Happy New Year! I am considering a couple of shows that I know nothing about, and I'm wondering if anyone else has had any experience (even visiting) with them... "Hatch" -a Creative Re-use Show in Champaign, IL, and the Green Festival at Navy Pier in Chicago. One is tiny and one is huge. Any insights?
You need to be a member of Art Fair Insiders to add comments!
Replies
What is the booth fee for Hatch and how far do you live from there, Claudia? I posted a link for them at callsforartists.com and saw their website -- sounds like a cool idea if you've got the "right stuff." I think it is a new event, but this kind of fresh thinking needs to be supported, especially if it isn't too expensive and close to home for you. This is the kind of show artists are talking about when they say they are looking for alternative venues to get fair value for their time and money.
I don't know about Green -- but Navy Pier - big bucks, I'd guess. What does the promotion look like? Is it a first time show?
I thought I would post a quick follow up to my original post regarding the Green Festival at Navy Pier in Chicago. We took the plunge for $800, and thanks to one wholesale order, we ...barely broke even. I should have trusted my gut, and not applied to a show that I had not visited first. If I had, I would have noted that this is not an art show, it's a trade show. The booths are a mix of fair trade items, vendors promoting their services and/or goods, educational booths, and some artists (all "green" in some way). People who came to the show had to pay to park at Navy Pier (about $30), and pay to get in ($10), so by the time they walked in the door all they wanted were the freebies. I am sorry to say that we should have done more research first, and the Green Festival was a mistake.
Claudia, sorry that you had this misfortune of not doing so well here. Homework, homework -- especially at these very expensive venues. You learned a lesson though and probably met a lot of people and saw some new things and another kind of event. The payoff will be in all those experiences. Still, this is a hard hit. The next one will be better!
As it turns out, the wholesale customer has reordered numerous times since that show. That makes me feel a little better, as she was the only good thing to come out of the show!