Call for Artists, Making Money at Juried Art Fairs, Craft Shows and Festivals
Charlevoix Summer Solstice Art Show MI
This past weekend was the Charlevoix Summer Solstice Art Show. Previous exhibitors noted a lot of buy sell at this show. I did not see much of that at this years show.
There were 62 artists at the beautiful Charlevoix park and docking area for boats or should I say yachts. The yacht basin is gorgeous and
has beautiful indoor bathrooms which makes it a lovely spot for an art
show, no yucky sani johns . It is put on by the Chamber of Commerce who
are extremely nice and accommodating. The show consisted of a few 2D
artists and photographers, some nice craft, some potters and a LOT of
jewelry, and only one fine jeweler that I could see. Set up is Friday
night which makes life much easier. The park is however sloped and the
set up can be difficult. This show is much smaller then the AppleFest
put on by the same group in October.
Friday night it rained pretty good but we were lucky enough to have
clear skies for the show all day on Saturday. The patrons are primarily
tourists. I had noticed several empty stores when here in October and
another artist told me that was because we were heading into
winter and that in summer they would all be full. Well here we were
smack dab in the middle of summer and those stores still remained empty
as well as a few more. The hotels are very $$$ making this a costly
weekend for most artists. I spoke to a photographer who was paying
250.00 a night at a hotel.
Sat. was ok. The crowds meandered through the isles, many asking us if
we would be coming to their city, from Phoenix to Minneapolis and on. A
tourist crowd for the most part where even the smallest items had to be
thought about long and hard. I had some customers come back three to
four times and then walk out. Saturday evening many of the artists
packed up and left, fearing bad weather on Sunday and poor Saturday
sales. We woke Sunday with rain, however by 10 it was barely sprinkling
and cleared to a sunny lovely day. Sales were less for us on Sunday as
we saw many tourists driving through town going home. I spoke to a
jeweler and two potters who were very happy with their sales however
most said sales were dismal to mediocre.
Since so many of you post the restaurants and food from each weekend my
husband had to shoot a few photos of that as well. Just across the
street from the show is Whitney's Oyster bar, a three story
establishment. We had the John Cross Whitefish with a tomato and caper
sauce and the Grilled chops with a tomato and pineapple chutney. My
husbands fish was delicious however my pork a little dry and overdone.
The drinks and appetizer of the fish spread trio was good and it is a
fun place to go to after the show.
All in all we made money, had a good time and enjoyed such a beautiful
little city. Now out to the studio to load the kiln....back to
reality.
There were 62 artists at the beautiful Charlevoix park and docking area for boats or should I say yachts. The yacht basin is gorgeous and
has beautiful indoor bathrooms which makes it a lovely spot for an art
show, no yucky sani johns . It is put on by the Chamber of Commerce who
are extremely nice and accommodating. The show consisted of a few 2D
artists and photographers, some nice craft, some potters and a LOT of
jewelry, and only one fine jeweler that I could see. Set up is Friday
night which makes life much easier. The park is however sloped and the
set up can be difficult. This show is much smaller then the AppleFest
put on by the same group in October.
Friday night it rained pretty good but we were lucky enough to have
clear skies for the show all day on Saturday. The patrons are primarily
tourists. I had noticed several empty stores when here in October and
another artist told me that was because we were heading into
winter and that in summer they would all be full. Well here we were
smack dab in the middle of summer and those stores still remained empty
as well as a few more. The hotels are very $$$ making this a costly
weekend for most artists. I spoke to a photographer who was paying
250.00 a night at a hotel.
Sat. was ok. The crowds meandered through the isles, many asking us if
we would be coming to their city, from Phoenix to Minneapolis and on. A
tourist crowd for the most part where even the smallest items had to be
thought about long and hard. I had some customers come back three to
four times and then walk out. Saturday evening many of the artists
packed up and left, fearing bad weather on Sunday and poor Saturday
sales. We woke Sunday with rain, however by 10 it was barely sprinkling
and cleared to a sunny lovely day. Sales were less for us on Sunday as
we saw many tourists driving through town going home. I spoke to a
jeweler and two potters who were very happy with their sales however
most said sales were dismal to mediocre.
Since so many of you post the restaurants and food from each weekend my
husband had to shoot a few photos of that as well. Just across the
street from the show is Whitney's Oyster bar, a three story
establishment. We had the John Cross Whitefish with a tomato and caper
sauce and the Grilled chops with a tomato and pineapple chutney. My
husbands fish was delicious however my pork a little dry and overdone.
