What exhibitors need to know about the Best Booth Awards and how you can help your booth win one!

Did you know that late at night, during both the spring and fall editions of International Quilt Market, a secret team roams the show floor? Cloaked in mystery, steeped in tradition, and powered by electric carts, the Best Booth Committee zooms up and down the aisles to look at each and every booth on the show floor for the ones who will receive awards in the following categories:

• Creativity
• Merchandising
• New Exhibitor

• Single Booth (first and second place)
• Double Booth (first and second place)
• Multiple Booth (first and second place)

In addition to amazing bragging rights over your neighbors, winners receive a unique plaque and ribbon to display, and photos of the booth appear in the eInsider, our electronic industry newsletter, on the www.quilts.com website, and in a special photo spread in the next Market’s edition of The Buyer’s Guide.

And while the Committee has no set rules in what it looks for or what catches their multiple eyes, here are some tips to think about when creating your booth to increase your chances:

• Make your booth stand out visually;
• Do creative things with your pole covers and curtains;
• Be sure to cover the floor with some sort of carpet or special flooring;
• Cover your chairs with fabric or slips;
• A "theme" isn’t necessary, but your booth and merchandise should be well coordinated.
• Your merchandise should be displayed in a way that is both eye-catching and well organized. Beware of the “cluttered” look.
• Flex that creative muscle, think outside of the box, go above and beyond, but remember–sometimes, too much of a good thing is, well, just too much. As designer Coco Chanel said, before you leave the house, look in the mirror, and take one thing off. Apply this same concept to your booth.