and umbrella and there are no pieces to assemble.  Here is an example of what the EZ-Up looks like http://www.ez-up-canopy.com/. 

There is a wide variety in terms of quality when searching for an EZ-Up.  First, and yes, you can buy something similar at Walmart, First you should pay attention to the legs.  An EZ-Up's legs are straight up and down or verticle.  Some less expensive canopies have 8'x8' canopies, and the legs extend out at an angle to make a 10'x10' base and the box says it's a 10"x10".  IMHO, you should avoid these because they don't give you 10'x10' of shelter when it rains.    Secondly, you should pay attention to the structure or strength of the legs and support of the roof.  When it rains, it can pour and your roof needs to have support from the middle of each side across to the other side.  Less expensive tents run their supports from each corner to the top in the middle, and these types of tents have a tendency to collapse under heavy rain.  The legs should also be on the stronger side so that when the winds blow, they will hold up.

There are also different types of material used to make the roof and sides of the tent -- and yes, I recommend the heavier material.  Actually, I recommend a vinyl top which can be purchased as a separate item from  http://www.johnmeecanopies.com/html/vinyltops.htm.  Vinyl is much better than any fabric tops for rain and humidity.    The fact that the Craft Hut has a vinyl top and sidewalls makes it much more weather proof.  From researching on-line, John Mee Canopies is the only company that I have found that makes a vinyl top for the EZ-Up tent frame.  Most tents come in white -- however, for some exhibitors, you may need a darker setup to compliment your product (like those of you who have lights to display -- your product will look better against a dark background and set up).

Side walls are also important.  There are several different kinds and different levels again of quality.   Some EZ-Up Canopies come with a complete package which will include side walls.  The less expensive options will have size walls that use velcro to attach to the top of each side and to each leg.  However, I would not recommend this.  I recommend finding an EZ-Up with zippered side walls where they are hung with velcro on each side, but have zippers in each corner.  Zippers are better for securing the tents overnight against weather and (yes) thieves.  With velcro, the wind can still enter the tent on each corner and strong winds will even tear the velcro apart exposing your work to the elements.  Zippered side walls can be secured at the bottom with small zip ties and clamps so that they do not come apart overnight.

Yes, at every outdoor show that I do, if it is more than one day, I leave my entire display up, inventory in place, and secure it overnight.  Most shows provide for security overnight, however, there's usually a clause that says they can not be held liable for damages or stolen property.  So there's a careful balance and "knock on wood" I've been very lucky and only had merchandise stolen ONCE which was many many years ago.   Most exibitors leave their tents up overnight and only some remove all of their merchandise and set it up again the next morning.

Lastly, every booth needs to be secured to the ground (if possible) and weighted down with weights.   When the show is on the street, you can't run stakes into the concrete to stop the legs from moving like you normally wood if you are set up on grass or dirt.  Therefore you have to rely on heavy weights attached to each corner.  There's a variety of ideas out there to weigh your tent down -- which is important because a gust of wind can pick it up quite easily, knock it over, and into your neighbor's display.   Years ago, when I got started, my father gave me weights he made which are concrete filled PVC pipes with a hook on one end so that I can hang them from each corner.  Other exhibitors have used water-filled milk jugs, or sandbags that velcro to each leg.  There's so many options that I really can't list them all and you have to decide what works best  for you also based on how much space you have in your tent after you set up your merchandise.

The Flourish company's website does a fantastic job of showing you both options for tents and has a wide selection of accessories for each style.  It will give you a very good idea on different options that will make your product look good for the customer.  I like the John Mee Canopy site for the vinyl top option for the EZ-Up canopies.  All that being said, the latest canopy that I purchased, I found on e-bay.  READ the descriptions carefully to make sure you get a tent where the legs are not out at an angle.  Once I got my tent home, I used my "old vinyl" top from my old tent -- mainly because the frame was what needed to be replaced and not the top, and I'm good to go once again for the upcoming season. 

And think, this just tackles the outdoor "roof" over your head -- the next step is to design the display inside your booth.