The drinks and appetizer of the fish spread trio was good and it is a
fun place to go to after the show.
All in all we made money, had a good time and enjoyed such a beautiful
little city. Now out to the studio to load the kiln....back to
reality.
-
Comment by Peggy Whitson on June 28, 2010 at 1:37pm -
this was my first year at this show ...though I have done the one in July .
anyways, I think one of things that the Chamber thought may have interfered with the show, was the Marathon race going on Sat .
Which , makes sense .........this was a qualifying race for the Boston Marathon , and there were 1200 runners . Each year , it is growing .
and because of this, all the hotels/motels in the area , were booked ....with runners . not tourist .
I did see some runners go through the show - after the race -
some buying ......but I'm sure most of them didn't.
So, I guess they are going to consider that , conflict of interest ,
when planning the show next year . sounded like they may consider changing the date ....??
it seemed like the show was hit or miss.
several people had a good show , that I talked to .....myself included .
all things considered . I sell better in the fall,,,,,at any show , any state .
but I can't complain , I had better than expected sales here .
I sold more $100. pieces , than $40.
my first sale was $500.
so , some people have it & were spending .
I didn't hear a lot of price grumbling .
We stayed in TC,,,,,50 min drive ,,,,,,but cheaper rates ......and everything was booked , that was closer --because of the race ....except I think a couple rooms , like you stated , that were $250.
I would do that show all day , every day though .....just to sit on the waterfront .
sit & take in money . ......
I do love that little town .
-
Comment by Sheila Wissner on June 28, 2010 at 5:00pm -
Last year I did a number of Chicago area shows because my daughter lives in one of the northern suburbs. I did not do well enough to justify the long drive and high booth fees so decided to try cheaper shows closer to home this year.
I live two hours from Charlevoix, so I thought I would give the Summer Solstice show a try.
Some of the hotels and motels were giving artists a discount on show days. But the cheapest I could find was $100 a night. Since I didn't know if I'd make any money at the show, I decided to commute. It wasn't as bad as I thought as it's a beautiful drive along Lake Michigan through the hilly cherry orchards.
I make jewelry. Most of the shows I've done have had an overabundance of jewelry, making it tough to come out with a decent profit. This show had plenty of jewelry, too. I'm guessing just about any jewelry maker who applied got in, and some of the other artists were selling jewelry in their booths as well. Despite that, I managed to make enough money to consider going back next year. I had far better luck than at Reed's Lake in Grand Rapids, MI., the weekend before, another show with too many jewelry booths.
Some of the other artists were quite distressed with Saturday sales. With reports of foul weather Sunday, some of them packed up and left. The photographer across from me who had complained about Saturday sales, didn't even show up Sunday, leaving the packing to three assistants who bickered and complained for several hours. It was entertaining for the first hour but got tiresome as the hours went by. When they finally got the photographer's tent broken down - surely the slowest breakdown on record - I was treated to a spectacular, unobstructed view of the harbor. I hardly even cared if I made any money.
The show did have competition from other events. The marathon was one. The show also was up against ArtRapids!, a fine arts and crafts show that took place on Saturday about 30 minutes to the south. It's also set in a beautiful harbor town and likely sucked away some of the more well-heeled resort crowd. ArtRapids! has tighter jurying than the Charlevoix show. I was rejected two years ago, so they obviously don't take every jeweler who submits an application.
The Charlevoix show has a lot of potential. With tighter jurying, a date with fewer conflicts and more advertising, it could be a very good show. Although most patrons were careful with their money, and some obviously were there just for a stroll, there were some who obviously were not concerned with price and would buy if they likely your work.
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Comment by Nels Johnson on June 28, 2010 at 8:33pm -
Nancy what a nice review of a show in a very interesting, and beautiful area. Nice pics of the show and Whitney's which is a yummy place to eat at. I have hit that place off and on for 20 years but I have yet to do a show in Charlevoix. Thanks for the informative report. nels, I am the guy that does the tequila report.
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Comment by Nancy Grimsley on June 28, 2010 at 9:21pm -
Nels, I have read your interesting reviews. I met Connie at the Great Lakes Art Fair and mentioned to her how great your reviews are. You're the Art Fair Insiders Superstar!
Comment
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