Being able to put together a quick, inexpensive setup can get you started on your way to success. For this, we will use some of the components previously suggested for a home practice studio (Airbrush Action May/June '98). By combining these and adding a few detail pieces, you will be ready for your first business application.

There are a variety of venues for setting up an operation like this one: indoor flea markets, convention hall events or a warehouse store are just a few options. The setup pictured is an operation at a Sam's Club Warehouse Store. West Coast Airbrush Company has done a number of these stores at Christmas with this temporary setup and has attracted customers like you wouldn't believe.

THE DISPLAY
The trick is to display your designs in a way that will make an impact and stimulate the impulse sales needed to generate the high volume you expect.

The display area (Figures 1 & 2) is put together very simply. Disk blades 16-inches in diameter, the type used on a farm plow (available at any farm store) used as the platters that hold the upright poles. The poles are made of heavy duty, galvanized steel water pipe. The disk blades come with a hole directly in the center. A 2-inch piece of solid steel rebar channel is welded into the hole, leaving a 2-inch nipple at the top of the platter. The pipe is slipped over this nipple to hold the pipe upright.

Three 9-foot uprights are used in the setup. Three 8-foot crossbars are used to connect the uprights. In the photo you see two of these crossbars used to display shirts. Slip the crossbars through the sleeves of the T-shirt and pin the bottom for an attractive and functional display.

The other side of the backdrop on top holds our display sign with company name. On the bottom of both sides, display squares are attached to sheets of veneered plywood, which have been painted an accent color. These sheets of plywood are hanging from the upright poles. Drill holes through the poles and the plywood at the appropriate places and connect them with a plastic zip cord fastener at the top and bottom. Pennant felt or pellon display squares are attached to the plywood with a spray adhesive that will hold the display to the plywood.

The backdrop behind your painting area creates a gathering point for your customers to stand and admire your airbrushed designs while also watching you work. With this display, you not only show your designs on the traditional felt squares, but also on full size T-shirts. It is important to let your not-so-bright customers understand the idea here is to paint the chosen design on a T-shirt. This would seem obvious, but you would be surprised how some people just don't seem to get it!

The remainder or your designs can be displayed in a flip rack. (Figure 3). This is a piece of display equipment no airbrush artist should be without. The flip rack holds 60 designs and is virtually indestructible. I think customers are so curious about what's in that "big book" that they just have to check it out. Be sure to get one. They pay for themselves very quickly.

PAINTING AREA
The low cost components from your home practice studio (Airbrush Action May/June '98) are perfect to use for this type of setup. By adding a stencil bin under the front counter (Figure 4) you can keep your stencils separated by number and speed up the overall painting process by being able to quickly locate the proper stencil for a design.

A design reference card system (Figure 5) will also help your painting efforts. This very simple card file setup is put together by taking a 3' x 5" photo of each of your displayed designs and attaching the photos onto A" x 6" index cards. Number your display squares and the cards in the same order along with the price of each design. Now, when a customer places an order, simply go to your card file, pull the appropriate design card and all of the information is at hand.

After taking an order, attach the card to the shirt board with a clothes pin for a reference instead of running back and forth to the display square every few moments. After you finish, pop the card back into the file box and you are ready for the next order.

You may want to consider a housing for your compressor if noise is a factor. A simple solution is to house the compressor in a box lined with foam rubber. (Figure 6). The foam rubber, available in bedding departments, will deaden the sound by two-thirds. A ventilation fan finishes off this simple but effective solution to what can be a very noisy problem.

Light is supplied by two clip-on shop lights with 200-watt bulbs clipped onto uprights. (Figure 1). Again, the uprights are made of galvanized water pipe. The water pipe stands upright by threading the bottom of the pipe and then screwing them into the appropriate size screw pads that are attached to the front counter's top shelf. Don't forget, lighting is very important. Even though it may be hot and hard to look at all day as you work in the booth, it will attract customers, so you will need to tolerate it.

All in all, this setup works very well. It's bright and colorful, it's quick to set up and take down, it's clean and best of all it's cheap to build and will work in many different applications. All that remains for you, once again, is to "just do it"! WCA