I can't say enough good things about this terrific show. From the $115,000 in pre paid Art Bucks bought by the community, to the donation made by Wells Fargo bank to fund elementary school kids to pick out and buy artwork for their schools, to the reasonable size of invited artists (105), to the lunches and breakfasts and dinners supplied for free to the artists, to the excellent venue in around the fountain in the square, and to the people of Belleville who come out in droves to support us artists with actual purchases...
This is one fine art fair. This is my first time in Belleville and it now ranks in the top three money makers for me. I even won an award for best of category (digital)... And a healthy award at that ($1500). Awards totaled around $32,000. Not bad for a Midwest art fair.
Long hours, 5-10 on Friday, 10-8 on Saturday and 11-5 on Sunday. But people were buying art all day, every day. One negative was the weather on Friday night. Strong winds took out a few tents and did a little rearranging of my heavily weighted trim line. But most artists seemed to be selling well. I can see why the Art Fair Sourcebook named this show number 1 in the nation.
Comments
That would be Belleville, Il, not far from St. Louis.
It's not Belleview, it's Belleville and it's in Belleville Missouri not far from St. Louis.
Where is this Belleview Show?
Hey Barry, before you buy that tent, I hope you'll notice that one of the prizes in the Pledge Drive is $250 off a brand new Show Off Canopy. See all the prizes here: http://www.artfaircalendar.com/art_fair/pledgedrive.html
AND I hope you'll call in to tomorrow's podcast at 5 pm ET, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. You've got such great stories to share. I'll be waiting.
This shows deserves all the kudos. Want to know more about Belleville? A while back I did a podcast with Patty Gregory who started and runs Art on the Square and Kristi Salamone from the La Quinta Arts Festival (these shows regularly vie for the #1 spot in the country). It is a good look into how these events work well in their communities to bring in the buyers.
Click here to listen: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/artfairs/2013/08/14/how-to-bring-buyer...
Although I stopped doing any outdoor canopy shows a couple of years ago I still have wonderful memories of Belleville. Great hospitality, fantastic sales. When I first started doing it it was mostly an unknown quantity to the art fair artist community. I heard about it through word of mouth (usually the best way to find a new wonderful show IMO) and in the beginning it was actually pretty easy to jury into. After it was 'discovered' a few years later it became extremely competitive and rightly so. I'm glad to hear it has maintained its great reputation.
The problem with living so far away from a show is that you beat me to it in writing the first review of this show. At 105 artists, the amount of art bucks on average for each artist was about $1,100 per artist. I got more than my share. Unfortunately, I'm going to be spending my share on a new tent, which I need ASAP. I'll tell that story tomorrow. I put this show in the top four shows that I have done, along with Cherry Creek, Des Moines, and St Louis. The support from the community rivals St Louis and the volunteers and committee are equal to Des Moines. Patty Gregory is now my favorite director.