My cardboard sign holder collapsed at a craft fair in Austin

Set up my booth last Saturday at the Austin Flea. Had this fancy acrylic sign holder for my pricing. Looked clean. Third customer bumped the table, sign holder tipped, cracked. Swear I saw a vendor next to me smirk. She had a cardboard prototype. Taped, folded, ugly as sin. But that thing stayed upright through two hours of wind and a kid running into her table. Got me thinking. I built my own cardboard sign holder that night. Three pieces, some hot glue, notched together. Tested it by shaking my workbench for a solid minute. Rock solid. Going to run it at the next market and see how it holds up. Anyone ever swapped a 'professional' display for a cardboard version?

2 comments

2 Comments

miller.susan5d ago

The cardboard version is what ended up working best for me at my last few shows. I found that a simple tri-fold with a slot cut in the top held up better than any metal stand I ever bought, and it cost me nothing but time. My metal sign stand kept sliding off the table whenever someone walked by too fast, but the cardboard one stayed put because I put a couple of rocks in the base. Plus, when it got wet from a drink spill, I just made a new one in ten minutes instead of crying over a broken acrylic display. Sometimes the ugly stuff works because it's built to take a beating instead of just looking pretty.

lucas9725d ago

Tbh I used to be one of those people who thought if you didn't have a nice acrylic or metal display you looked unprofessional. Bought a bunch of expensive sign holders early on because I thought it made me look legit. But after my third acrylic one chipped at a show I started eyeing the cardboard setups people had and realized they just worked better. The ugly ones never fall over and nobody cares about your sign holder anyway they just look at the prices. Now I'm seriously considering switching over and saving myself the headache and the money.