I just received my booth assignment for a show coming up in a few weeks.
I was given a booth at the far end of the show, not orphaned, exactly, just far far away from anyplace I have ever been at that show. This is not within the normal historical show footprint. They had stated in that acceptance letter that specific requests were not possible due to a new layout in a different area (construction). Therefore I did not make one: but assumed they would assign booths based on desireability with reference to when we paid.
It looks like people who did make a request, after all, got something better. I would have expected this space if I had paid second to last, not paying as quickly as I did. Yet in the packet they mentioned that booth spaces were assigned in order of payment received, all booth assignments final, etc. I paid within a day and a half of acceptance, yet got this rotten spot. Given that they said SPECIFIC requests were not be taken, I thought at least they would try to have me somewhere near where I normally am; or that early payment would get me a more desirable slot. The area I normally occupy here, is not the area that is eliminated due to the construction: so I felt I had every reasonable expection of being placed there.
I am so far away from where I normally am, that I know this will negatively impact my sales. No customer EVER remembers my name: they just look for me where they expect to find me. I almost always request the same areas, for exactly that reason. Usually somewhere in the middle of the show.
I’m not a complainer ….I hate to burn my bridges. I'm not a very assertive person. But this has me really annoyed. I've sent an email, expressing the above in what I consider very measured tones. Not saying, "WTH?!" (expression edited) .....like I did when I opened the packet this morning.
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Hi Lin. I know this is an old discussion that got somehow found and resurrected, but it is such a good question. Here we are nearly a year later. Whatever happened at this show? did you do it? did they change your location?
The first year I did St. James Court I set up on Thursday and Friday morning they put a HUGE dumpster about 150 feet from my boot at the side of the West End Church. When the wind would shift after one day of garbage you would see the looks on peoples faces stiffen... Not my best show. The people from the church were so nice though... the money went to their youth group. They invited us in to use their bathroom (no potties!) Brought us coffee in the am. Said they couldn't do anything they didn't control that piece of property. I applied to another section the next year.
it certainly never hurts to ask about it...
I've received the show layout for a one off art festival this weekend - when they asked me along they enquired if I wanted to be indoors or outdoors and at the time asked weather had been wet and wild and I thought I'd be best to take the indoors... well, I'm the ONLY booth in the hall where there is a general art exhibition. Every other booth is outside on the street. Needless to say I'm not holding out high hopes on that show unless the weather turns nasty at the last minute and people run for cover or people really want to look at the exhibition and find me in there too. I won't complain though - I asked for indoors and that's what I got (but if they would have told me I was the only booth there I may have changed my mind!)
I'd ask to move anyway. The odds of an indoor space being able to move outdoors is far greater than the opposite!
Good luck!
Geoff, I got lucky! The wind picked up and winter temps arrived and I was glad to be inside. I even got a nice sunny spot near a window. Lots of people came in to look at the art exhibition (where I found out a lot of pieces were for sale) and to get out of the wind, and were able to look at my things as well. Ended up having a lovely day and good sales as well! The Art Festival gods were looking after me this time, after all :)
Excellent! And everyone outside was amazed at your omniscience, I'll bet.
LOL, of course Linnea :D
Thanks Geoff!
Well, how about that! I'm glad you were successful, Annette, you're such a great presence on AFI!
A couple of years ago I did a new show and was completely discouraged when I saw my spot: the very last, furthest booth of 140-some at the festival. Not only that, the success of that festival has spawned two others in town so that there is also a buy-sell show in downtown, a food festival in the contiguous city park, and right next to that, the main arts/crafts festival on a college campus. Some folks walk the entire route--which might be mile long--and there I was, at the ABSOLUTE END of the whole shebang, down a narrowing chute of booths (all made up of newcomers, as it turned out). On top of that I was also near a row of porta-potties and a big parking lot. Pretty grim picture, eh?
Well...what a surprise: many folks used that parking lot so I was the first booth they saw, and they stopped right there. Turns out porta-potties were a rare item with only two locations, so again, I got a lot of foot traffic from that. Sales were excellent!
Next year I said I would like to be back in that same spot, but they located me in the middle of the thing and made a mistake by mixing my booth up with someone else from Idaho with the same last name. In other words, not only could folks not find me in my old spot, but if they took the effort to look me up on the map, I wasn't there, either. (And get this: besides the last name switcheroo, the actual layout on the ground was way different than what was printed on the map!) Sales were off 35% from the year before. I am not doing the show this year.
So, sometimes a bad spot turn out OK, but not always. I hope your gentle appeal for a better location is successful!
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