My Jewelry Display
for Shows and Parties

Note: My jewelry display has evolved even further in the few years since I first wrote this article. So you may also want to go and see my 30-minute jewelry display which I'm currently using.

Still, there are a lot of helpful ideas on this page here, so I've left it unchanged!

My jewelry display has evolved a lot over the years.

It started out not very portable - different elaborate setups of risers and display units, with jewelry draped artistically and painstakingly all over. It looked nice, but took forever to set up and take down, and required hauling a ton of miscellaneous boxes to and from art shows and home jewelry parties. And all that stuff had to be stored somewhere at home.

Eventually I realized that a much simpler, streamlined jewelry display would probably sell at least as much jewelry, without all the fancy extra decorations to distract customers.

And being able to set up and take down my display quickly for shows and parties sounded more appealing every time I struggled with my elaborate setup!

Readers often ask how I display my jewelry, so here it is! First of all, let me say that my jewelry display system is not necessarily the right thing for everyone, but it works very well for me as far as convenience, setup speed, ease for one person to load and transport in a small vehicle (I drive a Honda CRV), and the small storage space it takes up at home. My lean, mean, inexpensive setup consists of:

My jewelry display uses three revolving black earring racks on lazy-susan bases, with bars for hanging earring cards.

With these racks I can display dozens of pairs of earrings vertically where they can be seen, without taking up much of a footprint on my table. I make my own earring cards and put self-adhesive plastic earring card hangers (available at Rings & Things, Rio Grande, and Jewelry Supply) on the backs.

I load these racks completely at home. When they’re full of earrings, I slip each loaded earring display into a large plastic trash bag along with some no-tarnish strips, close the bag with a twist-tie, and slip the whole thing into a round plastic wastebasket that's a little larger than the earring rack.

Now the earrings are protected from tarnish (I change the no-tarnish strips every three to four months) and from any impact. The wastebaskets are lightweight, easy to carry, and transport my earrings safely even if everything in my car gets jostled around a little on the way to the show.

They also store the earrings safely in my closet at home, protected from crushing.

When I set up my jewelry display at the show or party, I open the twist-tied bags, pull out the earring racks, and set them on my table. Couldn't be easier!

I use standard black plastic stacking jewelry trays (approx. 8" x 14" x 1.5") to display these jewelry pieces. (These trays are available from most jewelry supply and display/packaging supply companies - Rio Grande, Nile Corp., et al.).

Each pendant, bracelet, watch, etc. is displayed inside its own gift box that will accompany its sale, with its jewelry card standing up in the back of the box.

I line up the gift boxes in neat rows inside the trays, and the loaded trays look very elegant - they definitely make the customer's eye focus on only the colorful jewelry inside them. You'd never guess the trays are plastic without inspecting them closely. You can also get stacking jewelry trays in wood, acrylic, or textured paper over cardboard.

I organize each tray by jewelry color - a trayful of white jewelry, a trayful of green jewelry, etc., since most people shop for accessories by color; this also it helps me see at a glance what I need to make more of. It also makes my jewelry display more professional looking, instead of like an overwhelming mish-mash to shop from.

I keep trays of extra inventory, also sorted by color, that I use to fill in the spaces in my jewelry display as I sell pieces during the show or party. I store the extra-inventory trays in one of my plastic tubs under my display tables.

After the show or party, it's so quick to just stack up these trays (with several no-tarnish strips that I change regularly inside each tray), and set them into large rectangular plastic tubs with lids. They're protected from tarnish and damage during storage and transport, and are ready to display at a moment's notice! At home I store these tubs still loaded this way, stacked up in a small closet space.

My jewelry display also features white leatherette necklace busts, which I keep loaded with whatever necklaces or pendants I want to display currently.

For storage and transport, I slip the necklace busts into individual plastic bags along with no-tarnish strips, seal up the bags, and arrange them along with the rest of my jewelry-loaded leatherette displays, around the stacked jewelry trays in my large rectangular plastic tubs with lids.

I place my folded table cloths and lace table runners in the tubs, in between the necklace busts for padding. With the lids on, these sturdy plastic tubs full of displays protect my jewelry during storage and transport.

For setting up my jewelry display at the show or party, I pull the loaded necklace displays out of their bags and arrange them on the table. Voila! :o)

I use several two-headed small gooseneck lamps (in black) as part of my jewelry display, that I can adjust to aim their light exactly where it's most needed. I use natural-light bulbs in these lamps.

I can't over-emphasize the importance of having strong natural light on your jewelry display! It brings your jewels to sparkling life, and draws visitors from across the room to see your gorgeous work. Very few of the places where you'll set up your jewelry display actually have adequate lighting for jewelry; your sales will be much better if you bring your own extra lighting.

Is it worth paying an extra fee for electricity at your booth? YES!!!

I also bring my own extension cords, since the lamps don't have very long cords of their own, and duct tape for taping down the entire length of extension cord that lies on the ground. I don't want anyone tripping over the cords!

