Help me, help a friend

[ElunaJewelry]

I have a friend that sells heavy objects (~3-5 lbs each). Due to the weight she displays most of them flat on her tables. She has about 6-7 upright in tabletop easel stands.

I have been pitching the idea of folding shelves to display with, but she worried about it falling over due to the weight. So do you guys have any idea how to display heavy objects safely but effectively in a craft fair booth?

[Former_Member]

It's hard to say without knowing what the items are, but if she's afraid shelving won't work, what about several series of stacked wooden crates on the table? She could put some inside the crates and some on top.

[ImLaughingMyGlassOff]

I use 6 foot wooden ladders with pine boards across them, all painted white. It holds up to 300 pounds. One on each side of my booth. Also its less deep than tables so I have plenty of room.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10112259909280414&set=pb.9373068.-2207520000.1494332063.&typ...

Not my best shot, but an example!

[TigersandDragons]

There are those stacking plastic shelves, each layer comes apart.
Not the most attractive, but a person could use fabric and velcro to spruce them up. These are intended for garages so they are sturdy, and can take some weight.

Since you state she is using easels, I'm assuming these heavy objects are art, plates or masks?

[ElunaJewelry]

She is selling granite boards.

[TigersandDragons]

When I see booths that are selling wooden cutting boards or glass bottle cheese plates, they are always using nice wood shelving. These take some time to put together, but there are some heavy duty ones out there.

Your friend could also build (or have someone build for her) a custom wood display that goes on top of the tables, and stacks high. Just need to design it so that it comes apart in manageably sized pieces.

[wavejewelry]

I think Suzy's ladder selves would work really well. They're obviously sturdy enough to hold glass and they fold up.

[BlueTurtleCrafts]

Hey Suzy, are your shelves attached to the ladders?

I've always thought that was a really good idea but I have visions of someone leaning a hand on one end of a shelf and it flipping up the other end!

[ImLaughingMyGlassOff]

I have not had that happen, but I am always sure to keep my biggest, heaviest things in the middle of the shelf. I have debated drilling holes and using a wingnut on a bolt to hold them down, but I haven't gone there yet.

[WhimsyBits]

The vendors I've seen that sell granite boards always seem to use a regular table and then maybe a riser to give it some height. She could probably use some of those plastic shelves to at least display some (like one of each design if they are different) and have most of the stock on the tables.