I’m going to take my work to some galleries, and need to figure out
the best way to transport things… I’ve got one of those rolling,
tray-carrying hard cases, but that just seems like way overkill.
Plus things tend to slide around in the trays, or if pinned look very
awkward.
I’ll be carrying around 10 pendants (maybe 1 to 1.5" X 2" +chain),
10 pairs of earrings (.5 to.75" w X up to 2.5" long) and a few
brooches - maybe 5 (2" sq or maybe a little more).
I’ve looked at folding boxes and some rolls, but so far haven’t
found any that look good, at least on-line. Does anyone have any
vendors they’d like to suggest, or some other method that’s worked
well for them?
I do two things to circumvent this problem: 1) I use divided tray
inserts (standard from most suppliers) and 2) I cut pieces of bubble
wrap (small-size bubbles) to fit inside the trays and use two or
three pieces, as needed, to keep things from moving around. Works
great.
I really like Ovadia - I mostly use their stacking trays, I have
them covered in Ultra suede - it is washable. If they do not have
what you want - they will make it up. You can also go to a quality
fabric store and buy ultra suede yardage. When I did trade shows I
used it to cover the base boards in the showcase, wrapped it around
foam core boards, stretched it like a canvas, securing with staples.
When you need to wash it, just remove the staples, the holes will
vanish (self healing fabric) I like it because it does not scratch,
compete or over power the jewelry. It also does not show dust like
“velvet” rolls & boards do. Sometimes I would built my own risers
and cover them, too.
101 East Main Street
Little Falls, NJ 07424
1 (973)256-9200
1 (800) 7768234
I purchased some wooden art palette boxes, bascially they are
designed to carry around paint and brushes. I removed all the
interior stuff, cut foam to fit top and bottom, covered the foam
with fabric (you choose). When the box is closed with the jewelry
inside, the foam on the top and bottom compresses a bit to keep the
jewelry from sliding around. When you open the box for presentation,
voila, it is all there without having to fuss with removing
bubblewrap or whatever, and the pieces don’t need to be pinned down.
The boxes look pretty nice and are not terribly expensive, have
handles and are easy to carry.
Sorry to be so late with this, but…you know…Christmas happened! To
visit stores at one time, I made covered pads that exactly fit inside
a thick hardshell briefcase. I could fit four or five layers of them
inside, with samples pinned on with jewelry pins, and prices and
other info indicated with cut-up computer printed heavy paper applied
by 2-sided tape. I separated my pads with a layer of bubble wrap or
(my favorite) a cut-up fused nylon blanket. (They don’t fray.) I felt
more confident on the street with this case, since it just looked
like any briefcase, not a jewelry case. It was easy to take the pads
out and show them in the store. Buyers seemed to like them. The
biggest problem always was where to put the pads in the store’s
crowded office space. But that goes for anything you bring in! If you
want to practice this, go into the working office of anyone you know,
even your own, and have a friend be the buyer, to see how to handle
the pads. I sometimes stacked the ones we weren’t looking at in a
pile leaning against the desk, on the floor! A couple will fit in the
briefcase for viewing, that is, if there is room for the briefcase
anywhere. I never went anywhere and found a good area to use for
viewing all the pads at once. That’s just the way it was. I suppose
you could try having them all hinged together at their sides, opening
up like a zig-zag book.
I made my pads with corrugated cardboard covered by one layer of
flannel or some kind of padding and a top layer of “robe fabric”, a
nylon fuzzy cloth that does not keep a permanent mark of your pieces
the way velvet does. I taped the fabric edges to the back of the
cardboard. Quite easy. You could also tape or glue a piece of paper
to the back of the finished pad, to make a good looking back. Spray
glue works for this, as well. If you choose to glue some kind of
fuzzy fabric to the back of the pads, you could eliminate the
interleaved padding pieces. I am now using an inexpensive unbleached
muslin, quite rough, called osnaburg (sp?) to cover my pads. It is
used for interfacing in suits and such sewing constructions, and has
a natural linen sort of look and color.
I hope this is of some kind of help to you. Good luck with your
presentations!
I carry my jewelry in padded cases, but for safety reasons I put the
cases inside an old slightly frayed tote bag, and march down the
street with it. I may look like a bag lady, but no one is going to
make a grab for my stuff.
True, I don’t make an elegant appearance when I enter the galleries,
but so far the gallery owners have agreed that it is a good idea and
good protection against thieves.