Furniture?

[btrc]

FWIW, I think the high tables are the way to go. It puts a sitting person at eye height with passerby. Also, if one particular demo uses a bunch of chairs, another demo can manage by having the participants stand.

Greg

[Paul's Girl]

I did a quick check of Target (sorry I like Target) and this is what I found:

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=1-7/qid=1108745888/ref=sr_1_7/602-3455072-0420602?%5Fencoding=UTF8&asin=B000063SJ3
black vinyl coated metal folding chair and tables, they have them in 'taupe' as well.

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=br_1_15/602-3455072-0420602?%5Fencoding=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B00020L6OC
6' long folding table.

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=br_1_3/602-3455072-0420602?%5Fencoding=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B00020L6ME
4' long folding table

This was only one place, but I didn't find any game size tables in the same category. $17.99 is the price for the chairs, and I like the fact that they are metal. The plastic ones from the convention suppliers are a bit flimsy, and kinda narrow. IMO having to rent the chairs is the killer.

[Ben Lehman]

I'd like to propose that, instead of buying all the furniture in one fell swoop, we could start this year with the chairs and, if that works out of us, continue acquiring tables, etc next year.  Which would give us a chance to test it out before dropping a grand or two on purchase and storage.

yrs--
--Ben

[Ron Edwards]

Whoa - good idea, Ben.

Greg, do you think that works? Tables as usual, chairs via purchase?

Also, I'm disposed toward the shorter tables, rather than bar-height tables.

Best,
Ron

[LordSmerf]

Ben,

Good idea, but...  We'll have to make a decision on size now.  If we decide to go with 43" cafe tables we'll need bar stools instead of folding chairs.

If we purchase stools will we be able to rent cafe sized tables?

Thomas

[btrc]

Greg, do you think that works? Tables as usual, chairs via purchase?

Also, I'm disposed toward the shorter tables, rather than bar-height tables.

I'll go with the flow, but I think the eye-height and the ability to get people over to the table and see what's happening without actually making them commit to sitting down might be an extra foot in the door towards getting their attention.

Ron, what would be the expense for renting say 6 of the cafe tables, and in what size tabletop?

And on that spinner book rack we discussed, it's great, but it has the same logistics as the tables. It won't take up much storage space (about a 2x2 square piece of floor), but we still need someone to haul it.

Greg Porter
BTRC

[Kat Miller]

Hi,

I don't know if this helps,
Mike and I picked up 7 folding chairs from a closing sale at a local store.
They are round seated and therefor smaller than the standard square picknick folding chairs although they seat at the same height.  They do  have a weight limit of 200 lbs but are pretty sturdy.  (Mike and I both having tested them)  The have a padded seat and  a padded back.

If you think they'd be useful Mike and I would be happy to bring them and store them.

[Paul's Girl]

The next question: how specific do we want to be on the chairs/stool? Get a certain height only? Or specific brand and item? Do we need to be consistent? There's a bit of an indie flare in a collection of various sitting pieces...

I'm going to keep bugging everyone about the carpeting - rent the carpet as usual or purchase interlocking foam mats? Please see post in "Gen Con 2005 booth specifications"

-thanks

[Silent Tamatama]

As far as storage goes I'd be more than happy to store the tables and chairs at my house.  I've got the room and they will not ever be in my way.  Transporting them to the 2006 con should be easy I have a big enough vehicle for them, and if I should be unable to attend the 2006 con then there are three other regular Forge booth people in my area that could take them or if worst came to worst I could have them shipped to the con very cheaply as I get a huge discount on shipping.  The only logisitc problem that I see with me storing the tables and chairs is that I was planning on leaving the 2005 con around 1pm on Sunday and that would mean someone else would have to transport them back here, Paul Czege would be the best equipped to do this, but he brings the bookshelf and his truck would have limited space then and I don't want to volunteer him for something he may be uninterested in doing.  I could stay for the whole day Sunday to bring back the tables and chairs, but I'd be a little reluctant to do this since I work so early on Mondays.

Also the chairs and tables will have to be pretty sturdy since they are going to be  in a semi abusive enviorment with many different people using them.  When people get up or sit down they tend to put a lot of weight on one part of the chair or table when they are easing themselves down or getting up.  Doing this 20 times in one day is gonna put a big strain on them.  Not to mention the people who absent mindedly lean back in them.

Also I know somebody who works at NBS in Ohio and I could easily get prices or a catalog of chairs and tables from them and it'd be easy for me to pick up the stuff once it came in.  Of course I can't get the catalogs until Monday now as business hours are over.

[ffilz]

Not to mention the people who absent mindedly lean back in them.

That would be one advantage of bar stools, especially if you get ones without a back - people are a lot less likely to lean back. As a customer, I think the cafe tables with bar stools would set an atmosphere that's a bit nicer. Of course bar stools don't compact as well for transport as folding chairs. Of course a non-folding barstool will be sturdier, also, since people have to hike up onto them instead of plop down into them, there's a lot less chance they will collapse under a heavy load.

Another option for cost saving: buy the tables this year, and just a few stools. Buy the stools next year. Many booths don't supply chairs for their demos. Booth folks could bring a few folding chairs to have someplace to sit and rest your buns between demos.

The cost calculation should account for an annual replacement budget since things will get damaged.

Frank

[btrc]

These things do not last too long in continuous use, but for a few days a year they should hold up a while and look classier than stools:

http://www.staples.com/Catalog/Browse/SKU.asp?BCFlag=False&PageType=1&SKU=438030

They also probably ship unassembled, which makes them easier to get to the show, though they would take up a bit of space on the way back.

Been a lot of talk, but no apparent decisions. Ron, where do we go from here? Do we rent tables and buy chairs? And if so, how many tables are being planned and what size and height, so I know what kind of seating to be looking for. And what about the padded flooring stuff?

Greg Porter
BTRC

[daMoose_Neo]

Actually, I'd personally say stools for the con give it a simple, easy to approach look myself. The rolling chairs...eh...space for transport and on the floor would be a concern. Besides, wheeled chairs are known to bring out the five year old in everyone ^_^

[Matt Gwinn]

I'd ahve to go against the rolling chairs aswell.  They are far to bulky to transport and will take up too much space in the booth.  If we want to keep demos quick we need to go with the fast food method of purchasing furniture - as uncomfortable as possible.  Those rolling chairs look far too comfy to keep traffic moving.   We don't want people wasting our time in a demo they are only playing so they can get comfortable do we?

I still like the idea we discussed last year of high tables with no chairs at all.

,Matt

[Ron Edwards]

I confess that I am severely conflicted about all of this. Yet the clock is ticking.

Conclusions to follow after a brief huddle with the other primary booth guys.

Best,
Ron

[Erbage]

Just a couple of things. I've been lurking for a while now, but finally registered. I am known to Paul Czege(and Pauls Girl!) and Tama.
I'm not sure if you have already purchased the tables and/or chairs yet. The idea of the tall tables and chairs is also good, but try to keep it wheelchair accessible. There are quite a large number of gamers that are confined to a chair. Maybe a mix of tall and short?