These lamps, extension cords, a power strip, and duct tape are stored and transported in one of my large rectangular tubs with a lid. If necessary, I can fit in any extra items around the lamps in this tub.

Mirrors are an essential tool for selling jewelry. People need to try on necklaces and see how they hang, or hold up earrings next to their faces to see if the length, colors and lines are flattering on them.

I set up several small, standing hand-mirrors between the lamps in my jewelry display. Their reflectiveness helps attract customers' eyes to my table, and people know they'll be able to see how they look in my jewelry without having to guess.

However, mirrors get fingerprinted very fast as customers pick them up and use them. Keep them spotless to give a good overall impression of your jewelry and your business, by bringing something you can clean them with frequently throughout the show or party.

I store the mirrors in individual bubble wrap bags, inside one of the tubs with my leatherette jewelry displays.

I use different colors of table coverings for my jewelry display, depending on the season. I prefer to use twin-size bed sheets in medium to dark plain colors. They wash up easily between shows, and shed wrinkles well - and can be bought cheaply whenever sheets go on sale!

I dress them up with beautiful, long, fringey white-lace table runners on top of each table covering, which I bought for around $2.50 each at a housewares outlet store.

I arrange my table coverings so they're longest in the front and on the sides, to conceal all the things I store under my tables.

I put my empty plastic tubs with lids, my round wastebasket-earring display containers, my stash of food and water, and any sundry items under my tables during the show or party. My long table coverings keep these things a secret from my customers.

The only extra table decorations I use are rock and mineral specimens from my collection. The pieces I usually scatter around my jewelry display include an enormous citrine crystal (citrine is the "merchant's stone", often used to attract and keep wealth), a fist-sized chunk of polished rose quartz (the stone of love, friendship, and happiness), a large, pale amethyst elestial crystal, and a few others.

People love to look at and hold these beautiful specimens, and I think it helps customers understand and appreciate where the gems in my jewelry come from. These large gem chunks are also great conversation starters, and because of that, they've led to a few jewelry sales that might not have happened if their presence hadn't sparked a customer's interest in gemstones.

The overall effect of my jewelry display is black displays, mirrors, and lamps; white necklace busts, jewelry tags, and lace runners; medium-colored table covers; and sparkling jewelry popping out against the black and white!

By limiting my jewelry display to three colors, I have a streamlined, professional look that doesn't draw attention away from the jewelry. In contrast, my former fancy displays were really something to look at, but they didn't necessarily focus the customer's eye on my jewelry. I much prefer my new elegant simplicity.

Whether or not to use visible price tags in your jewelry display is a matter of debate among jewelry artists.

Some prefer to leave prices off the jewelry, so customers will have to ask about jewelry pieces in the display - thereby giving the artist the opening to establish a relationship with the customer and sell the piece. Other artists feel that customers will assume jewelry without price tags will be too expensive, and will leave your booth without ever asking how much that beautiful bracelet costs.

When I'm shopping, I personally am one of the customers who's too shy to ask about the prices on items that don't have visible price tags. I know that artists of all kinds of handcrafts have lost sales to me because I didn't see any price tags and didn't feel comfortable asking about their prices.

So I always put visible price tags on all my pieces.

I usually work my booth alone, and the more information I make accessible to my customers, the greater my chance of making sales to them. Sometimes I'm in a swarm of customers asking questions and making purchases, and someone on the fringes wondering whether they can afford a particular pair of earrings wouldn't bother to wait to find out while I'm closing other sales and packaging other customers' jewelry.

But with visible pricing, the customer knows immediately whether they can afford the piece, so I won't lose their business to another jewelry vendor if they'd like to purchase it.

Also, this way I don't have to try to remember my prices for each piece! I'm not a numbers-oriented person, and I do best if I make the numbers-work as simple as possible for myself.

How you decide to deal with the price tag issue is up to you. You might run a test at your next show or party by pricing half your items and leaving price tags off the other half. See which method seems to bring you the most sales!

For price tags, I buy the smallest-size removable stickers from local office supply stores. I write the prices on these stickers with a fine-point Sharpie marker, and stick them on a bottom corner of the front my jewelry hang tags and earring cards.

When I sell a piece of jewelry, I easily peel off the removable price sticker as I package the piece.

When I do shows and parties, I don't feel comfortable with having my cash box in a location where taking my eyes off it for even a second can result in having it stolen.

So I wear my cash register at shows in the form of a small, elegantly beaded purse, worn diagonally across from one shoulder to the opposite hip. You can also wear a belly bag, fanny pack, passport pouch, or other type of wearable bag. (The beaded purse looks better than a fanny pack at shows where I dress up.)

Because I'm wearing my cash register, I don't use coins. Carrying the extra weight of coins really takes a toll on your back by the end of the show, and I find that - at least in my experience - the percentage of cash purchases at my shows and parties tends to be very low.

