Tool Thursday: Gettin’ a Rise Outta Ya


Pictured: My setup from Fridley again, note the table height versus the pink and the Army table behind mine

The first show I ever paid to do (but not my first show by far) was 13GEARS. Tara (the show runner) stopped by near the end and asked how I had done. I told her I hadn’t made the fee back quite yet at that point (which soon changed) and she gave me several pointers.

I was reminded of that day on Sunday, because one of the show runners at Fridley let another lady (Leslie) borrow some of her risers. Tara back then had explained to me that I have small pieces, customers don’t generally look down, so I needed to raise my display up. Bed risers are an inexpensive and convenient way to do this, she added, and I purchased some that I have used in various ways soon after.

Leslie asked me what they were, mentioning she liked the extra height, and I realized not everyone has heard about them. A quick Internet search after and she found hundreds of different listings. “Even those ones with the outlets on ’em you had mentioned,” she quipped to me. Yes, indeed.

Bed risers come in a variety of heights, some even with the ability to stack different heights with the same set. Some have outlets along the bottom that can be useful for displays needing electricity. They come in a variety of different materials, depending on what weight you might be stacking on top of them. Some are stackable, which makes them easy to pack… some are not.

I would not suggest getting any shorter than 4″- that much isn’t going to make a large difference in your display. Obviously you may need longer tablecloths if you get really tall ones (9″, for instance) but as you can see by my picture, they don’t look too terrible peeking out from beneath.

It is possible to set a table up on them by yourself (as long as they aren’t too tall), but is much easier with two people, and three makes it a breeze. Obviously, you should put them under the table before anything has been put on it, but if you’ve got three people, two can hoist the table while the other person scurries about putting risers under the legs.

There are other ways to add height to your displays, but this is a quick one for those of us with small items and small budgets. Sometimes you can score them at garage sales, but if not, most department stores carry them in the home/bedroom sections.

And that’s that for today’s Tool! Join me on Monday to hear more about Holidays and a reminder to care for your most important part of your business. Feel free to join me on Facebook if you’ve got more quick display tips!

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