I love doing this Tampa-area event and blogged extensively about it last spring. Hyde Park is a tree-lined neighborhood of '50s and '60s-era housing with a small upscale shopping area (Restoration Hardware, Williams & Sonoma, Bang & Olufsen) that serves as host venue for this long-running Howard Alan show.

Hyde Park has a hip urban sensibility and a little younger vibe than what you'll typically see in many Florida shows. Lots of younger couples, runners, dogs, baby strollers on hand to complement the older age brackets that we're used to seeing. And until this weekend (my fourth time at this venue) I'd seen steadily increasing sales for my wildlife/bird photography. But at this show, it just wasn't happening. Show quality was quite good, though perhaps a little heavy on the jewelry. But it was almost spooky how every artist I talked with (save one, about which more in a minute) gave the same summary: Modest, but acceptable, crowds and sales on Saturday; sparser, more disinterested crowds and lower sales on Sunday. Personally, I did about 40 percent of the business I'd done last spring (two weeks before Easter, when most snowbirds typically clear out from Florida). More tellingly, my sales compared with last fall's show were down 25%. No large canvas sales; nearly all my sales were 11x14s. Although I remarked ruefully to my neighbor (who zeroed on his fun, colorful "eco-art" made from scrap metal and rocks) that "at least my $4 notecard sales were up 800% year-over-year." Not exactly the fast start to the winter season I'd hoped for.

I'm thinking that Halloween might have impacted the show attendance, even though Howard Alan Events did their usual fine job advertising and promoting, and even brought around Halloween candy for trick or treaters and patrons (and, what the heck, a few artists, too! Howard's shows don't feature artist amenities so we have to take what we can get.) There were several other wildlife photographers on the artist roster, and although several had the same kind of weekend I had, local shooters Irwin and Carol Glazer recouped a slow Saturday with seven canvas print sales on Sunday. So, you never know! Gotta tip my cap to 'em, they're great photographers and really nice folks, too.

Besides the free candy,there were a few other positives to be had. Setup here is early, but easy: Narrow streets, but \ wide sidewalks behind your booth. What's more, several new close-in parking areas replaced the grubby, tight-quartered lot we'd used the last couple of years. Departure was, I must say, handled brilliantly by Helayne and her staff. Artists on either end were allowed in first, at 6 PM sharp...and folks in the center were asked to wait This enabled artists in the first group to enter from side streets at either end, eliminating the traffic jams so often seen on narrow streets when everyone tries to access the area at once.

The wait for us folks in the center wasn't long at all; in fact, my breakdown was complete just as Helayne gave the green light to get our vehicles. I was on the road a half hour later. It was almost like a parade!

Unfortunately, great logistics won't pay the bills. But there's nothing to do but dust myself off and get ready for Patty Narozny's fall show at Miromar (in Estero) this weekend. It's a local show for me, and it'll be good to sleep in my own bed on a weekend for the first time in months. Local shows in my hometown: a sure sign that winter--and snowbirds with vacation bucks to spend--are on the way.
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  • Hi John! Great meeting you as well. You make a good point about the change of date for this fall show. I'd agree about the 3rd weekend of October being more favorable, but that's the longtime date of Alan's "Las Olas" show, so that change ain't gonna happen. ;-) Good luck, and see ya down the road, I hope.
  • It was great meeting you at the show Geoff and a very nice review of the show. You gave a great flavor of the show. Overall I agree the logistics of the show went fairly smoothly. I know some artists in the far spaces that were left dollying a distance though. But unlike many Howard Alan shows you have some space behind your booth and parking was incredibly convenient this year.

    Something worth noting is in the past several years the fall show was held either on the last weekend of September or the first weekend of October. Understandably the fall show is often extremely hot. This year with the move to the last weekend in October, it brought cooler temperatures. The only downside is the show has much competition with many Halloween activities taking place on the same weekend. Maybe the 3rd weekend in October would be the perfect weekend?

    Besides the economy I'm a little perplexed why my sales at this show isn't what it use to be. It's never been a great show for me, but has always been consistently solid. I've done this show for the last 7 years, usually doing both the spring and fall show. Last year, my sales just plummeted at this show. I decided perhaps I was over saturating the area so skipped the spring show this year. I typically do about 20% better at the spring show, but it also is on a weekend with more alternative shows to do. I was hoping my time away from the show would help spur sales at this year's fall show but instead I had the same disappointing sales as last fall.

    Thankfully this is a local show for me so I covered my expenses and netted a couple hundred net profit. I'll continue working on new work and see if I can get this show again solid for me.
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