Figurative Art Scuptures/Art Dolls

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Comment by Cassandra Graham on October 28, 2011 at 2:06am

The National Doll Festival sounds very promising..especially since it's in New Orleans, one of my most favorite places (although not crazy about the heat in July).

I'm going to try and find out info on the Quinlan Show as to how it went, etc.  Hopefully some of the dollmakers I've met on FaceBook might have gone.

Comment by Lucia Friedericy on October 27, 2011 at 6:33pm

Thankyou Cassandra. Art/Craft shows are a whole new world for me with alot more choices than I am used to. There just aren't anywhere near as many artist doll shows, and some of them end up as far away as Moscow--but you have to go where the collectors are.

I would suggest looking up NIADA (National Institute of American Doll Artists) as a group that you might want to join--they have a big show once a year that moves around the country, although like everything else, I think their sales are down. Another big doll show that I am thinking of doing is the National Doll Festival put on by Rowbear Lowman. It is in New Orleans this year in July--it moves around too as a statellite of the UFDC Convention (United Federation of Doll Clubs), which is the largest gathering of doll collectors in this country--their conference lasts for 1 week and is a combination of seminars, classes, appraisals, antique doll auctions, etc. 

Comment by Mary L. Perry on October 27, 2011 at 6:29pm

Lucia, Thank you so much for sharing your experience and your knowledge. Your dolls are exquisite! Truly wonderful! Good luck on your upcoming shows.

Comment by Cassandra Graham on October 27, 2011 at 4:30pm

Lucia, you're work is wonderful!  Thank you for the insight about the shows and market, too.  Although I've shown first paintings and then jewelry in shows for about 40 years, I only began creating dolls last year so this is a whole new world for me.

Comment by Lucia Friedericy on October 27, 2011 at 3:53pm

Hi-never commented before, but I joined your group though the dolls I make aren't polymer or fabric. They are OOAK wax-over -porcelain. But I thought I could contribute as I've done IDEX for 20 years, and I've been selling artist dolls since the market really began in the 80's. The artist doll shows have faltered as much in the last 3-4 years as I understand the art fair shows have. I did my first art/craft show (Acc Baltimore) 2 years ago and have been trying to learn about these shows to replace some of my missing doll business.

Anyway, IDEX is probably the last standing show that still gathers pretty much the whole high-end doll market together and is the best place still to meet the doll dealers around the world that carry this niche market to collectors. I will say my sales there last year were down by about 40% and I don't know what to expect this year. The show has been steadily shrinking in both the number of exhibitors and attending buyers. 

I didn't do the Quinlan's show in Philiadelphia last year as it was the first year and I heard mixed reports from my friends, I think it was pretty rocky as to organization and purpose. I'm not sure what the attendance was of collectors. Also, attendance at doll shows is much, much smaller than art fairs but can be much more lucrative.

By the way--ACC Baltimore was very good for me with dolls, and I'm going to try the Best of the Northwest show in Seattle next month, and the OOAKind Chicago Xmas show in Dec. My dolls are high-end (500-5000), so we'll see what happens!

Comment by Mary L. Perry on October 27, 2011 at 1:03pm

Cassandra, I would like to try it and I contacted them today to find out more about it. I would be glad to pass on the information when I get it. 

Comment by Cassandra Graham on October 27, 2011 at 12:17pm

Hi, Mary......yes, I had heard about that show and was considering it, having learned the ol' hard way that the regular doll shows were not going to work for me.

Are you considering going there?

Comment by Mary L. Perry on October 27, 2011 at 11:39am

Cassandra, Are you familiar with the Artist Doll & Teddy Bear Convention sponsored by the Quinlan Musuem? This show, which takes place in Philadelphia next May, was recommended to me by a teddy bear artist who was set up next to me at the doll show. She also pointed out that at regular doll shows people are not searching for "artist" made dolls. So, it is important to choose shows that will bring collectors who appreciate our art.

Comment by Cassandra Graham on October 27, 2011 at 9:32am

I've only shown my dolls in one doll show and it didn't go well as the interest seemed to only be in vintage type manufactured dolls.  I do a couple of large art shows every year with my jewelry but I have a feeling that while the dolls might generate attention, I don't think there's a big enough collector base to result in sales at regular art/craft shows.

My best luck has been in selling a couple that I showed on Facebook and also getting three of them shown in doll collector magazines, which resulted in a commission for 7 dolls....at $700. a piece. 

I'm taking some of them to the IDEX show in Florida in January as part of the International Doll Registry group.  So, I think that  my focus this coming year will be to get them seen in national or international situations where they will be exposed to collectors.  I also need to get busy on my website and blog which always seem to be sadly neglected.

 

Comment by Mary L. Perry on October 26, 2011 at 10:24pm

Joelle, I have only done two shows this year, both of them earlier this month. One was a doll show, and sales were slow. The other one was a folklife festival and my sales were way down from previous years. I do not sell online, but I am glad to hear that you are having success with that. Do you sell on Etsy?

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