The Secrets of World-Class Tablescapers

If you look to the Los Angeles County Fair’s annual tablescaping competition for a little place-setting inspiration, you may find, among other eccentricities, a giant handmade squid pressed against a floating submarine porthole, a fake urn for a fictitious dead cat, a dozen or so dolls and the endless glittering frills of tinsel.

I’m sorry, you were expecting the quiet drama of a seasonal floral arrangement? Maybe some muted tablecloths and tapered candles? These are not those kinds of tables. These are extravagant, excessive and technically precise set pieces that some contestants will spend all year designing and crafting.

“People think it’s trivial,” said Ava Tramer, a film and television writer who started competing in 2018. “But I take the idea of getting everything right and respecting the sport very seriously.”

Ms. Tramer’s first table theme was “Helen’s Birthday Party,” a study of a lonely cat lady whose party guests included her cats Princess Fishbone, Mr. Tinkles and Muffy 2. (If you looked carefully, you’d notice a fake urn holding Muffy 1.)

“As a creative person, it’s really fun because some of it is visual, and some of it is character and story,” Ms. Tramer said.