Ferndale is a north suburb of Detroit.
It is a three day show that was held last weekend.
Integrity Shows, which is Mark Loeb, produces it. You can find it on Zapp.
FF is a multi diverse community. The downtown has come a long way in last ten years.
Back then the Main Street had lots of closed stores and only a handful of restaurant bars to choose from.
Now, the street is packed with lots of commerce and bars. There are four barbershops to choose from.
There are at least five coffee shops and about 25 bars and restaurants.
In other words the joint is jumping. Lots of smartly dressed young people, many sporting tinted hairstyles with bodies tattooed-adorned.
Almost everybody wears a hat of some sorts.
The Show is packed with lots of people with all kinds of breeds of dogs.
There is money here but they spend it sparingly and mostly Lowend for art.
I have done this show at least five times over the last decade. Never have I been able to crack $2K at it.
Others do, just not me.
You setup on the street on Friday, early. The show is 3-7 on Friday.
It is mostly a waste of time, most do not even sell $200 that day.
Trouble is, the City says if you setup on any day then the show has to start that day.
This year, Friday was a real challenge weather wise.
The forecast called for strong thunderstorms with winds in the 30-40 mph range. Not good.
I arrived from Saugatuck around 11 am and setup. Twice we were warned of immenint storms about to hit us, with fierce winds.
Luckily the storms went north of us but we had to deal with bad wind most of the day.
This Show attracts a lot of newbies with cheap pop up canopies. You know how that goes with bad winds. Not pretty.
All day you could here the sounds of crashing shelves with stock hitting the pavement. Being on concrete, it was hard to anchor down the booth to keep it walking in the wind.
I had no trouble. I use a Lightdome and anchor it on all four sides with John Deere tractor weights, about 45 pounds each.
I also used four of Ellen’s round tube weights. My booth was steady.
Loeb, like many promoters, let’s in a certain number of commercial booths to help pay the bills.
Unfortunately for me, he let in booth next to me which sold vacation packages on cruise ships.
They had a cheapie pop up with a spinning wheel to lure the suckers in with. They had a very aggressive crew of three to four salesmen. These guys would pitch very loudly to the passing crowd and actually walk out in the middle aisle and get in people’s faces to lure them in. It is called a hard sell.
As we know, art is a soft sell. These guys were the wrong fit for the show.
I approached the main man and politely explained to him that he could not interrupt the flow of the crowd
like he was doing.
He did not take kindly to my approach.
He explained that this was how they did biz. I countered that it might work at a county fair or a food event but it does not work at an art show. You have to let the prospect come to you without “hawking.”
He basically told me to stuff it and that they would be doing this all weekend. I said, “Not!”
I called Loeb and told him what was going on. He said he would look into it. And, he did.
A half hour later he came over and apologized for his behavior. The rest of the show we all got along just peachy.
It was refreshing to see a show director actually show some backbone to a commercial exhibitor.
So, I ended up selling $70 on Friday.
Saturday, we had cloudy, chilly weather all day. Never rained, but being in the shadows of the building behind me, it kept me severely chilled all day. I had four layers of clothing on.
The Show started at ten but we never saw much of a crowd til about noon.
Then it got crowded. Lots of hats walking their dogs. Trouble was, most were just out walking with very few going in to see the artwork.
This is a small show with about 125 booths. Most of the booths had very eclectic work, especially in mixed media.
I saw more new and refreshing work then I have seen in a larger show like Columbus.
My neighbor made women’s purses. They were fashioned out of vintage 1950s fabric and adorned with screen printed images of famous movie stars. His price points were mainly in the $35-$85 range and he sold steadily all weekend.
I saw lots of small framed pieces go by me all weekend. But did not see any big ones.
For me, I mostly made sales out of my print bins, most sales were $50 and under.
I like the energy of the town and the show. But it is not my venue. I am afraid I will not be returning.
For some of you this could be a good show to try, especially if you have Lowend pricepoints.
Next, I will be showing for the first time at the ShawArt Festival in St. Louis.
I will have full report afterwards.
Then, it is time to pack up and leave Saugatuck and head to our new home in New Smyrna Beach.
Both of us are excited.
Aloha, Nels.
Comments
I understand that secret, Mark. It is especially true for people who move to Detroit from out of town. There is great value in the real estate and most people are pleased with their bang for the buck. In addition, current residents $$ go further because their money is not all tied up in the real estate.
Thanks Nels. Always appreciate your comments and ideas.
The show works great for those with edgier work and generally price points under $500. I've got a few other shows too and each has a very distinct personality and I am happy to work with artists to determine which would be best for them. A few are more fine art focused with high-income shoppers- (A secret about Detroit- when people buy large homes here they still have money left to buy art for the walls).
k forward to seeing ya
This is a great review Nels and I would concur. I would add my favorite thing about the show was being your neighbor. ( and the music provided by the barber shop behind us ) You were correct my sales were very good, it was my first time at funky ferndale so I didn't know what to expect. My price points were $30-$150 average sale being $55-$65. This will go down as one of my favorite shows of the 2018 season. ( although not the most profitable it was well worth it'll me ). It was fun being your neighbor and even better when we realized we have had a piece of you work hanging in our house for years. I will do the show again ( integrity juries you in for three years ). I did Saint James Court right after that show and you were right about that one too. It was a good show for me. Hope our paths cross again my friend.
thank you for the review.
Thanks Nels. You always do a good job. Very succinct and exactly what we need to know.
Thanks both Connie and Paul.
Thanks for the review, Nels. Ferndale is just north of the Detroit city limits and home prices are steady and growing. It is a very decent neighborhood with lots of older homes and people who appreciate them in addition to its solid location for getting around the metro area. If you like to eat, drink and shop in cool stores without lots of hassle for parking and crowds, this is the place.
It seems the show changes a lot every year and works for some but not for others (seems I've heard that somewhere before.) Good for Mark Loeb for getting the hawkers! Mark runs solid shows that are artist friendly and knows his markets in and around Detroit and has good connections. Not huge, not gouging prices either. Worth a try. Sounds like you've given this one several of them. Detroit will miss you, Nels.
I'm looking forward to your news on your move to your new home in New Smyrna.
Nels, great review...the key is this "funky" Ferndale...if you ain't got funk, you got junk. (I just made that up.) It can be a great show, the whole town is a circus that weekend and its a great party. I sure you had time to appreciate the diversity of the crowd - and the fine leather accouterments store. But, the show is not for everybody. Wish it wasn't so doggone far away.