This is my first year doing shows, and thus far I have done 8 total and have 2 more before the year come to a close. I have had a rough ride thus far to be honest. The best I have done was (looking back now, not even that great), not too far from home, and one of my first shows. I have, however, been in A LOT of awful shows, and others that were great, but for some reason I heard at every single one "This is the worst year of this show to date"... Every. Single. Show. You can imagine, this has disheartened me greatly, being my first year in the game, and hearing that it is the worst year for people who have been at it for 25+ years. I have tried to meet and learn as much as I can from the artists around me at every show, and honestly have learned a lot, but also lost a lot of passion, motivation, money, tears, and time. I feel as though I am a bit lost at this point, and am not sure where to start again for the next year (or even start again period).
I just did the Lake Forest Art on the Square show, which had an amazing turn out, lots of people buying work, lots of enthusiasm, yet I did not sell a thing, and did not have very many people coming into my booth. I heard from other artists that since it was my first year, a lot of people do not like to buy from you unless they have seen you before... which I find crazy ridiculous, but informative. I am not sure I would do the show again, considering I'm completely in the whole, and the toss up of it being a good show for me is a bit too great. Although I saw a lot of people walking around with work (and originals at that), I heard from a lot of the artists around me that they did not do as good as they have done in the past and that the crowd was not as good... Are all shows going down hill or is it just me??
I know the economy is not where it used to be, but I am beginning to have the feeling that people just don't care about original work. I really really really do not want to do prints, but I'm beginning to think I just have to otherwise I'm never going to make money. Or I will just have to not do shows until I have a legit income that can support my dream. I get people that come into my booth, are there for a long time, and as soon as I come up to speak to them, they run away. As if they do not want to know that there is a human being attached to the work because they feel as though then they are obligated to buy from me or something? Conversations are few, usually only with other artists who are visiting the fair do I speak with in length, aka farther than "hi, how are you? If you have any questions please feel free to ask.. yaddah yaddah".
This has been a year of experiences, sadness, happiness, feeling of failure, and learning/ getting a VERY thick skin. I wish things could have been different, and that everyone had semi the same response at shows, but unfortunately, everyone's experience is different, mine however, has been that Art is losing the battle. :(
Comments
I have a variety of prices. I start at under $10 up to over $300. I've thinking more about changing my pricing "formula" as well. There are a number of bigger shows in the area, but only one catches my attention. I'm not worried if my jewelry is not right, because it is, but with the populariety of this show, there will be a LOT of competition. When people go to this show, they go to BUY! One day I hope to have enough inventory to at least apply to this show! In the meantime, I'll keep plugging away. I'm not saying I'm the best on the block because there are many that I admire. I can hold my own at an Arts and Crafts show I believe. I do not consider any of my work (jewelry) to be "art." I'm not striving to do that. I am striving to bring to people well made jewelry that is wearable to many places. You will not find by booth showcasing the same thing over and over in different colors. I rarely have two identical items and if, by chance it does happen, you will never see both at the same show. Never, ever have I made three of a kind.
Erica, I hardly ever read these blogs but I wanted to respond to one I had seen on FB and skimmed through this one and my name/post was mentioned above! First of all: I wrote that blog post after a really, really disheartening show that I had in the early summer. But, I will say this: I am having a record year. I have built this business piece by piece since 2006. Prints are now and have been 10% or less of my sales through the year. I have had great shows, good shows, mediocre and poor shows through the years (including this one). The very first outdoor show I did as an oil painter (I had done some shows back in the 1990's as a water-colorist) was literally sent into Lake Superior. 90% of the show was destroyed by straight line winds. Some people may have never done a show again but I picked up the pieces and carried on. I have changed the look of my work over the years and become less representative and more contemporary towards abstract. I had great advice from a very successful sculptor a few years ago: "If you go to show after show and are not selling you have to take a look at what you are trying to sell". I have tried to determine just the right price points like everyone else and that is not an easy answer. There is no crystal ball to tell you what to do and how to do it. You just have to make the best decisions you can by putting together compiled information and your gut feelings. And, you are right about having to develop a backbone. I still don't always have it but keep carrying on.......... best of luck to you with the last two shows.
