Well, I traveled long and hard this year and I think I will be staying closer to home with all the traveling expenses and all.....to make a long story short, I added the expenses and what I netted.....That was alot of traveling and work to only make a few hundred dollars a show! So I decided to stay closer to home and try the smaller shows in my area plus it was taking a toll on my health. I'm getting very creative on where and how I'm displaying my work and extending my subject manner to things I haven't painted in years. It seems to be working or the economy is starting to pick up...slowly but surely.
I ask you fellow artists, what have you been doing to keep on going?
Comments
I did half in-state and half out-of-state shows last year. I will be travelling more this year, as my work doesn't seem to sell in-state. I am trying to keep it to a one-day drive unless there is some pressing reason to do otherwise. My family back east keeps bugging me to do a show near them but I can't justify a three-day drive one way, plus show fees and 12-hour days that wouldn't allow me to see them much anyways. Gas in CO is still under $3.00 outside of the resort areas, so at least I can still afford to make a few shooting day trips.
This past summer I decided to stick as close to a one-hour radius of my home as possible doing smaller local shows. The previous year I had done a number of Chicago shows with disappointing results. My net for the summer per show was higher doing the smaller shows. My gross was less because I did fewer shows. Next year I'm going to try to find a few more shows in my area. I'm going to ditch one show that has a day-of setup policy even though I pre-juried into the show. If shows can't find a way to provide for set up the day before, then they are not going to get any of my money. I might try one Chicago show since my daughter lives in one of the northern suburbs -- but that will be it for my traveling.
I also am working harder on selling my work online. I've been selling online for the past 3 years and every year have done better than the previous year. My online gross is still pitiful, but the fees are very low compared to what you pay at an art fair and there is no traveling, setup, tearing down in the rain, etc. My online net this year was comparable to my net at two art fairs. My goal is to double my online net in the coming year.
I like the idea of offering classes since jewelry is so popular, but my studio is too crowded and messy!
I have stayed closer to home this year and have had more success than in the last 2 years of traveling. I am doing smaller shows than I used to do which is saving on entrance fees. My work is very eclectic so I didn't know how I would do locally but I am not only selling, I am now offering classes and they are doing well too.
I've decided to not travel this year and go back to more local weekend markets with the occasional art show thrown in there. I'm going to focus on picking up more galleries and shops within a 3 hour drive. I've also recently discovered the whole concept of corporations who buy art for their offices, it seems like this would be the ideal fit for me. I have a large business that I'm negotiating with at the moment and I would really like to focus on getting into more corporate environments in the coming year ( they buy large pieces, they have very few budget constraints, my subject matter is neutral enough to go in that type of setting).
I too have cut back on my travel distance. I also dropped the least profitable shows unless there was a good reason for them such as visiting friends! I reinvented my artwork as well and really focused on the new style. Redid my jury images and managed to get into some better shows, I think that was the most important part for me. It turned out to be a very good year.
We have a similar strategy. Although there are some larger shows that are tempting, we opps for the smaller, closer-to-home shows. It seems that we net more income.
The expectation of gas going up in Chicago over $4.00 a gallon it has force me just stay closer to home. The sad thing is they are few good show or worth my time doing in the Chicago area. So eight hours travel time is cut off for next year.