Designing a trade show booth isn’t much different from designing a vignette at home. Time, money, and space are always limiting factors. So, when asked to design the space for the Proven Winners trade show booth for the Garden Writers Association annual meeting in Raleigh, this was no different.
Working with staff at Proven Winners and Spring Meadows, we identified the color theme – Pink.
Why pink? In honor of the first re-blooming pink flowered hydrangea Invincibelle Spirit
Invincibelle Spirit bears loads of hot pink flowers from early summer to frost. It’s a reliable bloomer in the north and is also heat tolerant making it perfect for our hot and humid southern gardens. Invincibelle Spirit will be available in garden centers Spring 2010.
But more importantly, Proven Winners’ goal is to raise $1,000,000 for breast cancer research. Proven Winners will donate $1 from each purchase of Invincibelle Spirit to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. BCRF is dedicated to preventing breast cancer and finding a cure in our lifetime by funding clinical and translational research worldwide.
With the pink as inspiration, we brought in a trendy green to set the stage.
With the color decision complete, the rest fell into place. The space was 20 feet long with a height limitation of 8 feet. The space also had to hold featured plants, literature, and give a-ways.
On the negative side, the back curtain was a blue, and definitely not workable. On the plus side, we were given choices for the carpet colors. We chose tan.
Braun Group donated some gorgeous containers for the space. They were potted up with Proven Winners.
The containers were use to pot up the Hydrangea and and annuals.
Needing to add more display for the large space, we brought into the design a potting bench.
The potting bench
What, you don’t find this attractive? Stay with me. It did need some love. This love included two coats of white washed paint – latex flat, white paint, one part paint, 10 parts water.
Potting bench with first coat of white wash
Detail of first coat of white washing
After the first coat dried for 24 hours, a second coat was applied
2nd coat applied
Satisfied with the 2nd coat of white wash, now we were ready for the green. Again, the green was a wash – 1 part flat latex paint with 10 parts water.
Ooh, la, la! Tres chic
Now we’re talking. This green is fun and festive and works so well with pink. However, we wanted it gussied up some more. Working with the Braun containers, the pink, the greens, and the black in the Proven Winners logo, I found this fabric. With 3 yards of fabric, a shirt for the potting bench was made, as well as, a cover for a cushion for the seating bench. The white fabric on the right was purchased to pen to the blue curtain that came with the booth space.
Pink birdcage as accent
Wanting to add some accents to the potting bench, this birdcage was picked up at the Raleigh Flea Market No question I paid too much. A whopping $6.00. I know I should have offered four, but didn’t want this one to get away!
Wanting to add more pink, 3 yards of pink fabric was purchased to use in some creative way. My original design was “X”ed as to edgy, so I needed to come up with another idea to bring in more pink against the white fabric.
When it came time to load the potting shed bench, it rained. Actually, it poured. I had to ask my husband for help. He did. The next morning, I headed over to the conference center to set up.
Lesson learned, pay attention to signs that say 7 foot height limitation. The upright potting bench on my Ford 150 Pick up truck exceed 7 foot. Thanks to my friend Laura Schaub, we rebuilt it with only one piece left over.
Volia!
Ok, it looked a little better when all the pink bags were there…
A bonus for me? I now have a pretty green potting bench. I wouldn’t have painted it otherwise, yet now that I see how cute it is, not sure why I waited 18 years (the age of my bench.)
Helen Yoest
Gardening With Confidence
