I was listening to the 2 Artists Share Their 40 Year History at the Art Fairs blog radio podcast and they mentioned, someone lightly that the 80s were a different time... or maybe the early 90s? I don't recall exactly, but I watched that documentary on Miami drug explosion and the 80s and I was curious, did stuff like that actually happen at the big art fairs back then?
More of a curiosity thing than anything else, but it was a nice podcast and I'd love to hear more interviews with show veterans!
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Thanks for listening, Bobby. I love doing the podcasts and am always looking for ideas. Those veterans were good friends of mine (we started doing art fairs in 1979) so knew them well.
They were a different time. The middle class had more disposable income (think of all those good auto jobs where people earned middle class incomes that are gone now -- I'm in Michigan.) Our work wasn't flashy enough to make really big bucks in Miami, but those shows were great. We always had two of us working the booth and at the big shows like Ann Arbor and Old Town always took a third person along to keep things rolling along. Once at the Charlevoix Waterfront Art Fair (a fancy tourist/second home area in northern Michigan) one of our customers report there were 13 people in line to buy things ... we enlisted him to help take the cash. He was a lawyer and said it was thrilling to take in cash because he never saw it in his business.
Then there is the Internet/ then there are more malls / there is Pottery Barn / many more places to find one of a kind and handmade goods ...
The 80s were an absolute blast! The shows were rocking and since the economy was exploding at a rapid rate everyone had money to spare, and they spent it! We would do shows and people would literally come into our booth with their money in their hand and say "I want that one".
Exhibitors who had something useful literally had lines in front of their booths.
In the late 70s mortgage interest rates were 18% and when they dropped to 7 & 8% people bought homes and needed stuff to fill them. And they appreciated handcrafted work.
The people were in a good mood overall. And when people are happy, they will spend money. It lasted through the 90s and we were making 6 figures in sales.
Those days are gone forever. Nobody is happy anymore. And in an election year they get especially frugal because they don't know what's going to happen, so they just go to Walmart.
You are so right, Chris! I remember those days too! And election times are also down...just the way it is. And I too remember lines in the booth & trying to find a moment to eat. I think the memories keep me going sometimes.
Yes. Just trying to find a few minutes to eat.