The first step in creating the booth at Dwell was to identify what we’re going to be doing, and what projects we want to showcase. We have a video loop to show, so there’s a big TV, and I need some space to do demos and let people work with the mix, so there’s a tabletop and an area for my colleague to gather leads and answer questions. I had to bring every project possible, so there needed to be a lot of shelf space.
From the computer mockup I can print out the signage, build the shelving and tabletops, cast a 2’x2′ piece of shapecrete for the corner, and get the projects and materials organized and boxed up.
At a design fair like Dwell most of the booths are ultra minimal and clean. The ShapeCrete booth was the exact opposite. Cluttered, full of projects, signage everywhere, microphones and live demos. I don’t know how well received it was by our neighbors, but we had a crowd of people around the booth for the entire show, and I think standing out with an interesting DIY product worked to our advantage.
It’s not how I’d design the booth, but it’s what my boss wanted, and in some way it fits my style just fine. I just don’t exactly enjoy having to load up and carry 10x more stuff than we actually needed…
I built a quick shelving unit from some wood we had on hand and then painted it white. Built a quick 2’x2′ form and cast a countertop section to show how smooth and free of air bubbles the finish can be.
The booth after a hectic first day:
It was like this for the majority of the day. Very exhausting to answer the same questions over and over and over again, but I like sharing what I know with people who are curious, so it was fun and rewarding.
Here’s a short video we put together from the show:
One of the highlights for me was seeing the stuff in the porsche booth next door. They had these amazing leather elephants by Deru for Georg Jensen. One had the most wonderful patina. They’re fantastic.
The George Nakashima rocking chair stole the show for me though. It’s the first Nakashima piece I recall seeing in person, and the arm rest is the perfect example of how he incorporated the natural shape and grain of the wood into his work. The outside curve was determined by the way the tree grew, you can see the lighter sap wood perfectly in line with the outer profile. I love details like this.