Erica, I read an interesting article recently about something called customer "pain points." Big corporations do tons of research on this in order to find ways to entice people to keep buying their products even in tough times. Now while applying most of these corporate strategies to our own artwork would cheapen it (e.g. "bundling" products together, offering discounts), the takeaway lesson for artists is that these "pain points" may be contributing to low sales. Why the pain? Is it the price tag? Too many choice, not enough choices? Not enough confidence or reassurance in the customer's choice?
One of the popular solutions I see for eliminating pain points is to offer a wide variety of prices. Prints seems like a reasonable compromise and a way for a new artist to get his/her foot in the door (this is coming from a buyer of prints, by the way). As someone pointed out in another post, they can act as a physical reminder of your work. Maybe in a few years' time that print-buyer will escalate to originals, but it may take that much time. In the meantime you've made some money on prints so you can keep going to fairs until people recognize you and buy the bigger pieces.
Elaine Reed, I have never had a $1000 show either, but I'm getting close. I think it's because I live in the middle of nowhere (Warsaw, IN) and have never traveled more then 1 1/2 hours to do a show. So the shows I do are small shows.
The largest markets around would be Chicago or Indy, but so far I haven't applied for any of those. Oh, one exception, I did apply for the Naperville Womens Club show but I didn't get in. I think I have just been too intimidated to apply for the bigger shows. Partly as a result of watching the jury process at Broadripple. Also partly because a guy once told me that if you do those larger shows, you have to have all kinds of security because theft is a big problem and a lot of insurance. Maybe he was just trying to scare me. If so, it worked.
I think some of the shows that have been around a while have had changes over the years that do effect sales. Part of the problem is that the organizers are facing increased costs and, as they face those increases, they are also faced with having to either raise their booth fees or increase the number of exhibitors. Neither of those choices help an artist...either we're cutting our profit, or we're splitting the pie with too many other artists.
Also, in the Chicago area, there are multiple shows every weekend during the season....people get numbed out by another art fair....and, with the same artists doing the same promoter's shows month after month, the attendees are seeing the same work time after time. After a while, they just slump by the booths, grab a hot dog and go on to the next event of the day.
Although I have had a very good season so far this year, I have had individual disappointments at one or two events. The only thing I can see in the difference between what I do and what my friend does (she is a masterful jewelry designer doing Amy Amdur's shows [and has had an awful time at all three of those Chicagoland shows this year,] while I am an outsider jewelry designer who does more avante-garde shows) is that I mix up the show schedule. I'm not a groupie of any one promoter and I choose the shows I do based on the audience I think it will draw and how my work will appeal to that audience. Sometimes I'm wrong and I don't return to a show the following year, but when I'm right and I'm a good fit for the crowd, I do very well.
It's always a toss up when you're new in the game. I've been doing fairs for 12 years and every year, there's always one bomb....thankfully, I got that one out of the way early in the season. I have 4 more to go this year and I feel lucky and grateful for my confidence that they will be good ones, as in the past.
I think we all tend to blame it on the show, when we don't sell. I have to fight the gloomies when I watch people walking by and not engaging... but I have found ...that is my job if I want to sell. It's the ambiance in your booth as much as it is your work that sells your work.It's like Debbie says, you have to turn on the charm and then leave them alone. As artist's that is sometimes not easy to do... but I look at it as a trade off- I get to go back in my studio after and create. I do have all price-points and at lower end shows this really helps. I brought 70 small 35. pieces to the last show I did and came home with 19- that really adds up and if the show is not hitting on your bigger items- this in the end gets you to the next show. I also have some humorous and slightly shocking pieces in my booth and this opens up the conversation usually, gets them laughing and makes it overall more fun for everyone. I don't know if it helps sell but I think it must because I have had my best year this year.
Well then, keep your chin up and be glad you're getting into good shows like Lake Forest. The last two years I've gotten in off the wait list! This business is not for the faint of heart!
Erica, many of the artists here have gone through this same thing. I don't know if you missed this blog of Mary Johnston but you might like to read it. "Ouch - the ZERO show."
http://www.artfairinsiders.com/profiles/blogs/ouch-the-zero-show
It might at least help you to realize you are not alone.
-
1
-
2
-
3
of 3 Next