Rachelle Kulak is a Project Manager at Hill & Partners Inc. This is a little taste of her experience at Outdoor Retailer Winter 2011.

Outdoor Retailer….two words that strike both fear and excitement into exhibitor and exhibit houses alike. It comes up quickly like a thief in the night, and the next thing you know, boom, it’s Sunday January 16th. You soon find yourself putting up the tray table in front of you and returning your seat to the full and upright position. Well, at least that is what I found myself doing on the 16th. Once I landed I felt the change immediately. I went from having my normal travel oriented mind to the outdoor retailer and nothing but outdoor retailer psyche.

This winter market was a big deal for Hill & Partners because we had six clients*, which means, you’ve guessed it, six booths. It was also Hill & Partner’s 31st Outdoor Retailer so we were definitely psyched about that too. Six booths totaling 8,550 square feet of overall booth space at the Salt Palace. If you’ve been to a trade show or have exhibited at one you know the pressure of one booth. Now multiply it by six and your mouth may start to go a little dry. It’s no joke folks; it’s a lot of work. But, we love it!

I arrived a little after noon on Sunday to the Salt Palace and then it was game on. Throughout the day more of our team filtered in until our team of eight were all accounted for and ready to tackle our booths. I could bore you with the details but I won’t (except getting freight in at the convention center was like trying to fit a round peg in a square hole). I will tell you how setup went in a brief statement; we came, we saw, we conquered. Six booths all up and ready in pristine condition well before the first official day of the show. At the end, we were able to check off the most important item from our list. Happy clients. We also had two new clients for this show, which we were definitely excited about. We were able to create never before seen booths, which looked (insert unabashed self promotion) glorious.

Once set up was over I foolishly thought it would be a cake walk until dismantle. If I could go back in time and literally shake myself for entertaining this thought I would. My nine-day Tour de Salt Lake was like a symphony of constant movement. Show week at Outdoor Retailer is busy, to say the least. We are constantly on the go; errands to run, people to see and at the end of the day our legs kind of felt like jello. Luckily Ryan, one of our staff members at Hill & Partners, offered to be our designated photographer and my compadre during the show. Having a teammate on the road always helps to reenergize you.

One of the definite highlights of our trip was the Polartec party at Club Elevate. Ryan and I helped set up the interior of the space, but the fun part came later that evening. Polartec launched their latest NeoShell collection and there were 800 plus people there to celebrate. While Ryan worked hard at getting some great shots, I worked hard on the dance floor. It was a sight of pure excellence. Another notable night at OR was a classy adventure in bowling at The Bonwood. With names like “The Dragon” and “Acorn”, the other “bring your own ball” bowlers were less than thrilled with our moves, but we were very pleased and a force to be reckoned with. Days are long during OR and the words rest and relaxation are not in our vocabulary , so we will take what we can get, like a sweet night of bowling complete with sweat bands and beautiful form.

Just as soon as it came, it went and it was time to dismantle our booths. Six booths in two days. No problem. One of the most difficult parts of any dismantle at OR is the lack of space when you need a lot of it. Finding places for each of your crates ( these hold the elements of the dismantled booth) is a lot like finding Waldo; if you keep searching long enough eventually you will find the place. After searching for what seemed like forever, we found the necessary places and within two days all of our booths were packed up safely and shipped either on to the next show or back home. I like to tell my clients that I’m basically a magician. They show up and viola the booth is up and ready for their product. Then once the show is done abra kadabra the booth is gone and on to the next show.

*Polartec, Mountain Hardwear, Montrail, Unifi, Sigg, and Celliant*