Happy New Year!

We are gearing up for 2013 and still hope to fill our calendar for the coming spring/Summer. We had a real hit & miss with the craft fair type shows and are struggling to judge whether some of these listed below are worth the effort.

Does anyone have experience with any of these..

Kerville tx, - Texas Arts & Crafts

Frisco, tx - Art in the Square

Denton, tx - Arts & Jazz Festival

Arlington, tx - Art on the Green

Dallas tx, - Artscape Dallas

Also out of the DFW area the Tx, Lubbock indoor show?

Any advice is welcome, Thanks and good luck booking your shows for 2013!

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  • The Kerrville show changed directors in 2011.  I tried the show in 2009 (money-maker) and again in 2010 break-even.  When a "grilling competition" was scheduled with the "wine and beer tasting" event in 2011, I bailed.  I visited a couple of art acquaintances at the show in 2012 after a new director took over, but they were having ho-hum sales.  

    In the last year, positive changes were made.  Maybe Kerrville learned a lesson.  Booth and jury fees did not increase.  The show was reduced from three full days to two. The show had reduced visitors' entry fees and the parking fee was reduced to a voluntary donation.  Also, the show was less spread out and the indoor booth locations (and the grilling competitions) were nixed.  Kerrville was very well-run and friendly and tended to draw a San Antonio crowd.  Also FYI last year, there was a huge market show in downtown Kerrville at the same time.  

    I do abstract mixed media fine art but I've had some success at craft fairs, too.  As you mentioned -- hit & miss.  Best Wishes!

    • Well just finished the Kerrville show...The weather was horrendous, to say the least, kept watching for Noah to show up with the Arc!...we did pull out decent sales total despite that. Now to address the show itself... I think there were some positive things, like not exhibiting on Monday (which was NEVER good) and the parking area increased in size and doing away with the indoor area but what a weird vibe from the staff/management this year. No t-shirts, which is unusual, and when I inquired about it, the staff person told me that they 'never got around to designing one'. Odd answer. Also, there were literally between 12-15 fused glass artists. Wayyyyyyy to many. I have done this show for 6 years and never experienced this before. I was told (can't verify that it was true, but makes sense) that all applicants that did fused glass jewelry were moved to the glass category to make it seem 'more well-rounded'. I get what they meant, that it looks like the glass category was full as well as the jewelry category. This was another way of just letting in more jewelry...And I would like to address the caliber of some of the art, I make jewelry, have been doing shows for 12 years, and some of the jewelry that was here was just awful. And sewn cloth purses...(not leather, etc.) ones that would be fine at a church craft show, but not here... Seriously, I was very disappointed with many of the booths that I saw. It has NEVER been like this at this show. They added more circus tents up at the top area and increased the number of booths, good for the foundation (more booth fees=more $) but very bad for the artists and for the customers. I heard several negative comments from customers, like 'ANOTHER  jewelry booth??' and 'Oh, MORE of this glass stuff!', etc.  The application process was kept open on Zapp until about 2 weeks before the show, again, weird. But obviously, they accepted almost all who applied, or the caliber would have been like it was in the past, good! I did receive an email telling me that some of the show management has resigned and maybe this will help for next year, or it could be worse. I don't have any idea if the ones who resigned did so BECAUSE of the show direction this year or were the cause of it. The staff has always seemed nice, but I don't have any personal experience with them, positive or negative. Many artists were not happy because no staff or volunteers came around to check on anyone following the flash flood rains that were experienced. Many booths were in standing water and mud, but no hay or sand was put out, like in past years when this has happened (yes, Kerrville has experienced awful weather during this show many times). A few boards were laid out to help with crossing the mud, but not nearly enough. This did not make several areas very accessible for customers. No one came around offering water, which has always been the case in the past. The artist dinner was eliminated to 'increase the selection at the artist hospitality room'. No evidence of this was seen. I really like this show and will probably apply again, but I truly hope that the direction will resume more like it was in the past years. Would be curious to see other artists opinion on the show this year...

  • Thanks for your responses.

    We couldn't find much on any of them..We did also apply to the Lubbock show and the Art on the Green show. So If we get in, we'll be happy to write a review.

  • Hey Lee,

    I just saw this post, so I am just now responding.  Sometimes because people have such diverse sales from show to show, you should just try the shows at least once.  I have heard some successful artist suggest trying a show three times because you will garner repeat customers at some shows.  I think there is something in between.

    I have experience with a few of the above shows, some are new to me.  Artscape is not having a show this year due to parking construction.  I absolutely loved this show, and was sad to hear they were not having a show.  The sales were good, and the setting was incredible.

    Frisco was not as good.  I enjoyed the staff, but hated setting up in the dark the morning of the show (I take forever to hang...).  The traffic was just not what I had hoped for, and thank goodness for repeat customers from the Dallas area that knew I was at the show.  I don't know if this is an advertising issue for them, or location, I can tell you that I did not apply this year.

    Kerrrville, well this is my first year, so I have no experience with this show.  I hear they have new management, and are striving to make it more of a fine art show, so I will give it a go.

    I have not applied or done the Arts and Jazz festival, so have no opinion either way.

    Art on the Greene is a show I am doing for the first time this year.  The producer of the show is an artist himself, so I am hoping he knows the ins and outs and puts on a good show, I really don't know the history.

    Hope this helps, and hope to see you guys at a show!

     

  • Hi Lee

    I have applied to the Lubbock show.  It sounds like a good one from what I have read.  The organizers seem fun and energetic and the artist amenities are good.  I don't know what sales will be like, but I am willing to take a chance on it and see.  I read one review of it that was several years old and it was iffy, then I read a couple more that sounded better.  Management may have changed, who knows?  It is a long drive for me, but I will try it, it could become a mainstay for me or a "one and done," hopefully the former.  Good luck to you. 

  • Just got into Frisco but seeing pretty mixxed reviews leaning towards the bad...not sure it's worth a four hour drive or not.

    • Hi. I'm new to this. Where did you read the reviews of Frisco? Didn't see any on this site...

      I also got into Frisco but not sure whether to do that one or Arlington.  

      • Just did a search for Frisco on here, came up as a 'worst show ever' and a 'best show ever' in two profiles, and something in another thread about a 0 show.

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