I’m finally home and glad to be here. This is how I figured the shows would stack up for profit on this trip – Deland, Dunedin, Disney. This is how it ended up Disney, Deland, Dunedin and if it hadn’t been for a sale at 4:45 on Sunday, Deland would have ended up at the bottom. Here’s another fact I did not expect – 75% of my sales (by item, not cost) were northern scenes. It’s a strange world in Florida these days.
So about Deland – Deland in the past has either been my best or second best fall show. It is a class act, put on by the Florida Museum of Art. Booth spaces are back to back (no storage) in the middle of one of the main streets through Deland. While the economy of the area is not the greatest it is a very artsy town with several galleries and many specialty stores as well as some hole in the wall great restaurants. The number of booth spaces was reduced this year which put me closer to one end of the show. Amenities include a VIP dinner the evening before the show, an artist dinner on Saturday night, and an artist oasis with breakfast, lunch, and water during the day. The crowd was way down this year, possibly affected by really nice weather. In Florida it is best to hope for not so great weather. Really nice weather, especially this late in the year, tends to send people out to the boat, instead of the art show. Maybe that was it, or it could be the economy. Setup is Saturday morning but parking is close by to most booths and although the street isn’t closed until 6AM, most people arrive earlier than that and unload to the sidewalk making setup pretty laid back. Although there is no storage, parking is close and I was able to make a few trips back to the van for restocking.
Speaking of the economy, the house we own in Florida is about 15 miles away from the show location so on my way out on Monday I did a drive through to see how things looked. There seem to be fewer for sale signs and fewer unkempt lawns. More of the houses in the area seem to be occupied. The houses to the right of us and across the street that were vacant when I left seemed to be occupied now. They both have garages and it was the middle of the day so it was hard to tell but the lawns look kept up. The house to the left of us is still vacant and the last two residents totally trashed the house so I think it is going to be vacant for awhile.
Without a guaranteed acceptance into Disney next year, I’m not sure if I’ll do this trip again.
Comments
Deland was probably about the best show I did this fall. I have never been to that show before so I have no comparison, but there did not seem to be a lack of people there. My booth was almost constantly full both days.
The only complaints I had with that show were the lack of storage space and I was less than thrilled with the art Nazis that harassed me the first day. They were clearly volunteers that had no idea what they were talking about but they tried to say that I needed to state on my application that my wall pieces were limited editions because the wall pieces were supposed to be "originals" and that they were "trying to keep up the quality of the show". They kept berating me until the guy who apparently had the final say on everything came by and told them I was photography and that prints were fine. I know I am not the only one they did this to because a digital artist friend of mine had the same thing happen.
The house is rented out. I live in Virginia now so staying at the house is out of the question. I did other reviews here on Disney and Dunedin.
Thanks for the review Alison :) Wouldn't the Deland show be worthwhile since you have a house in the area? How did you find Disneyland and Dunedin?