So this is a small fair in Adrian, Michigan. It's in it's eighth year. This year was my first year doing this show. My sales were not all that spectacular. I did just $487.50 at the two days at this fair. I was hoping to hit the $500 mark, but organizers decided to cut the fair short on Saturday because of impending storms. The call was made about 6:30 PM. The show was supposed to run until 8 PM. And we had a severe thunderstorm roll through the fairs while we were packing down.
But the news is not all that bad. September has been the highest month in sales outside of July this year. Thanks to Funky Ferndale! And my new Flourish Trimline tent survived the storm. It did shake violently when the big gust of wind came through at the start of the storm. My artwork stayed dry because I placed it on my table inside the tent. But a little river of water was going through the tent. All that heavy rain.
But there was a lot of EZ-Ups at the fair. Those tents did not survive the wrath of the storm. My Trimline has just been to three fairs up to this point. All September shows (Mundelein, Illinois, Funky Ferndale and Art-A-Licious). I'm glad I decided to ditch my EZ-Up and go with the Trimline. Even with the stay-bars, I don't know if it would of survived that storm.
But the volunteers there were great! Restroom breaks and they even helped my take my tent down in the rain. Kudos to them!!
The wrath of the storm...
Comments
Thank you Connie! After I posted that, I thought you dummy! I'm searching on the web all the time. But I do enjoy the site. Before I bought my tent this summer I searched for info. Very helpful.
Suzanne, people learned about the show because they advertised their call for artists on this site and on our callsforartists.com site. Stay tuned here to find lots of interesting events and the show personnel who will answer your questions.
Thanks for chiming in Erik. I looked for you when I was in Adrian, but as we all know, you and the rest of the committee are very busy when running a show.
Hi all -- as some of you know, I'm Art-A-Licious' marketing coordinator. I wanted to thank everybody who came, and also for your comments here. I'm just sorry it came to such an early and destructive end!
Wow...thanks for the report, Scott and the commentary by others. Great "before and after" images. I will only use an EZ-Up type (KD Canopy) for a one day show with quick set-up/pack times and decent weather predicted. Sometimes management isn't too happy that I'm the last off the grounds but why risk it? We all work too hard.
And now I know why I have a Crafthut......These pictures are awful to see and I am so sad for the artists.No matter where the wind and rain is coming from...your odds are just better all-around. I hate putting "Vern" up (yea, I know my tent so well I named it so I can yell at it when I'm tired...apologies to anyone named Vern) but in the long haul....I feel so much safer.
Nice review Scott. You are always so positive! So sorry about the storm for everyone. I'm glad I got a new tent (Finale) this year. Much dryer than my old EZ Up (though water issues were the only problems I had with it in about 9yrs). I have Pro Panels which add nice additional weight. I've never heard of the show. Sounds like a nice little show. How does one find out about it? Thank-you for the pictures!
Thanks for these reviews, everyone and pictures too, Scott. It sounds pretty scary, glad you all made it out safely, that's the important thing here.
Thanks for the report Scott and the photos.
Sometimes it makes a difference where you are in the show as to whether or not your tent holds up. Direction of the wind and the rain will make the best of tents not hold up well and light weight tents do well. Be prepared for both eventualities, as Scott W. says above.
That being said, I attended this show on Friday evening and am so sorry that I didn't know that Scott W., Tina, Anne and Jane were there to say hello. Did meet some other people from this site, Ellen van-bully Bronson, Elizabeth Bronson and Scott Pakulski.
I'd never been to Adrian. It has a very nicely preserved downtown and the show looked very well organized, artists who I recognized from other shows, (including some 20+ year veterans that I've known a long time and who know a bargain when they see it) a good layout, a Taste of Adrian tent, section for non-profit vendors and great signage to bring people in. Solid attendance that evening and it was a beautiful night.
The booth fee is only $55!! So take sales reported above in that light ... nice net for many, and it sounds like from the exhibitors viewpoint that they felt taken care of. Photos to come.
This is a small show but sales are okay, around $1800 this year, have participated for three years. To those who thought the organizers were too quick to close the show all I can say is " are you out of your minds"! There was no crowd by the time the storm hit. Had they not called the show when they did there would have been even more damage and more injuries. After loading one booth we started on the second. As I zipped down the corner of our heavy old craft hut, I looked up to see the booth across the street being demolished and the artist being pulled across with it. Not much left but a debris field. I think booth survival depended somewhat on your location. Our booth with weights, propanels and heavy work hanging on the walls weighs around 500LB and was partially lifted and pushed backward about eight inches. It was stopped by the curb. About an inch of water was running through our booth, while we finished packing, because of a decorative "street planting" created a dam.
The organizers are very helpful, many volunteers easy setup. Thank you to the two young woman who helped my wife shove everything inside the booth just before the storm hit, I was coming back with our second vehicle. A night to remember.
-
1
-
2
of 2 Next