Artist Back Alley Resources Blog

Three cities. Three conventions. One month. That was the plan when we mapped out March last year, and honestly, we thought we were CRAZY. The route was Brisbane to Sydney to Melbourne. Each show was a weekend gig, which meant five days of driving, unpacking, setting up, tearing down, repacking, and doing it all again. Most vendors we know would rather eat glass than attempt that schedule. But we had one advantage they didn't: our entire display fit in a single carry-on sized bag. Week One: Brisbane Brisbane was the shakedown run. We loaded the car with stock boxes, a folding table, and one 56x36x23cm case holding our full modular display kit. Setup on Friday afternoon took about 25 minutes. Panels clicked together, shelves locked in, and by the time the doors opened Saturday morning we had a full booth that looked like we'd been there for hours. The real test was teardown Sunday night. We were exhausted. But everything snapped apart and packed flat in under 15 minutes. That MATTERED, because we had an 8-hour drive ahead. Week Two: Sydney Sydney was the big one. Bigger crowd, tighter table space, higher stakes. We adjusted our layout slightly, moving shelves around and adding a second tier of hooks for prints. Same panels, same connectors, totally different configuration. That flexibility saved us from buying a second display system like some vendors do for different table sizes. One thing we learned: when you're living out of a car for a month, every kilogram counts. Our display weighs a fraction of what a wooden or metal setup does. By Sydney, we were GRATEFUL for that. Week Three: Recovery We took five days off between Sydney and Melbourne. Restocked prints, washed clothes, slept in a real bed. The display stayed packed in its case in the boot of the car, taking up almost no space. That meant room for actual luggage, which sounds obvious until you've tried fitting a pipe-and-drape system plus suitcases plus stock into a hatchback. Week Four: Melbourne Melbourne was where the whole trip paid off. We'd refined our layout twice already. Setup was down to about 15 minutes. We knew exactly where every panel went, which shelves held what weight, and how to arrange stock for maximum visibility. The booth looked polished and INTENTIONAL. A few vendors stopped by to ask about the display. They couldn't believe it packed down to carry-on size. One of them had shipped a crate ahead by freight and was stressed about it arriving on time. Ours was just sitting in the car. What We'd Do Differently Honestly? Not much. The route worked. The display worked. If we did it again, we'd probably bring fewer stock boxes and more variety, since we learned what sold at each city. But the display itself was the one constant that never gave us trouble. If you're thinking about stringing multiple shows together, look at the full kit range before you commit to a bulky setup. The weight and pack size make multi-con trips actually doable instead of theoretical. Three cons. One month. One carry-on display. We'd do it again tomorrow.