Call for Artists, Making Money at Juried Art Fairs, Craft Shows and Festivals

Barbara Pitorak Bloom Female Cleveland, OH United States silk: Like

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Midwest Art Fair Business

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Barbara Pitorak Bloom's Discussions

Buy sell vendors at juried art festivals

Started this discussion. Last reply by Sheila Lamberson Aug 14. 13 Replies 1 Like

Tags: buy/sell

Has anyone participated in the KRASL Artisan Market?

Started this discussion. Last reply by Barbara Pitorak Bloom Jan 5, 2016. 5 Replies 0 Likes

I applied months ago to participate (or at least display my work) at the KRASL Artisan Market in November - and low and behold today I received acceptance to both applications. What i am wondering…Continue

Tags: Market, Artist, KRASL

Cautionary Tale

Started this discussion. Last reply by Christina L. Towell Jul 10, 2015. 6 Replies 1 Like

Have you ever received an email that seems far too good to be true? In late May I received an email and began a short dialog with someone who indicated they are a shop owner and expressed interest…Continue

Tags: art, email, scam, tale, cautionary

Alternatives to hotel/motel when traveling

Started this discussion. Last reply by Barbara Pitorak Bloom Oct 12, 2015. 14 Replies 1 Like

My husband and I travel occasionally for art shows, and love staying at nice places. Recently we learned of an alternative that is world wide, and quite delightful. It's called airbnb.com. , a…Continue

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Gifts Received (8)

Post of the Month From Connie Mettler Friendship Daisies From Connie Mettler Red Ribbon From Jacki Bilsborrow Red Ribbon From Jacki Bilsborrow

Barbara Pitorak Bloom's Page

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Sheila Lamberson replied to Barbara Pitorak Bloom's discussion Buy sell vendors at juried art festivals

"I was at Sugar Creek Arts Festival in Bloomington, IL last month when my booth neighbor, who is a jeweler, told me about a buy/sell booth that was selling jewelry from China. She had suspected this was buy/sell after seeing this same person at…"

Aug 14

Tina Hospers replied to Barbara Pitorak Bloom's discussion Buy sell vendors at juried art festivals

"I guess what frosts my cookies is getting waitlisted for these high end shows to later find out that they let in buy/sell over our handmade and designed artworks. We were invited to 8 out of our 10 waitlists this year and once there, I…"

Aug 14

Carol Joy Shannon replied to Barbara Pitorak Bloom's discussion Buy sell vendors at juried art festivals

"This is the unfortunate pattern of shows. If they get their booth fee, they really don't care. A few years ago I had to provide pictures of myself painting (to prove it was my work) for our local "water festival" -- but…"

Aug 14

Richard L. Sherer replied to Barbara Pitorak Bloom's discussion Buy sell vendors at juried art festivals

"Even the renowned Cherry Creek isn't immune. A few years back a buckle guy who designed buckles and had them made in China got in. His belts were really poor quality even in the photos posted: crappy leather, unfinished edges, ..... stuff…"

Aug 14

Richard L. Sherer replied to Barbara Pitorak Bloom's discussion Buy sell vendors at juried art festivals

"In the medium of leather, it is often the production shops that get in, even when call for artists restricts number of employees in "studio". It is pretty obvious that jurors have not gone to a web site which describes how parts for bags…"

Aug 14

Jane Shaffer replied to Barbara Pitorak Bloom's discussion Buy sell vendors at juried art festivals

"I understand (but don't approve) of letting in the buy/sell at shows having trouble filling their spots. But I don't understand why shows are letting in buy/sell when they are turning down truly handmade art and have waitlists."

Aug 14

Susan Williamson replied to Barbara Pitorak Bloom's discussion Buy sell vendors atjuried art festivals

"Sorry, it did sound racist, didn't it? It was factory produced items. I have to say they were beautiful. They had tags on them with the company name. The people selling them were sales reps, there were 3 of them. When visiting other booths the…"

Aug 13

Larry Sohn replied to Barbara Pitorak Bloom's discussion Buy sell vendors atjuried art festivals

"Re Susan Williamson stating "...seeing China Made and Chinese people in a booth at an art fair in Rochester, MI. I lost all respect for the show." I would not find anything wrong with that. If these people were Chinese and made the items,…"

