If the purpose of trade show graphics is to draw people to your booth, artist Lisa Rivas‘ display at the recent SURTEX 2012 exhibit was a resounding success. Of course the ultimate goal is to make sales, and lots of them, but you can’t make a sale if no one is intrigued enough to stop and look.

For exhibitors at SURTEX, the purpose of the show is to sell and license original art and designs for products like greeting cards, giftware, housewares, textiles, wrapping paper, wallpaper and just about any product that carries an image. Therefore, Rivas needed to display her artwork in the best light possible.

After consulting with a LexJet customer specialist, Courtney Borders in this case, Rivas settled on Photo Tex, a fabric with a removable adhesive that’s perfect for wall coverings. “Working with Courtney is like a dream, and everyone I work with at LexJet is very helpful,” says Rivas. “They seem to know what you need beforehand and tell you about it before something becomes an issue.”

As you can see in the accompanying photo, Rivas wrapped just about every possible surface in her booth with her designs, from the back wall provided by SURTEX to the front counter, and even the sample boxes.

Rivas plans to repurpose the prints made for the booth with follow-up direct mail pieces wrapped in Photo Tex, as well as offering Rivas designs for wallpaper applications.

“People came by and asked how I did it. A lot of people I talked to thought I used a lot of ink when I printed it, but the design was open and I used a very intricate pattern for the background that was on the pale side so it didn’t require a lot of ink,” explains Rivas. “I didn’t want it to be a cave; I wanted it to be a fresh garden you walk into. The counter was a similar surface and the application went very smoothly.”