summerfaire,CINCINNATI--MY FIRST SUMMER SHOW

If you followed my recent Ann Arbor blog, then you know I have been a little tardy on reporting about summer shows.

So Cinci, at Coney Island, was my first.  It kind of fit the tenor for how my whole summer has been going.  Read on.

I am a photographer, from Florida, but live in Michigan five months of the year.  My current work is fun and new.  I do black and white photos hand-painted with acrylic inks and oils (Not Marshall's watercolor oils.)  These are much more intense to the point of being very Warhol-like Pop Art.  My work is not for everyone, but when I hit the right market it sails off the walls.

That said, at Cinci they didn't sail--they failed.

On with the show.

I have done it since the 80's off and on.  Never a biggie, but I always made a respectable paycheck.

It is three days long, held on the grounds of the Coney Island Amusement Park right by the Ohio River.

Easy setup, easy teardown, easy storage room behind, and easy committee to work with.  What is not easy for most is good sales.

The market here tends to be towards traditional, conservative work--things that have been done a thousand times before.  They are a crafty-buying crowd and they like things cheap.

They are very nice people and open to looking at new, not necessarily buying it.

The river acts as a giant humidifier so it is always hot and sticky at this show.  Bring lots of ice.  Stay in the shade.

Crowds were OK not real heavy, but OK.  For me, I could go an hour between sales and I need some volume.  I sell at $30-$500 range.

This year, I did not even crack $3K.  A severe disappointment.

Again, I never saw much interest in people wanting the big special piece.  A lot of the crowd never looked in the booths, they just walked with $7.50 beer in their hands.

I know several friends that killed them there like Lu Fuller (traditional painter), Patrick Whalen (photographer with Country themed imagery, somewhat Bluesie), John Leben (mixed media) who just kills them anywhere he goes.  A very lucky man and he deserves the good fortune.

In conclusion, if you sell traditional, especially at low price points, you could make money here.

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  • I've done Summerfair about a dozen times from 1996 on.  You are so right about the lookie-loos.  Since I do traditional theme folk art etchings I usually sell fairly well, in the past really well.  We did slightly better than we expected but not nearly what we did around 2000.  But then, does anybody?  There are always the star performers.  I think Summerfair just reflects the buying climate in general, which for the arts has never come out of recession.  It's always tricky to second guess what the public will buy, and in this case I think your assessment of traditional and inexpensive (didn't say cheap) is right on.  By the way, Cincy's other big art show, Hyde Park Square, is just as dicey, although it does seem to attract a bit better-heeled crowd.  Problem with them (the management) - their reach has exceeded their grasp as they try to make it ever bigger.   

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