How I transformed a Tech Brand’s trade show stand Into a space that people actually wanted to visit, with visible results.
Did you know that event stand styling is part of my job?
Last Tuesday I literally packed my tiny little car with plants and props, drove to a trade show, and spent the whole day doing this. And honestly I find it all completely fascinating.
Everyone around me was scrambling to fix giant TV screens, tech cables everywhere, logistics chaos in every direction, and then there was me in the corner making things cosy. That is genuinely one of my favourite feelings.
If you have been thinking about hiring an event stand stylist for your next trade show, exhibition, or brand activation, let me show you exactly what that looks like in practice.
The Brief: Warm, Not Techy
My client for this project was Kuba Pay, a fintech brand exhibiting at a major transport industry trade show at Olympia London Now, you might think a payments technology company would want a sleek, minimal, screen-heavy stand. But Kuba Pay had a really clear and smart vision: they did not want their stand to feel tech-heavy at all. They wanted it to feel warm, approachable, and like somewhere people could actually come and sit down and have a proper conversation.
So they called me in.
That kind of brief is exactly my sweet spot. Creating spaces that feel good, that draw people in and make them want to stay, that is what I have been doing for over 28 years as an interior stylist and art director.
What I Actually Created
The concept I landed on was a coffee shop lounge. I wanted the whole stand to feel like you had just stepped out of the exhibition hall and into somewhere genuinely relaxing. We wanted to avoid it looking like a meeting room or a corporate space. But somewhere you would actually want to pull up a seat and stay.
I sourced all the props myself, mixing key pieces from Soho Home, La Redoute and Habitat to create a layered, lived-in feel that you really cannot achieve with generic event hire furniture. Rich tan leather sofas, mid-century style armchairs in rust velvet with gold frames, soft tufted cushions in sage and terracotta, jute rugs underfoot, and green throws draped casually over arms.
Every single detail was chosen with intention.
The Prop Styling
With event stand styling for show, the one key thing that brings them alive is with plants which we key to the heart of my design. I styled each area with a different leafy plants: from lush maidenhair ferns in galvanised pots, trailing ivy in a cream crock, colourful indoor plants in textured planters, and among them I styled in amber glass vases, stacked books, and marble coasters.
I had gone to the garden centre to pick up all the plants, and then I sourced all the little accessories, vintage books and cermaics from charity shops and flea markets. I wanted this Tech Stand to look like a real coffe shop space that real people use.
I also added shelving units styled with curated books on urban transport (relevant to their industry), framed photography, sculptural green ceramic pieces, plants at every level, and stacks of Kuba Pay branded notebooks that sat beautifully alongside the decor rather than feeling like an afterthought.
The Personal Touches
This is where it gets really fun. Kuba Pay had a travel theme running through their brand, so I leant into that hard. I framed black and white photos of the MD of the Kuba Pay, and the rest of his team out on buses and trains and dotted them around the stand. The reaction from visitors seeing those personal photos in a beautiful green bobble frame or a striped green and white frame on a marble side table was just brilliant. It made people smile, it started conversations, and it made the stand feel human.
I also created a coffee shop branded card game element on the tables: little Kuba x Vix branded cards with conversation-starter questions on them. “What really matters to your passengers?” There alongside a proper vase, books, and a candle it felt like a coffee table in someone’s actual home. That is exactly the feeling we were going for.
Why Event Stand Styling Actually Matters
Here is something a lot of brands do not think about until it is too late. Your stand is doing the same job as a shop window, a front door, and a first impression all at once. People make a decision about whether to stop or walk straight past in a matter of seconds. The styling of that space, the colours, the textures, the furniture, the props, the flow of it, all of that is communicating something before a single word is spoken.
A sea of screens and branded banner stands all start to blur into one after a while. But a space that looks like somewhere you would actually want to sit? That stops people. It did here. The feedback came back really positive and I genuinely could not have been happier with how it turned out.
My Event and Shoot Styling Services
Alongside my work as an interior stylist and content creator, event and shoot styling is one of the core services I offer to brands, agencies, and companies of all sizes. Whether you are planning a trade show stand, a brand activation, a product launch, a press day, or a styled shoot, I can help you create a space that looks incredible and actually works for the people inside it.
You can see my styling services here.
I source all the props, style every surface, art direct the overall look and feel, and make sure every corner of your space tells the story you want to tell. I bring the same eye I use on my own home renovation and brand shoots to every commercial project, and I can work with your existing brief or help you develop the concept from scratch.
A Week in My Life
This is just one example of the kind of work I get to do. The variety is genuinely one of the things I love most about my job as an interior stylist.
The week of the Kuba Pay project I was also preparing for London Design Week. The week after I was styling my home for a brand shoot. Then recording my podcast, How to Home. Then shooting a cover for Ideal Home magazine. Every single week looks completely different and I genuinely would not have it any other way.
If you follow me on Instagram at @maxinebradystyling you can watch the Reel I made from the day. It really gives you a feel for the energy of that kind of job and how the stand came together.
Thinking About Hiring an Event Stand Stylist?
If you are a brand, agency, or event organiser looking for an event stand stylist, a trade show stylist, or a creative art director to help make your next exhibition space something people actually remember, I would love to hear from you.
You can find out more about my styling and art direction services on my website, or drop me an email to start a conversation. I work across the UK and have over 28 years of experience turning spaces into places that make people feel something.
Because that is what great styling does. It makes people feel welcome before anyone has even said hello.
Please contact me here
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