Hi,
I need some advice on purchasing a 10 x 10 canopy booth tent for an
upcoming show. Could someone recommend one that they think is
strong, portable, and vented? Also, I’ve heard that jewelry looks
better under a blue canopy as opposed to a white one. Any thoughts on
that? Or suggestions?
Thank you for your help,
Christi
www.minabea.com
I’ll let others talk about their favorite tents because my Light
Dome style (which I love) is allegedly being discontinued.
Do not buy a blue tent however, many shows won’t allow them.
Karen
Be careful to get ones that are actually 10x10 as opposed to 10x10
shade. You want to make sure that your poles are vertical so they
don’t impinge on your neighbors. The ones at Costco do well. Also
think about whether you will want a straight horizontal bar along
the edges to hang your displays. Some come with roof supports that
accordion and don’t leave you a level surface to hang stuff. White
is great for light. I would not recommend the blue ones as they will
feel dark outdoors.
Good luck, Carina Rossner
www.carinarossner.com
You really do not want to get any thing except a white top.
Vince LaRochelle, Oakridge OR
White, definitely! Any color will change the color of stones so the
customer can’t tell what they are. I had a blue canopy once and it
was horrible.
Janet Kofoed
You do not want to be in a show that will allow blue tents. White
only. I have not read all the other replys, but I suggest, buy the
best you can afford if you plan to do this for a few years. A really
good tent can be resold. If you are not sure if you want to do this,
buy one from Sam’s for 100 or so. Or a used one. If the roof is not
water proof, you will need a large sheet of plastic to protect from
rain…because probably the only time it rains in LA is during an
outdoor show. Some shows will let you set up a tent indoors, without
the roof. If you have to do most of the set up and load out by
yourself, buy something light weight. There will always be someone to
help, but get the tent you can do almost all by yourself.
Go to a show and see what other people have done to stake down their
tent, hold the roof up incase of rain. Look at the material, is it
flapping around, or sturdy. Usually the brand label is somewhere on
the tent. And, not all EZ ups are made the same way.
One of the biggest things to think about is who you have to help
with set up, and how much room you have to store everything.
And, be sure to get all four sides, so you can zip up at night.
I wanted to add - if you are going to be doing outdoor shows, many
promoters, etc. will only allow all white canopies. No blue, green,
tan, etc.
Debbie
Christi; By all means DON’T buy a blue tent it will not make jewelry
look better it is a darker tent. Many times you will rely on
sunlight to get you light as a lot of shows have no electricity. Even
more important than that, many of the bigger shows don’t allow
colored tents as they want to maintain some continuity in the
appearance of booths. You can find discussions in the archives here
of the pros and cons of easy ups vs the more stable (and expensive)
tents you assemble each time you use them.
Dave Owen
Hi Christi -
If you have the bucks, buy one of the dome tents - Light dome,
Show-off, Craft hut and Trim line are some good ones. Buying an EZ-up
is the cheap alternative, but eventually unsatisfactory. The EZ-ups
often disintegrate in wind, leak in rain and generally look like what
they are - cheap. They might be good for 5 to 10 shows in mild
weather.
The dome tents cost more - in the $1000 to $1500 range to get ones
with vents and awnings. But my experience would support the purchase
because with adequate weights, they are stable in icky weather
conditions and will hold up to 100 to 200 shows. And the individual
walls and top can be replaced easily.
In any case - do NOT buy a colored top tent - that’s any color but
white. Nearly all juried shows require a white tent.
The ugly part about tents with jewelry is that the glass in your
cases are reflective. Sometimes, the sloped fronts of dynamic display
brand cases can make the reflection less obvious. (I’m prejudiced
against them because they are not truly lockable and the plexi walls
are not even worth calling secure.) If you have jewelry of any value,
you really need to have cases for display to avoid pilfering.
Judy Hoch
I also would suggest a Light Dome. I’ve had one for many years.
Mine is a TrimLine, and I like it a lot, but the frame is steel, so
it is very heavy to lug to and from the set up site. If I had to do
over, I would get an aluminum frame. As I said before, get the best
you can afford, depending on how committed you are to doing a lot of
shows. Look at the tents in photos posted on show web sites.
Roxy