Just got an unexpected acceptance to Madison Chautauqua in southern Indiana. I had already accepted Carmel, one of the northern suburbs of Indianapolis.
Which would you recommend? I have almost no time to choose, as I am welcoming houseguests to a family wedding starting tomorrow (I will not attempt to sleep tonight), and the booth fee for the former is due in 3 days anyway. I am not good at snap decisions! No info on whether Madison Chautauqua gives refunds; if it did, I would have a little more time to gather info. I fired off a fast email, but may not find out in time (Anyone know???)
Factors:
I know Madison Chautauqua is not a high end show. I know it is gigantic. It could take hours of work just to find a hotel there before the booth fee is due, and I don't have hours.
I have never tried it. I have applied, but been rejected as it has a history of being mostly grandfathered.
It is a much longer drive from Chicago. Carmel is about 4 hours.
I might be overexposed in the central Indiana area this year if I do Carmel. I have already done one Indianapolis show, and have another nearby in early September. I normally do only one and occasionally 2.
I am a jeweler, not high end, silver and some silver with gemstones, price points $ 18 to $ 475, average sale at most shows about 60.
Thanks for your help!
Replies
I was accepted in this year, too. After talking to a few artists, I have decided to not accept the invite. I was also accepted into the Art at the Riverside, and have already paid my booth fees there, so...I think I'll stick with that one this year. I will be interested in hearing about anyone's experience who attends this year at Chautauqua. That'll help me make my decision on if I want to apply to next years event.
I'm in the Madison show for the first time. Reading their info, it's a large show of about 40K attendees, with a broad range of price points. I did Carmel a year or two ago and sales were so-so. I wasn't accepted by Carmel this year and saw the Chatauqua deadline was still open. The Carmel show is only 20-25 minutes from me so is more desirable from an expense standpoint, but I'll go where I can. I've had several other artists tell me to go to the Madison show, so I am. I did find it interesting that Madison mentions "no nudes on product". I only have a few of those anymore, so those get left at home. The booth fee at Madison is reasonable and the standard booth size is 10x15.
Most of this info may not be much help except for the crowds looking for a wide set of price points and the show having a range of quality offerings. For myself, I was trying to find the drive time from the south side of Louisville to Madison to see if it was feasible to stay with relatives and drive daily to the show. From my home, it's a two hour drive from the NE side of Indianapolis to Madison and that's just a bit too far but an hour isn't.
Robert, do you know anything about refundability for Madison? If you have already paid, maybe they sent you something. Or you found the information somewhere where I did not.