So instead of carrying coins, I keep my purse-cash-register lightweight by stocking it with bills only, and I round all cash purchases to the next lowest dollar (which is always in the customer's favor), letting them know they're receiving a "cash discount". This usually wins a smile from the customer, and saves me from lugging around unnecessary coin weight.

All checks and credit card slips go in my purse-cash-register too.

One of my large rectangular plastic tubs holds extra gift wrap supplies that I'll need during the show or party.

Stretchy bows, gift tags, extra jewelry gift boxes for the pieces that are on my leatherette displays, velvet pouches for the earrings sold off my earring racks, and the paper shopping bags I use for my customers' purchases are all stored together in this tub.

I also transport my "table decoration" gem and mineral specimens in this plastic tub, cushioned among the velvet pouches.

I have a few small signs with the logos of credit cards I accept, as part of my jewelry display.

Each of these signs is in a small, self-standing acrylic photo frame, and I display them prominently. I know I've gotten several sales from shoppers who had only plastic money, and stopped at my booth when they saw I accept credit cards.

Also, many customers will buy more items when they see you accept credit cards. For more information on getting set up to take credit card payments, see Accepting Credit Cards.

I have a small "business supplies box" where I keep the receipt book that I use for writing up all sales.

This box also holds my calculator, a few pens, my business cards and their holder, and a small pad of blank paper (I always seem to need a few sheets of blank paper at every show or party). My credit card signs also travel in this box.

I keep this business supplies box in the plastic tub that holds my extra jewelry gift wrap and packaging.

What do you do when you have a great customer who's spending a lot of time choosing several pieces of jewelry to buy - but is accompanied by children who won't keep their hands out of your jewelry display?

Here's a wonderful solution that won't cause any negative scenes:

Have something for kids to play with as part of your jewelry display. Two very successful solutions I've used for this are a bead orphan box and a treasure chest.

"Bead orphans" are those single beads left over from projects, that you can't find another use for. Collect them in an interesting basket, box, or chest. Add some strips of beading wire, leather, or whatever will fit through the holes of the beads. Now you have an activity that will keep children endlessly busy and out of your jewelry display while their adults shop at your booth. Kids love to string and unstring your intriguing variety of beads, arranging them in different patterns. Having several pieces of beading wire or leather will permit more than one child to play with your bead orphans at a time. If you have a lot of bead orphans, you may even decide to let each child choose one bead to keep from your orphan collection.

A treasure chest is a collection of neat things to sift through, contained in a neat, mysterious-looking hinged box. I stock mine with tumbled gemstone mixes, and tell children they have to find the prettiest rock in the treasure chest. This usually takes them forever (because they look at every single rock!), and when they show me the one they think is prettiest, I tell them they can keep it. You can also have a plastic cup in the treasure chest that kids can use to sift and pour the contents of the chest.

I've also sometimes used a trayful of magnetic hematite beads as a handy toy.

These are great ways to occupy kids in a positive way, and keep their hands out of your jewelry display while their adults shop in peace.

Sometimes kids even run up ahead of their parents and start playing in the treasure chest or bead orphan box - and while their parents wait for the kids to play, they have no alternative but to start browsing through your jewelry display! This can result in some great extra sales.

Because I usually load up for shows by myself, and set up and take down alone, I use lightweight folding tables that are easy to handle without help. I use folding camping tables that are usually available for $25 - $30. They fit perfectly in the back of my Honda CRV.

When I was first starting out, I used card tables, but their square shape takes up a lot of floor space without being a good configuration for displaying jewelry. I think rectangular tables are much better.

Some jewelry artists raise the height of their tables by making PVC-pipe sleeves to put on the table legs. Higher tables get your jewelry closer to most customers' eyes, and the artists who raise their tables say they get more sales this way.

However, I keep mine at standard height because of customers who are very petite, or who come by in wheelchairs. There's something to be said for both methods. You can decide which height is best for your jewelry display.

I add height and interest to my jewelry setup by putting my most dramatic pieces on my leatherette displays and setting them on risers, with light pointing right at them.

When I go to shows or parties, I fold up the back seats of my Honda and put my folded tables on the bottom of the back cargo area. I add my three earring tubs toward the front of the cargo area (between the edge of the tables and the back of the folded up seats), and put my four large rectangular tubs with lids on top of the tables, in two stacks. My treasure chest or bead orphan box goes in a back corner near the tailgate (it's heavy!).

If I decide to bring a chair, I throw in a foldup beach chair alongside the rectangular tubs.

In the front seat, I put my small container of unobtrusive foods to eat during the show, plus a few bottles of water.

When I come home after the show, I stack my tubs and earring containers neatly in a closet, all ready to go for the next event - or for customers who call to come over and shop at my house.

And that's it! My lean, mean, portable jewelry storage system / jewelry display for shows and parties.

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