This was a first time show for me. I had heard of it for the last several years and thought incorrectly it was a continuation of the Chautauqua of the Arts shows held in Columbus for several years. No connection as I found out later, this is a fifth year show started by a local photographer. The previous 4 years this has been a one day show, and this was the first year for it to go two days.
Set up is a little rough on this one, starting on Saturday morning at 6:00 AM. Things started off with a bit of a hiccup with about a half hour delay when the spaces weren't marked off yet as we arrived. The booths were arranged down the middle of the street arranged in clusters of four so everyone had a corner booth, and the clusters were about 18-20 feet apart. The spaces were 12x12, so adequate storage space was behind your booth. Some of the artists set their tents up on the back edge of the space instead of the front which cramped the storage space somewhat but the extra two feet was adequate for the most part.
The weather was warm and sticky with fog hanging in low areas on the way in to the show. Even setting up in the dark it was hot sweaty work, and it got worse as the sun came up. We've had cool pleasant weather for virtually the entire summer and Murphy's Law decided this would be the first weekend that a typical Midwest August would return. It returned with a vengeance. Traffic picked up and there was a decent rush of people early on, but by early afternoon the heat was oppressive and the crowds thinned out. Sales were low for me, and the jeweler behind me said that she had sold enough to pay for one night's stay at her motel and part of her gas, The other jeweler next to me was doing better and was happy with her sales. For the most part it seemed the heat and humidity was taking a toll on sales. A few artists had either paid for power or brought battery systems, but even those with fans still had uncomfortable tents to be in and those without fans suffered.
The weather was supposed to rain overnight, but nothing was supposed to be inclement. We met our daughter and her family at a restaurant about 15 miles north of Columbus, and we could see heavy lightning off in the west, and someone mentioned driving through high winds on the way to the restaurant. I realized I had not fastened one of my weights to the tent leg, and decided to go back and anchor it properly. By the time I got back to the show site it was starting to rain, and three tents were already collapsed and damaged. The show organizers were out in the rain covering art work with tarps trying to protect what they could. One artist had NO weights on their tent and another had gallon jugs of water tied to the top corners of their EZ-Up.
Sunday started off slowly, picked up a little around noon time, and just sort of fizzled out after that. I eked out a couple sales of small inexpensive work, but not enough to make booth fee. I sold enough to pay for the gas for the two trips back and forth to the show. The drive time was not quite an hour for me so we went home on Saturday night. The weather was even worse on Sunday with temps in the 90's and the heat index pushing 100 according to the weather reports, but the show was on asphalt with little shade on the booths. Most artists moved their chairs underneath the trees along the street or under store overhangs. Jewelers were the ones who stayed in their booths and probably lost 10 pounds from sweating. It was bad enough just sitting there in the heat, moving around was worse.
I didn't see any large packages being carried around, just little things. I decided to try a gamble and focused on doing some lowball $20 letter sized prints in inexpensive Format frames just a few days earlier. Heaven forbid, that was the only things that moved. Had I not done that, I would have zeroed out. Between now and the next show I'll do a few more of those and have them in a table top flip rack.
The show organizers were everywhere during the show, bringing cold bottles of water to the artists, checking if you needed a break, and in particular securing the damaged tents and art work during the Saturday evening storm that came through. Tear down started at 5:00 PM on Sunday and we were almost the last ones to leave at 7:20. Some of the show staff stayed on site keeping an eye on everyone, and bringing us cold water before we were done.
Despite taking a loss on this show, I'll give it another chance. It's "local" and I sleep in my own bed, and the booth fee is reasonable. Had I been a resident in Columbus, I wouldn't have ventured out in that heat to see an art show. Some of the artists around me said they wouldn't return, but there are some times that despite having good show organization, and good artists in the show, the weather is going to sap all the energy out of the fair-goers and artists alike.
Comments
This years show was moved to September 12-13 in an effort to avoid the heat. Unfortunately they chose the same weekend as Penrod which was held on 9/12. I heard today that yesterday was a major flop for the show. I don't know how Sunday went.
also let me know that the entrance to I-65S closed at 6 PM Sunday. I usually don't do summer shows because 90+ temps and I don't do well together. I do have regulars from the Deja Vu show but few of them came out in the heat. I did make booth and gas but that is all.
We did this show 2 years ago and had a hot day, much like you described. We opted not to do a repeat. We had very few customers, not even enough to think that we might work up to some "regulars."
This was also my first time at the show -- and it too is only an hours drive for me. The reason for the 6:00 AM start is that the fair is on a main road and they are not permitted to close the road until 6:00. It would have helped if they had said a 7:00 start for artists since the show does not start until 10:00. In addition to that, because of their rush to mark (I suspect) they misnomered the booth spaces (significant randomization from the plan they showed us) and also did not have the configuration that showed in the plan (e.g., two booths at an intersection instead of the 4 block shown on the plan). And the organizers were frustrated by it -- and not very helpful at that point. But that was an initial screw up and after that the crew was very good and helpful -- and were excellent in distributing water.
I have a different view of the traffic at the show. Even early in the day the show was very very light. There was a two hour period on Saturday where it looked like we could get traffic -- and that was late morning (starting about 11:30) when it was already getting hot. However except for that period, most times during each day I could look down the block and maybe see 25 people on one side. Even most jewelers were not getting much business :)
The group is applying for nonprofit status and hope to have grants next year to augment their marketing effort. However, overall I think success at this show is only through low priced items as Robert notes. I did okay at the show -- made some money but nothing to write home about -- but all the pieces sold were $100 or less.
Thanks for sharing that. The weather is always a huge factor.
It sounds like it may be an ok show, but I am surprised that in it's 5th year the booth spaces wouldn't be marked off in time. Also I could never set up at 6 am. If they ever have a Friday evening set up, I would definitely consider it. Although I guess I may not need that much time to set up.
I don't see you complaining about buy-sell, so that's a plus!
Thank you for the excellent review, Robert. I agree, when it's that hot, I'd rather just stay home. Too bad the weather has to dictate how we do at shows but that's something that will always be a factor.