Parrott Design's booth consisted of an 80sq ft in-line booth under the low ceilings at Javits. Sarah and her team designed and built the booth in Rhode Island than drove into NY via a U-haul van, saving significantly on shipping costs . The hard walls were built from 1/4" plywood with 2x3s for the frame. She has used the same 6 clip on lights from Ikea for two years, and did not use a parcan. The jute rug was literally pulled up from a room at her house (easy, convenient and free!). The rug was durable and a neutral shade that hid dirt well yet cleaned easily. Her signs and booth numbers were made from wood and cut with a CNC Router at a local shop. They sanded and spray painted the sign and hung with small nails and glue dots. Shelves were made out of wood and L-brackets purchased at Home Depot. She reused them the following year and spray painted them for a different look. Sarah purchased a vintage credenza from Craigslist and 2 chairs from Overstock.com - both pieces are now being used at her studio everyday. This was Sarah's second year exhibiting at the National Stationery Show. I love that blue accent wall!

Anemone Letterpress had a 80 sq ft in-line booth under the low ceilings for their fourth year exhibiting at NSS. They built framed hard wood walls, using plywood and laminate on the plywood on the rear wall for color. Their booth was lit with 6 halogen spot lights - similar to Skanda lights - that they sourced on eBay. Carpet tiles were from FLOR and their signage was cut vinyl created by a guy local to them in Los Angeles. For past shows Carrie and Wally had affixed their cards direction to the booth walls, but for this show they added trim for shelving to display cards. All furniture was purchased at Ikea and will be reused for future shows. They used Showtime Express to ship their crate to NY, and it is now stored in Showtime's warehouse. One way shipping cost about $750 and storage for a year is roughly the same. Carrie recommends communicating with tradeshow unions via email so you have everything in writing.

First time exhibitors, Golden Fox Goods' had a 80 sq ft, corner booth under the low ceiling at Javits. Missy and Grant initially wanted to use foam core walls but opted for hard walls built by a local carpeter to ensure they could easily and safely hang their art prints. They lucked out and were directly under an overhead light, they also utilized clip-on desk lamps with high-wattage LEDs. Shelving and tables were purchased at Ikea. They used vinyl flooring from a local store in Los Angeles. It was cushy and easy to lay over the concrete. Vinyl was cut by Dave at EGI Vinyl. Grant warns to order vinyl early and order extra in case you make a mistake. They built an (extremely) large crate that they shipped via Showtime which was by far their cheapest option. They shipped early to the GES storage warehouse and were hit with a $300 holding fee. Next time they will ship directly to the show. Grant and Missy recommend allowing 2 full days for set-up, particularly if you're installing your own walls.

Iron Curtain Press returned for their second year at the National Stationery Show, exhibiting in a 80sq ft corner booth located in the low ceiling area of Javits. Rosanna and Joel built their hard walls and reused clip-on lights they purchased last year from Ikea with bright LED light bulbs. Their woodgrain foam floor tiles were purchased from foamtiles.com. Vinyl signage was used for their logo and booth numbers, which they affixed themselves. Display shelves were made out of wood purchased at Home Depot and attached to the walls using carriage bolts and wing nuts. The carriage bolts, while pricey looked really nice and the wingnuts allowed them to attach the shelves without using any tools. ICP shipped a pallet via Airways Freight, costing $425 each way from LA to Javits and back again. Rosanna warns that crates and pallets will get roughed up during transit and delivery so pack it with great care.

Veteran exhibitor, Shana Frase worked with a cabinet maker to build her 10x10 custom booth. Shana used clip-on lights and chose to add a Parcan this year to ensure strong lighting which enhanced product photography. Shana says it was a tough decision to rent the parcan but she's glad she did. "I am now team parCAN (& team robbing banks ;))" Her flooring is two layers - very inexpensive floor tiles with navy carpet squares on top. Shana recommends ordering more carpet tiles than you need so that everything matches if you move to a larger booth. Her company name was hand painted, framed and displayed on a gallery wall. She also used custom vinyl on the outside wall. Her table and chairs were purchased for a previous NY GIft show and reused. She shipped everything on a pallet but would have preferred to use a crate. The booth is now stored in New Jersey with Showtime. Shana's biggest piece of advice is show up early for set-up. If you finish early you can enjoy the city & rest, but thinks always come up.

This was Ten Four Paper's second year at the National Stationery Show, but first year exhibiting in their own booth. Julie had a 60 sq ft booth, under the high ceiling area, in the #fresh section. Manny Stone provided pre-printed, 4-color, 3/8" foam core walls. Julie had Manny Stone pre-print her cards on the wall exactly where she wanted to hang them, so that when she arrived she was able to quickly affix her cards directly to the wall on top of the pre-printed placeholder with her ATG gun. She used 1 parcan and mini clip lights from Ikea (super bright and worked well). Her interlocking foam tiles were sourced from Amazon (listed as a children's play mat!). Tables & chairs were purchased at Target then painted. Rug was from Amazon. Julie shipped majority of her items to a friend then hand-carried into Javits. Julie says she paid a lot for her walls but would do it again. It made set-up and breakdown fast & easy.

