BOUTIQUE CLOTHING RACK + MERCHANDISE DISPLAY
I love the opportunity to make something I haven’t made before. Sarah from Oh Little One in San Diego contacted me about a clothing rack for the toddler apparel she sells in her Etsy shop and at maker markets. After letting me know what she needed, I drew up some sketches and ran it by her. A couple brainstorm emails later and we had a plan to move forward with!
Each new build has it’s own unique hurdles. From figuring out the angles, to deciding on the joinery, materials and the finish. It’s like a puzzle and it’s tons of fun! Sarah wanted a light and airy feel so we decided on simple plywood along with poplar dowels. The whole thing disassembles into 4 pieces…the box, two separate leg units, and the hanging rod. The box part of the design serves double duty. It’s a platform to display business cards, extra product, or other decor and when disassembled it flips over and becomes a box to carry stuff (as you can see it has handles on the sides).
Some of my favorite details about this project are the subtle ones. From the rabbet joinery on the dowels to the plugs hiding the screw holes to the hand-sanded rounded dowel tips…it’s all my favorite. Then I finished it off with some fine sanding and satin poly.
When my wife and I were wedding photographers, we would do these big wedding vendor trade show events. A lot of the vendors opted for the basic pipe and drape booth setup, but we wanted to set ourselves apart. That’s why we always had a custom built wall display and other handmade items in our booth. Every time I would re-build our wall design, I would improve it so it was just a little bit easier to assemble than the previous vesion. Or I’d do something that made it fit together just a little cleaner. Additionally, we wanted to be able to set everything up and tear everything down as quickly as possible. Figuring out these kinds of things was fun for me, and that’s one of these reasons building this boutique clothing rack for Sarah was such a fun project.
Can you picture something like this for your booth at your next maker’s market or craft fair? Perhaps a variation to make it unique to your design aesthetic and the products you sell? I would love to throw around some ideas with you. Something like this doesn’t have to be for craft exhibits and tradeshows only. If you’re looking to build out or update your boutique brick and mortar store or small shop, let’s talk! Looking to freshen up an area in your home? Let’s talk! I look forward to hearing from you! Thanks for stopping by the blog of Seth Mondragon - American Craftsman.
