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I was very excited to do my first Art Fair Laumeier this year. The forecast looked promising but expectations were not met. Here is my breakdown.

Setup/take-down: Very easy, it is in a park so there is plenty of room to drive up and unload without getting congested. And they give you a big window for setup time. Parking is quite a hike away, but it is what it is.

Layout: The layout is good, not really a bad spot anywhere. It is easy for people to walk the fair and see every booth. And is is spread out just enough so it doesn't get crowded when there are lots of people there.

Booth sitters: They have plenty of friendly volunteers that will watch your booth whenever you need it.

Awards: Several awards given with cash prizes, they are given by merit not by category.

Fees: On the higher side but not bad, $450 under a big tent, I think it was $375 or $350 to not be under the big tent.

Type of art: High quality all around, this show draws artists from the entire country. Did not see any buy/sell or crafty tents. They keep the retail/advertising booths separate from the artist area, which is good.

Advertising: They do a good job getting the word out every year.

Crowd: Very good crowd, Sunday was the busiest. However buying energy was not very high. Weather was nice the whole time so that helped. Crowd seemed to lean more suburban and kind of conservative.

Security: Not an issue as far as I know, they secure the park and have guards at night.

Sales: I only did about one third of what I was expecting for this show, and everyone I talked to had very disappointing sales as well. I didn’t talk to anyone that had a good show sales wise. I am sure there were a few, there always are, but it seemed to be the exception. People didn’t seem to be willing to spend for big ticket items, I saw very few large items being bought. I didn’t sell anything over $180.

 Conclusion: Although the show was a disappointment I can’t fault the people that put it on. They got the people there and provided a pleasant experience. The only thing I might say is they are the only fair in the area that charges admission, and I don't know if that sapps people’s buying energy a bit or not. Art on the Square Belleville is the weekend after this show and it is just across the river, that also may be a factor for sales. I will definitely do the show again next year because i am local and from everything I know this is usually a much more lucrative show for artists.