I received my latest "not invited" today from a show I've been doing for a few years and after my initial surprise of not getting in it starting me thinking. This show has never really been a profitable show to do but it had a few things going for it, close to home, easy setup and breakdown, beautiful setting around a lake, nice people and pretty much the last fine art show in Florida before the summer. Unlike my other shows this show has gone steadily downhill every year in sales and I really should have given it a pass this year, but force of habit won out.
Sometimes it takes a wake up call to shake us out of our complacency, make us search out other opportunities, or here's an idea take the weekend off and do something you love. I will be doing the later, wait what do people do on the weekends. Suggestions are welcome.
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Well I figured i got nothing to lose, and wrote to a show that i was rejected from, I thought the excuse was rather lame (keeping the show fresh with new art) 2013 was the first year i applied and got in, most of the people at the show had been doing it for years. So I get one year and booted out. Oh well they asked if i wanted to be on a wait list, after being rejected. So now i am on a wait list. what a joke.
Here's an email I got from a friend today:
I'd guess it was a good thing she was rejected ;)
Art City Austin accidentally sent out rejection letters to last year's list. (They have since sent out a letter of apology for the confusion). So, I got 2 rejection letters for the price of 1. :+(
LOL. Do you feel you got your money's worth now for your application fee, Dan?
Yeah, I'm usually a bit bummed after a rejection, but I got a good chuckle at the double rejection.
Hey Lori~ this biz can be tough at times when we can never seem to rely on sales or acceptance from one year to the next. In reading your post from last year I felt compelled to give Mainsail a piece of my mind this year. (finally) They continue to advice me to keep applying every year, but they have never give me the time of day! Done with giving them my app fees~ I did Bocafest instead of Dunedin this past w'end. I thought it was a mistake until Sunday. It turned out to be worthy. Didn't you do this show last year? I hear Dunedin was great from a pottery & one jeweler. They advertised on T.V well enough~hope it went really well for you. C.Gos
Great post, Lori! I resisted the temptation to do an expensive show with not much upside, and instead:
* Got in two full days of shooting new subjects;
* Kayaked Lovers Key State Park with my neighbor and my brother;
* Had a great lunch on the beach;
* Am leading nature photography workshops tomorrow and Saturday
A great change of pace...one I needed after 7 straight weeks of shows.
I had done a small show in northern Michigan for years, but as the sales numbers started to dwindle to a point where it was not making it worth my while, I didn't apply and skipped a year. The next year, I went back and had my best show there ever! Many of the customers asked where I had been the previous year; they'd missed me. Sometimes you need to make yourself appear more valuable by not always being there...
As far as what to do, I just love enjoying the company of family and friends on my weekends off. Find a fun restaurant - or order a pizza - and have a great time without worrying about setup, sales, product, etc.
Enjoy yourself!
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