Company History

Custom Creation was born in 1988 when Greg Dykes, our president and founder, was approached by Origin Systems to design and produce an imaginative presentation. Their partner, FCI, was launching the popular Ultima™ series on the Nintendo game system. This presentation was an important part of the marketing for this release at the 1989 Winter Consumer Electronics Show. Faux stone castle walls with draped doorways, fluttering banners and product graphics comprised the fantasy setting of the exhibit. Actors in period costumes portrayed characters from the role-playing adventure game in a performance that included a choreographed sword fight and a damsel in distress. What started as a favor to a friend grew into a successful business that continues to flourish.
Like all businesses we are here to make money, but we exist because we enjoy creating the projects our clients bring to us. The only way we can do this is by providing them with what they need to achieve their goals. We join with our clients as part of their team to achieve mutual success.

Create Your Weekend

Welcome to the custom events page that lets
YOU create your "Austin-style" weekend.
Are you busy?

Is it tough to keep up with fun local events?
Looking for something different?
Our Create Your Weekend planner is the answer!
Click here to see an example...

This is a free service of Custom Creation that lists lots of fun things to do in the Austin area. Each week we do the research so you don't have to, then we send you an email chock-full of central Texas variety!

Complete this form to subscribe.

Staff

The backbone of Custom Creation is its dedicated staff. We share the same philosophy of client satisfaction and excellence. As Custom Creation is partnered with its clients, it is also partnered with its staff for mutual success. Our staff brings a wealth of talent to every job and we all work together to serve our clients.

What do creative people do with their free time?
Click here to find out!

Facilities

Custom Creation has a 26,000 sq ft building that houses design, fabrication, and storage for your projects. It’s located near the old airport and the intersection of I-35 and 290 East. The showroom has several booths and examples of projects in a constantly changing example of our work. It makes a great place to get some hands on experience. Visit us and you'll get more ideas for that new project you're about to start.

Using computer design and drafting programs allows us to show you your imagination from multiple angles and in a variety of finishes. We can take your logo files and produce real, physical, three-dimensional pieces. Just the thing for your lobby or out on the exhibit floor. Combining our computer drafted designs with a numerical controlled router allows fast turnaround of complex parts. It also means we can make identical pieces quickly and when you come back later we can call up the files and build more matching parts.

If you have too much stuff in your closets and stairways you need to use our storage facility. We have over 20,000 cubic feet of exhibits already stored here, and room for more. Three loading docks enable us to bring one show in while another is leaving.

Give us a call to set up a visit.

Glossary

There are lots of terms or jargon used in the exhibition industry that have different meanings in another industry. For example: an exhibit means something quite different to a lawyer. Custom Creation focuses on all the aspects of getting your product or services displayed on a trade show floor as well as custom construction of sets, stages, or business environments. Here are several words and descriptions of what we mean by them and what they might mean to you.

Term   Definitions
Artificer   A skilled worker; a craftsperson. Custom Creation strives to bring craftsmanship to all your projects.
Booth   It’s the area you rent from an exhibition to display your product or services. It also refers to the exhibit properties that you own.
CAD   Computer Aided Design -- Using computers for designing and drafting projects. CAD files can be sent to CNC machines for automated manufacturing. Computers speed creating concepts and allow rendering images for viewing.
CNC   Computer Numerical Control – A manufacturing method where computers control the position of high-speed tools. It allows our designers to make your product better and faster which can save you money.
Creation   An original product of human invention or artistic imagination. It’s our motto: Crafting Imagination into Reality.
Custom   Made to order Custom Creation can build your products just the way you want them.
Design   To conceive or fashion in the mind; invent. All projects need to have a plan or method of creation and use. We have graphic and industrial designers that can execute what you have or create something new.
Display   To present or hold up to view. This is what you do in your exhibit; also another word for exhibit.

Environment

  The circumstances or conditions that surround one; surroundings. It may be on the trade show floor, in your office lobby, on a movie set, or even a parade route.

Exhibit

  A public showing; an exhibition. The word is used for the entire event or for the structures that are used on the show floor. Often interchangeable with booth or display.

Kiosk

  A small structure, often open on one or more sides. We usually describe a cabinet with storage, a counter-top, and place for descriptive graphics or monitor as a kiosk.

Modular

  Designed with standardized units or dimensions, as for easy assembly and repair or flexible arrangement and use. This type of booth structure gives you the ability to add pieces, take pieces away or rearrange them as you please.
Portable   Carried or moved with ease. All our exhibit products are designed to be moved across the country and setup in short order. But a portable exhibit usually refers to one that an individual can carry easily.
Rental   A piece of property available for renting. If your budget does not allow you to make a purchase, we have many items that you can use as needed. We can also find structures in the larger exhibit venues so you don’t even have to ship your rentals.

Scenery

  Backdrops, furnishings, and other accessories on a stage that represent the location of a scene.

Set

  An arrangement of scenery on a stage or in a studio.

Stage

  The scene of an event or an area in which actors perform.

Studio

  A room or building where audio, video, or photography are produced or recorded.

Trade show

  An exhibition at which competing or complementary manufacturers and suppliers meet with prospective customers. We often just say: the show.

Venue

  The city or building that an exhibition or trade show is located in.