By Joseph Christiana

On the upper level of the south lobby at Moscone Center in San Francisco, a balcony overlooks the south hall hustle and bustle of the Winter Fancy Food Show. Tucked away from the main arteries of attendee traffic, that overlook is a well-kept secret, a quiet place to take a time out from the show floor excitement. Every January I find myself here taking a few minutes to collect my thoughts and, invariably, reflecting on my professional career.

It’s impossible not to. From this vantage point I have a clear bird’s eye view of the fruits of my labor. It’s fairly staggering. Servicing nearly 30 exhibits at both the Winter and Summer Fancy Food shows, Nationwide 360 is by a good stretch the leading exhibit services provider on the show floor. On just about every aisle you might turn down, you’ll run into one of our exhibits. With both of our histories dating back about 60 years, Nationwide 360’s story mirrors that of the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade. We’ve grown alongside the show year after year. Our respective fortunes are entwined. If you’ve ever been to a Fancy Food Show, you’ve seen our work.

As the Creative Director for Nationwide 360, I’m proud to say that I’ve had the privilege to have a hand in each and every one of Nationwide 360’s Food Show exhibits, and with a client retention averaging over ten years, I’ve developed personal relationships with many of our clients.

If you’d have asked me the day I graduated what I’d be doing 10, 15 years down the road, there’s no way the words designing exhibits and displays for trade shows would have ever come out of my mouth. They couldn’t have. I didn’t even know such a discipline existed then. As is the case with many of my colleagues working in the industry, I sort of fell into it.

I’m glad I did. Not every day is a walk down the primrose path of professional bliss, of course, but every once in a while, like that moment of looking out over the Nationwide 360 “dominion” in San Francisco every January, I feel fortunate in that particular way only taking pride in your work can make you feel fortunate. As I talk to our team out on the show floor and watch them tend to the wide-ranging needs of our clients, I know they feel the same as I do.

We’re thrilled to be debuting three new custom-built exhibits at the upcoming show– Monini and Rao’s (Booth 3813 and 3516). If you’re exhibiting at or attending the show, give us a shout. We’d love to show you our work.