How to Make a Display Booth

You need a display booth for an upcoming trade show, craft fair or market bazaar. Sounds easy, but a quick search for fabricators produces one too many options and none of them are affordable. Time to conjure up your inner creativity and generate clever ideas that won't leave your budget gasping for air. Think outside the booth. Lots of exhibitors have walked in your shoes and turned their own ideas into traffic-stopping displays with just a few bucks and a lot of imagination.

• 1

  Book your booth space far in advance so you know the type of booth you'll need to fill the assigned space. Review information published by show organizers to see what's included with your exhibit fee and what isn't (such curtain-style partitions, table or chairs). Assume you'll have approximately 10 square feet of linear booth space to fill unless you've snared an end cap.

• 2

  Make a paneled wood booth if you're carpentry whiz. Sketch out a three-panel backdrop crafted of plywood, stabilized by braces and easel backs. Specify hinges to join panels for quick pop up and fold down ease. Sand and paint the triptych. Paint the name of your company on the display's backboard to avoid having to hang signage to identify your booth.

• 3

  Pair PVC pipes with fabric curtains to create a lightweight display booth that's easy to assemble. Make signs of foam board and hang them from the PVC frames with fishing line.

• 4

  Attach sturdy easel backs to prefabricated wood doors to keep them erect. Apply different paint colors to each for a "neighborhood" theme. Mount wood brackets and shelves to the doors to accommodate your wares. Add ornamental hooks for displaying merchandise.

• 5

  Customize a prefabricated rental booth so you don't have to worry about booth storage when you're not exhibiting. Rent a collapsible shell from a trade show company that's covered with sturdy, commercial-grade textiles. Purchase a bolt of fabric to complement your merchandise. "Wrap" the booth using hatpins and Velcro so the booth stands out and attracts show goers.