Sarah of Fancy Seeing You Here used this booth for several consecutive years; allowing her to reuse materials, save time and establish a consistent look for the buyers! The clip on lights used Bright White eco bulbs (both purchased at Home Depot). The faux wood foam flooring was purchased on Amazon. Sarah's signage was laser cut wood affixed to the walls with 3M foam strips. Her displays were a mix of custom cut wood hung with pegboard hooks and some cards affixed directly to the wall. Sarah drove everything into NY, and was able to bring furniture from home most of which as from Ikea.

This was Life is Funny's first year at the National Stationery Show and he had a 80 sq ft booth in the low ceiling area at Javits. He built his booth using 2x2s and .25in birch plywood from home Depot. For shelves, Adam used 2 pieces of 1x2s from Home Depot, nailed them together and painted. He pre-drilled and hung everything before he shipped the booth and was able to hang everything in NY with only a screwdriver. While the walls were built to easily stand alone, the shelves screwed into the frame made the walls even more sturdy and he had no problems with cards falling off the shelves. He spent about $800 total on wood, paint, clip on lights and vinyl. Adam found a 3/8in faux wood foam tiles on Amazon. The vinyl was purchased locally in Los Angeles for approximately $200. He used Showtime Express to ship across the country and is now storing his pallet in New Jersey for the year. Shipping was $0.75 per pound. Adam recommends cutting costs wherever you can and not pre-printing inventory if you're a printer.

Canadian alums, Think & Ink Studio exhibited for first time at the National Stationery Show with this booth. Bambs rented the hardwall package from GES which included the veloce walls and track lighting that they used. The walls arrived in 'as is' condition (aka dirty and big gaps in between walls). Bambs arrived to NY early enough that she was able to easily clean and fix the walls without too much stress. Their white masonite flooring was rented from Manny Stone. Everything was installed when she arrived. She rented 2 Eames chairs and 1 Saarinen marble top table from modprop.com in New York. She would use them again - their modern furniture suited her style and brand. They shipped boxes to a friend in New York via Fed Ex three weeks before the show (roughly $80). Bambs cautions people to arrive early, keep things simple and ALWAYS have a plan B or C if you must!

This was Kiss and Punch Designs' second year at the National Stationery Show and Julie had a 80 sq ft corner booth under the low ceilings. She ordered the Hard Wall package through GES that included track lighting, black carpet (which she kept under her faux wood foam tiles). Her acrylic signage was ordered from McNamara Signs in Seattle and affixed to the walls with foam tape. Julie recommends ordering all signage as early as you can to ensure accuracy. The MDF moulding that the cards sat on were affixed with foam tape. Julie had previously use the Ikea Ribba shelves to display her cards but she liked that the moulding provided more a few more inches of space in the booth! The chest, desk and bar stools were from Ikea. She and several other alums went in on a group order with the 'Ikea Guy' who delivers to Javits. Her boxes were shipped via FedEx to and from the hotel, which cost about $125 each way. Julie recommends bringing help for both set-up and sales during the day; doing it solo was tough!

Belle & Union Co. exhibited in a 200sq ft corner booth under the high ceilings for their third year at the National Stationery Show. The hard wall booth with built-in shelving was built 3 years ago and has been used for 4 shows. A parcan was used.for overall light and additional clip-on lights were used to highlight individual products throughout the booth. Meg and Josh used vinyl roll-out flooring over top of carpet padding. Extra squishy fo tired feet Their company name and booth number were laser cut and then they had paper signs for product categories which were affixed with an ATG gun. They sent everything to NY in two giant crates. Meg says it was expensive to ship the first time, but now they store everything in their frieght company's warehouse between shows. Meg recommends planning as early as you can. Investing in a booth that could be easily altered has saved them a lot of money over the years.

Briana and Jason of We Are Brainstorm exhibited at the National Stationery Show in a 60 sq ft corner booth. They built their own hard walls and have used them for the last two years. They love being able to set up the booth in their studio and configure their display before they arrive at the show. Their clip on lights were purchased at Home Depot / Lowes and spray painted to match the booth. Their first year they used daylight bulbs which were too bright and 'felt sterile' so they opted for warmer bulbs the second year and were much happeier. They purchased their flooring from Rubber Flooring Inc. Their logo and other signage was handpainted onto their walls. They chose to keep their product displayed minimal and place a stronger emphasis on their catalog, which worked well for them. The simpler booth required less hanging, less furniture and a calmer vibe for both them and buyers.

Tradeshow Bootcamp had a 80sq ft corner booth. The walls were purchased, printed and installed through Manny Stone Decorators; 3/16" colored foam core matched to the PMS color of the TSBC branding. Custom white vinyl was created be Dave at EGI Graphics and installed by Katie and Rachael Hetzel. The carpeted foam tiles were purchased on ebay 5 years ago for around $80 and have held up well. The white bookshelf was rented from Manny Stone Decorators and used as an iPad kiosk. The chairs, tables and pillows were purchased at ikea. We rented one parcan and had brought several clip on lights with us, but opted not to use the clip on lights. Photos were hung on the wall with 3M adhevive tape. Plants were purchased at a local home depot and the tables at the corner were from Ikea.