ARE YOU READY for 2012?

In eighteen days, my second son gets married to a wonderful girl. I'm all ready. I'll even post pictures of the event on AFI for fun. So, as Mother-of-the-Groom, I planned the rehersal dinner, helped the kids pay a few extra bills, and made all the wedding jewelry........no sweat!

I've needed a break. LOL

Yesterday I received a Zapp notification for Des Moines.

 

NO WAY....thought I......deadlines sneak up .......Oh, OH!

OCTOBER 31!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jimmeny Cricketts!!!

 

I looked up Lakefront Festival of the Arts in Milwaukewe, my hometown. Yikees!

 

The speedometer on my life went from 25 to 65 in minutes.

 

So, how prepared are you for the 2012 season?

1) Have all your professional photos taken and ready to upload to zapp, amdur or the moon?

2) Have that booth shot with all three walls showing?

3) Do you even have eight creations you think will "WOW" those jurors in six seconds?

4) Have you found your "market" and know which shows they flock to attend?

5) Do you have the money to pay "X" amount of jury fees?

 

What are you doing in 2012 that's new, innovative, researched or intuitive about the Art Fair World?

We're all Insiders, so, do share, will you?

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Comments

  • Colin, a fairly easy, yet practical way to consider the good, the bad and the ugly. Kudos!

    Ruth, what a task you have before you!

    But open doors are so exciting!!! Will you make it to the mid-West? The Des Moines deadline is October 31st.

     

    I've been so busy starting some last minute creations and getting them ready to send off to be photographed that I even forgot to check on my own blog.

    What's a girl to do?

    My son's wedding, mourning Steve Jobs, burning the kiln, scorching my fingers.....maybe a bad week to post, no?

  • 2012 is probably going to be a year of huge change for us, it's actually a little overwhelming to think about so I've been like an ostrich, trying to hide my head in the sand for a little while longer. We've made the decision to sell the house and become full time RV'ers sometime in 2012 so yikes, we have a lot to do. We've lived in this house for 10 years, every closet is full so it's time for some serious down-sizing! So in addition to the normal, ongoing process of considering and evaluating various shows, we're trying to figure out how to execute a huge change in our lifestyle.
    Having made the decision that it is time to venture outside of the Pacific NW I've been researching shows through this site, AFSB and talking to out of state artists at all of our shows this year, especially those with experience in the Western US.
    We have a very full list of shows to consider, something tells me we'll be spending more on jury fees in 2012 than ever before, but it's time to branch out further and try some new things. And, like Colin, we're planning a few shows around personal connections and vacation plans, hoping to see Yosemite next year for the first time ever.
  • I run a list of all my shows from 2011. I look at the show 2 different ways. One list is to rank the shows in order of income. The second list is to rank the shows in order of percentage of booth fee divided by income. (the lower the number, the better) I compare the 2 lists and drop the bottom half of the list. Then I start a calendar of shows for 2012. I will add in some the bottom shows, that have a good reason to return, even if they were not the most profitable. (Some times there are reasons we do you show such as a personal connection, surrounds a vacation plan, good networking opportunities, just a filler show, etc). Then I start digging around for new shows to try in 2012. My list is filling up already!
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