Aug 13

Cindy Welch replied to Barbara Pitorak Bloom's discussion Buy sell vendors atjuried art festivals

"There is a local show (not fine art) that purports to be "all handmade." I saw a lady who had a bunch of bags for sale. Think of the bag company 31? It was similar to that style. I asked if she made all the…"

Aug 13

Susan Williamson replied to Barbara Pitorak Bloom's discussion Buy sell vendors atjuried art festivals

"I remember seeing China Made and Chinese people in a booth at an art fair in Rochester, MI. I lost all respect for the show. I wasn't an artist yet (still trying to be) but as Barbara said, it frosted my cookies. "

Aug 13

Larry Sohn replied to Barbara Pitorak Bloom's discussion Buy sell vendors atjuried art festivals

"Unless we police this better, it will be the end of Artists representing work they actually made themselves, at the shows. The promoters need to have better motivation for keeping the shows pure. I have brought up cases where the supposed…"

Aug 13

Barbara Pitorak Bloom replied to Barbara Pitorak Bloom's discussion Buy sell vendors atjuried art festivals

"Thank you - I agree. I am saddened to see this on the rise... I often am juried into museum shows and last fall a museum actually won best in show, and he imports this woodworking from Africa...I can understand smaller and less sophisticated shows…"

Aug 12

Larry Berman replied to Barbara Pitorak Bloom's discussion Buy sell vendors atjuried art festivals

"For years I've been saying that there needs to be artist advisors knowledgeable in mediums that are prone to buy sell. Then when the show is juried but before the results are sent out, the advisors can recommend which artists shouldn't be…"

Aug 12

Barbara Pitorak Bloom posted a discussion

Buy sell vendors atjuried art festivals

i am wondering how large operation buy sell jewelry sneaks into juried are fairs. Over the weekend there were two vendors that clearly had high volume of the same merchandise, that they seemed to have no thoughts on how they produced them. One had a slick banner with a website that apparently they did not pay for the renewal of the domain. The other was overheard on his cell phone ordering more stock- specific sizes of rings and bracelets. Now not everything in this show was “fine art” but…See More

Aug 12

13 Comments 1 Like

Barbara Pitorak Bloom replied to Morgan M. Harris's discussion Good shows getting stale?

"Are there newsworthy economic factors in play- like large layoff announcement of a leading employer in the area? The news media can whip up a sense of financial insecurity that will kill any show. On a different thought, how about your marketing-…"

May 22

Barbara Pitorak Bloom replied to Fletcher Dean's discussion Where do you sleep?

"We have done Airbnb with great success. One thought about belle island is it’s an island off shore of a rough ghetto part of Detroit. I suggest you look east and north of Detroit. We usually go toward Novi, canton area... it’s nice upper…"

May 2

Profile Information

Your Medium: silk

Years in the Art Fair Business: 4

First show ever: a church craft show - eeeek!

What is your website?: http://imagesinbloom.wordpress.com

What are the best things about art fairs: sense of community, willingness to share knowlege and insight between the artists, meeting people.

Best show ever and why: Tremont Art @ Culture Festival, for 9 years I helped to set the festival up, but the day i was one of the artists was a breakthrough for me. it was also very profitable.

Worst show ever and why: weather was the big issue with Woodsstock, held in Shedel Gardens... it rained from 9a to 3p on an event that went only until 7pm.

Who referred you to ArtFairInsiders.com? Please be specific.: web search

What is one fun fact about yourself?: I love to just get lost in the creation process of my work, and loose all sense of time.

Barbara Pitorak Bloom's Photos

Barbara Pitorak Bloom's Blog

Made in Ohio at Hale Farm (Labor Day Weekend)

Posted on September 15, 2016 at 10:40am 6 Comments 1 Like

Made in Ohio is always labor day weekend, held in the historic living museum known as Hale Farm and Village. Hale is a representative of an 18th century Ohio farmland village, made of buildings brought to the property. From the parking lot you can see the Hale house and Barn, and through a short trail you walk into a village green lined by vintage homes and buildings. For labor day weekend this bucholic sight is embellished with 100+ white tents filled with amazing art, handcrafted…

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Great Lakes Art Fair 2016 - Are you going?

