Call for Artists, Making Money at Juried Art Fairs, Craft Shows and Festivals
The Plaza Kansas City - a review
We had until 5 PM, when the show opened to the public. The public were there more like 4 PM and we were told to expect early birds. The weather was perfect on Friday, and the crowds were there all night.
I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with the buying energy I experienced through the whole weekend. Many people had seen my work at Brookside in the Spring, and sought me out here. It seems to me that Kansas City folk use these two shows to shop for fine art. I wonder if the gallery scene is lacking, and these shows fill that void? I could be wrong about that, not really knowing the city.
Saturday started sunny, but with a warning of rain. This came around 2PM and stuck around until early evening. While Friday night was crazy busy with wall to wall people, Saturday was not dead. The rain kept some away, but there were serious buyers out in the rain. Works on paper are not good in the wet, but I sold 4 drawings (wrapped carefully) which I have not done in the rain before.
Sunday was beautiful again, and while most the big decisions were already made on my work, I noticed a lot of activity in the booths with smaller 3-D items. I saw quite a lot of artwork being carried around.
Breakdown was really easy, what with the wide streets. There was no system for being completely broken down before retrieving your vehicle, 'though artists did it this way. It seemed to flow well in my area.
I talked to my neighbors, who said they had an okay show, so my experience may not be typical. But while not my best show, it was my best "Original only" show. Price sensitivity seemed low as well, unlike every show I have done on the East Coast.
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Comment by Nels Johnson on September 28, 2010 at 9:48pm -
A very nice post. You had tough weather, but still made money, good for you. I was wondering, did you do over $5K for the show? This used to be one of the top shows in the nation, where some people could make $20K or better, but those days are gone for know, for most of us. thanks for a little insight into this year's show. Nice pics by the way.
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Comment by Nels Johnson on September 28, 2010 at 9:49pm
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Meant to say "now'
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Comment by R. Michael Wommack on September 28, 2010 at 10:56pm -
Nels - I did over $7K, but it makes my head spin to think of $20K. Having started this gypsy life 4 years ago, when things were already tanking, I would like to hope we can get a little closer to the good old days.
Your photography is so much better than mine!
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Comment by S. Michelle Babcock on September 28, 2010 at 11:28pm -
Nice report. Just so you know KC has plenty of galleries. You should check out the Crossroads district sometime.
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Comment by Bert Herrera on September 29, 2010 at 1:04pm -
Nice write up Michael. Unfortunately, I did not have quite as good as you did. Friday night was electric, with lots of energy and decent selling. But for me, things didn't continue on Saturday and Sunday as from Friday. As you mentioned, Saturday the rain kept lots of folks away. My sales were primarily low end, only 3 framed pieces going out. I had a lot of nibbles, but little bites. In my area reports were mixed, with a neighbor (painter) zeroing, and another neighbor having had a decent show.
Phil, nice meeting you and Amy.
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Comment by R. Michael Wommack on September 29, 2010 at 8:14pm
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Michelle, I figured I was wrong about the galleries. Thanks for the info, I will check the Crossroads next time I am in KC.
Phil, I thought you might do better on Sunday. It felt like a different crowd.
Bert, I have had some stinkeroos this year, surprisingly Cherry Creek.
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Comment by Jay McDougall on September 29, 2010 at 10:13pm -
Friday was indeed electric. I got the skids greased and was totally cranked for Sat. Critical inertia on Sat was just about there when the rain came. Amazingly there was a bit of the crowd that just would not give it up. However, my show was killed by the rain on Sat and with my work showing best in the evening with my lighting I wasn't able to make it up. Sun was beautiful and I screwed up a couple of opportunities to "make a deal" that probably cost me more than I'll admit here. The Plaza was on the bubble for me this year, as my last outing here zeroed. I'll be applying again next year because I still made some money and I think I left A LOT on the table.
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Comment by Sarah Kaufman on September 30, 2010 at 9:49pm -
I thought this was a great show. As far as amenities; so easy to set up and break down, parking was a breeze and free, real bathrooms, free electric. And the people there were very serious about buying art. I had strong sales all three days. I'm a painter, and my work is between $300 and $3,000. I sold most of my work in the under 1K range. I even had some sales in the rain on Saturday - wrapped in plastic, paintings can be used as umbrellas. Two for one.
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