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It Had To Be: A Cheap, Easy, Portable, Versatile Jewelry Display

by Maryanne Murphy.
(Atlanta, Ga)

I don’t do many events so for the few I do, I do not want to invest a lot of time and money. BUT, I still want a display to attractively feature my work.

More time, creativity, and money needs to be spent on your display if your business is based on doing events and shows, but mine is 95% internet based.

Creating displays for events is the bane of my existence. I cannot get my head around it and come up with the nifty things that I see all the time posted on Rena’s websites. So I stopped hitting myself over the head and just tried to come up with something that would do the job.

IT HAD TO BE:

cheap.
easy.
have wind-proof capabilities.
transport easily.
be able to change colors.
securely display jewelry.
look decent.
interchangeable for 2 very different jewelry lines.
On The Rocks Gems and Biker Chic.

Cheap means I have something in my home already to start with. I am lucky that I have 20+ years in back of me full of crafty and event stuff stored in plastic containers. The challenge is remembering what’s in those containers.

A rummage through came up with 6 plastic, self standing 8×11 frames that I had used for an event over 5 years ago. You see these all the time. They run about $2+ change in Walmart, and you just slip your photo in through the side and you have a nice, inexpensive unencumbered way to displaying your photos.

So, the question is, how do you turn this into something to display jewelry.

Foam cord board. (At the Dollar Store I bought 2 pieces of white foam cord board.)

Placing the frame on the foam cord board I traced around it and cut the board out with a floral knife.

May I recommend adding a floral knife to your stash of goodies. They usually run about a $1 and can be purchased in the floral supply section of a craft store. They are SHARP & CHEAP.

Whatever glue I had hanging around I used, and glued the foam cord board to the frame and let it sit for about an hour.

I had purchased 2 12″ x 18″ BLACK sheets of Creatology Fun Foam for $0.99 a sheet at the craft store, and 2 “glitter” 8″ x 11″ sheets. I cut the black sheets in half.

The jewelry I was going to use was already lined up on the table awaiting placement. I took jewelry pins which I had and pinned each piece, or group through the Fun Foam. I had already purchased the jewelry pins from a supply company for pinning my pieces into their gift box’s for safe shipping. The pins are very inexpensive.

I didn’t attach the Fun Foam permanently to the foam cord board. The pins that held the jewelry in place held the Fun Foam in place. This way I could easily and inexpensively change the color of my jewelry display.

Using these type of photo frames also gave me the opportunity to having some displayed upright, and others on the table with a slight incline to better view the jewelry. When a bit of wind picked up, I was able to very easily unpin the upright jewelry display, turn it around and re-pin the jewelry so that it was laying on the table and wouldn’t blow down.

These displays also allowed me to pack them up in a wood slat box purchased for $9.99 at the craft store. The wood box was an up-tick from a cardboard box that saw me through 5 shows and really needed to be retired.

Not only was I able to pack up the pre-loaded jewelry photo frame displays, but the jewelry hung pink tu-tu display, 2 velvet necklace forms, miscellany back-up stock, my store sign, tape, pens, sales-book, calculator and fabric on the top.

The “A” frame display you see in the photo started as a large Priority Mail box. I folded it in half, glued ribbon onto the bottom to make it stand, and collapse, glued foam cord board on, and pined the jewelry on the Fun Foam. This piece went into the plastic garbage bag for transport with my earring display.

It was all pretty easy to set up. Fabric on top and on to the table first. Unloaded the wood box, turned it up-side facing out, which gave me a place to store money holder, pens, sales pad, tape, etc. Put other piece of fabric on the box and then arranged my jewelry displays. Not only was the box excellent for transporting everything, it gave height for my display, a place for my earring display to rest against, someplace for me to preform the “business” side and another display area.

Would my display win any creativity award. No. But it worked for me when I needed a solution. Maybe someday I’ll figure out a knock out display…or maybe I won’t..LOL!

Maryanne Murphy
On the Rocks Gemstone Jewelry

Comments:

Easy…Jewelry display
by: Dita

I love your display ideas. I always admire people who display their jewelry more creatively in the craft shows. You gave great ideas. I’ll try the Priority card board thing and the foam things.

It is so true that we feel like using all our good money for quality beads and metals, not on those mass produced black velvet or leather busts.

Thanks for sharing. Your etsy shop is a favorite one of mine too. Dita from

http://www.alankarshilpa.etsy.com

I did something similar . . .
by: Teresa Doyle

Last spring I had two days to prepare for a local flea market and no displays to speak of. So my husband and I covered a 2’x4’piece of styrofoam insulation left over from an earlier project with gray felt(styrofoam insulation boards come in 4’x8′ sheets at your local home improvement center; they cut very easily with a craft knife.) It’s important to stretch the felt tightly across the front in all directions in order to have a smooth display surface. Since felt has no grain you can pull diagonally kitty corner in one direction and staple, then diagonally in the other direction and staple again. Then stretch and staple horizontally & vertically all around the board. I then taped down the edges with duct tape. I had plenty of space for pinning on necklaces, earrings, bracelets, etc. ahead of time. The board is exceptionally light-weight and slides into the back seat of my car. Now I’m planning on making some individual necklace displays with the same materials. (Sorry, no pictures.)

Great ideas
by: Carol

I do a lot of shows where the wind is a factor. I really like the idea using the picture frames and will probably use it! Thanks.