Posted on April 4, 2016 at 10:09am 8 Comments 1 Like

We are scurrying to get those last minute details done, the van packed, the dog sitter ready, and we plan to roll out to Novi for the Great Lakes Art Fair. We like to find art fair insiders where we go... so i am wondering who will be there? Hope we can cath up, say hello, and get to know you. We are in booth 507. Drop a line if you will be there!

Has anyone done the KRASL Art on the Bluff Festival?

Posted on March 9, 2016 at 8:54am 10 Comments 1 Like

I would love to talk with artists that have been accepted to the annual art festivl. Two years running i have buffed up my booth, taken what i believed to be amazing photos, wrote precise descriptions, and bam, rejected. In the body of the rejection email KRASL made it clear that people are rejected often several years running, and please try again. It baffles me. Granted i work in wearable fiber and wonder often if that is a limiting factor.

They do invite artists to attend…

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Has anyone done the "spring fling" in Northville Michigan?

Posted on December 30, 2015 at 2:43pm 6 Comments 0 Likes

I am looking for a show to jump start spring- saw this one on zapplication, touting it is in its 37th year. And I know not much more about it. Have you participated? Have any thoughts or recommendations?

Comment Wall (13 comments)

At 11:21pm on August 27, 2011, Connie Mettler said…: Welcome to ArtFairInsiders.com, Barbara. I'm pleased to see you here and look forward to having you as part of our community.

When you have a chance, please add a photo of yourself and stop by the "Discussions" area to introduce yourself to the rest of us. We all look forward to your participation here. Also, visit the "member map" and add your location. We have a lot to offer one another, experienced and newbie alike. Let's make this a dynamic site!

We also ask that all new members take a few moments of their time to read the code of conduct. You will find it at http://www.artfairinsiders.com/page/code-of-conduct. There are a few guidelines that all members will need to follow because , as in any social community, we all need to work together.

Best wishes,
Connie Mettler

p.s. The best way to make this system easy to use is to click on the "Follow-Email me" link at the bottom of each Forum discussion that interests you. That way the system will email you automatically whenever anyone responds. It's a great time-saver.

At 3:12pm on December 1, 2011, Tanya Hahne Thornhill said…: Children's tie dyes, especially the baby stuff sells better than anything. Dresses & skirts are also popular. I've started specializing in dress shirts. Nothing is really flying off of the sales racks these days though.

I've had beagles my entire life and I have the gray hair to prove it. Our newest beagle, "Taylor", is only 7 months old and into everything!

At 1:33pm on October 16, 2013, Christina L. Towell said…: Thanks for being my first friend, Barbara!

At 9:54pm on October 20, 2013, Jacki Bilsborrow gave Barbara Pitorak Bloom a gift…: Red Ribbon
Thank you Barbara for your review of the Ohio Sauerkraut Festival. We appreciate all your help.
From the Gift Store

At 8:12pm on April 15, 2014, Jacki Bilsborrow gave Barbara Pitorak Bloom a gift…: Red Ribbon
Thank you, Barbara, for your review on the Great Lakes Art Fair. We appreciate your help.
From the Gift Store

At 11:24pm on August 05, 2014, Jacki Bilsborrow gave Barbara Pitorak Bloom a gift…: Red Ribbon
Thank you, Barbara, for your review of the WoodsStock Music & Art Festival. We appreciate your help.
From the Gift Store

At 12:35am on September 03, 2014, Jacki Bilsborrow gave Barbara Pitorak Bloom a gift…: Red Ribbon
Thank you, Barbara, for your review of the Made in Ohio Art & Craft Festival. We appreciate all your help.
From the Gift Store

At 12:09pm on September 03, 2014, Jacki Bilsborrow gave Barbara Pitorak Bloom a gift…: Red Ribbon
Thank you, Barbara, for your review of Yorkfest 2014. We appreciate your help and are thankful to have a member like you.
From the Gift Store

At 7:00pm on September 15, 2014, Jacki Bilsborrow gave Barbara Pitorak Bloom a gift…: Red Ribbon
Thank you, Barbara, for your review of Made in Ohio Art & Craft Festival. We appreciate your help.
From the Gift Store

At 10:14am on January 14, 2015, Connie Mettler gave Barbara Pitorak Bloom a gift…: Friendship Daisies
Thanks so much, Barbara, for all your recent comments and sharing of information. This is exactly how we keep this community alive and helping others -- its goal! Right?
From the Gift Store