I always would have been curious. I keep telling myself that in order to justify having done this show.
I am a photographer & I'll tell you flat out I did $4,500.00. Had a single booth and stayed at the holiday inn because I thought it might snow and didn't want to have that hassle of driving having never done the show before and not knowing what to expect.
It wasn't until the end of Saturday night that I covered my expenses. I don't handle the thought of paying to do a show very well so I was both anxious but optimistic at different points during the show. I knew the risk of doing such an expensive show and realized that it was in Chicago where everything is nowhere near reasonably priced. At least I made a little money which is more than I can say for several of my neighbors. In our little corner in the back, I quickly learned we were all in the show for the first time and realized that this must be the newbie section.
That part didn't surprise me so much, it's happened in the past, so be it. The thing that surprised me and honestly pissed me off a bit was that the new people paid an extra $400.00 for a 10x10. Seemed opposite of what I would think would be a smart business practice in order to entice people to try the show especially given is reputation for being expensive. There was wind of that newbie surcharge price climbing even higher next year.
So great, I'll save $400.00 if I want to come back next year and having learned about different hotels and parking places & the nuances of the show I'm sure I can save more. I will say though that the setup attendant told me that the holiday inn parking was really the only relatively safe overnight parking place. He himself even got broken into a block from the Merch Mart while at work.
I probably won't be back again, it's too stressful to me to worry for 3-4 days about covering costs going into the winter. There's other shows around that weekend so I'll most likely do one of those in the future. It was a beautiful show and the hours were not stupid although they could probably shut the show down at 7 on Thursday and Friday instead of nine. I didn't sell much of anything after about 5 on both of those days and just sat in the booth watching people with alcohol walk by. There were big crowds there but I wonder whether the later hours were more for OOAK or the patrons than the artists because most people I know didn't sell anything after dinner.
Suggestions:
Cut T&F hours to 7 rather than nine.
Not piss off the new people if you want to keep your show going.
Offer an evaluation form after the show if you want to improve it. They did have a meeting on Friday morning to talk about the changes for next year which basically resulted them sending out a letter during the show saying they were not making changes because people got crabby about them.
Remember that winter/gift shows are in my opinion more geared toward women so if you have something that tends to sell more to women you probably will clean up. The rest of us may make some money but really not enough to justify the INSANE setup and teardown or the hours/driving. (I do tend to sell to women 70/30 at winter shows btw). I'm sure some of those artists who sell high end probably did fine as well.
By the way, it took me 6 1/2 after the show was over to get out of there. Remember to check out early!
Happy Trails, PWK
Replies
Oh yes, the sock hats. I forgot about those. Not quite what I call art but they sure had a crowd. It sort of reminded me of the fish throwers in Seattle.
Thanks for the great perspectives on the show.
My sister goes to Chicago in December and she usually price lines a hotel. She rarely pays over $75 for a room. You can't control where you end up but it is usually less expensive. The Holiday Inn was convenient, that is for sure.
Jacki B
I was at OOAK in the Etsy Pavillion. I hadn't done it before so they let me have a "mini-booth." I did about $2500 in the mini booth in the 4 days. I have to agree that sales were slow to non-existent from 7-9. For those of us NOT staying at the Holiday Inn who had to drive or train somewhere the hours left us a complete mess by Saturday. I was literally staggering after catching the 9:40 train. Arriving home at 11:00 and then getting back on the 7:40 in the morning having tried to fall asleep, get out clothes, pack lunch yadda...
There were people next to me in the mini-booths that didn't make expenses despite the lower cost, then again there were the faux vintage handmade birdcage guys who were doing fabulous! All I can say is that this show is different from anything else in the midwest. There was a VERY dead corner I would have cried if I had been in. There was nothing to get people over to that area, there were plenty of bars, there were hats made out of wool socks, there were the wood watch vendors and others who's work was obviously not handmade (like taking it out of little sealed plastic baggies at set-up). There wasn't a single traditional potter that I saw....there were total amateurs in $4000 booths and veterans like me in the newbie section. There was fabulous toffee.
I'm not sure there is any way to KNOW if it's for you without actually doing it. Also, do bring a bottle of wine for Sunday night load out or a good book for Monday morning.
I hadn't realized until you said it that the section you were in was newbies, maybe that is why I knew more people there. I'm sure you had your prices correct as you are sharp about this and think it is great that you covered expenses plus. Not that that is my criteria for a good show! Just that the expenses, the size of the show, the competition, the fact that you were near the end all were factors that minimized your chances of doing that. I spoke with another photographer on a corner not far from you who was very unhappy.
A friend of mine always stays at the Hostel when she is in Chicago - not sure where that is, but is bound to beat the $200+ hotel costs of the Holiday Inn.
And, I thought you loved Columbus' Winterfair? Bright lights, big city lure you away?
Thanks for the review Peter. I'm so glad to hear you are in the black after the show - an expensive show like that is always a worry until the break even mark is reached!