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The Naples Fall Fine Art & Craft show (for the detailed 2011 review, click here) gives us SW Florida artists a way to make some dough without driving cross-state to shows in Delray Beach (Howard Alan) or Titusville (Space Coast).  Plus, it's small (down a bit from 2011, at just over 70 artists) and low-stress (with an optional Friday evening, drive-to-your-space setup).  Who wants a long, hard grind on a holiday weekend? 

As of a week before the show, I hadn't received any jury results from the much larger, better known Naples shows coming later in the season.  Most of the snowbirds won't arrive until after Christmas, but for all I knew, this would be my one and only chance to tap this well-heeled market, even if its timing isn't optimal.

This is not a heavily attended show, even though the weather couldn't have been better. Crowds were steady on Saturday, but I wouldn't call the streets crowded by any stretch.  As in 2011, Saturday attendees were in "browse mode": I saw VERY few packages being carried around, and I wound up the day barely covering the $300 booth fee.  Several artists pulled out overnight.

On Sunday, crowds were lighter, but there was a bit more buying energy, at least in my booth.  I took a few orders for Gallery Wraps a bit smaller than the 30x20s I display.  At Sunday afternoon, though, I was barely nudging four figures, and several of my neighbors (2-D artists, all) were getting by on small reproduction sales, if that. 

At 5 pm, I hadn't seen any of the "be-backs" who were going home to measure the walls, show my website to their spouses, or (the phrase of the weekend) "need to think about it".  Then, just as I started stripping the walls, cell phones started ringing in my booth and my neighbors'.  Dave Frutko, a beautiful abstract painter (who also, incidentally, runs the sold-out St. Pete Holiday show next month) sold a piece over $3K.  Another neighbor (also an abstract painter) sold one for $1300.  And I took orders for two canvases and a 4- by 3-foot print that added nearly a grand to my total.  

So, the bottom line turned out not so bad after all.  But it was a bit more of a nail-biter than most would expect in Naples.

The show couldn't be easier to do, and it was pleasantly and efficiently run by the von Liebig Art Center and show director Marianne Megala.  Check-in was quick; goodie bags were full; load-in was quick and easy.  The center's marketing/PR director was on-site much of the show, and took the unusual step of handing out a multi-page flier detailing the show's promotion and advertising schedule to each artist.  Marianne greeted artists by name, made sure everyone had a goodie bag, and stopped by each booth on Sunday to thank artists for attending.  And booth-sitters were around both days to provide breaks. 

Still, one couldn't help wondering: with all the effort put in to marketing the show, why weren't the crowds and sales bigger?  The $4 "suggested donation" may have deterred some, but probably not that many: After all, this is Naples. 

I think a bigger problem is the venue, which is a bit of an "outlier".  This show isn't on trendy, bustling 5th Avenue, but a street several blocks east, bordered on the east by a large undeveloped lot that provides easy patron and artist parking but not much in the way of ambiance. On the south sits heavily-trafficked, six-lane US 41 (Tamiami Trail), which veers east from the downtown area, and the upscale establishments haven't yet followed it.  As a consequence, visitors to Naples don't head east on Tamiami Trail from downtown unless they're headed to Marco Island, the Everglades or the East Coast. 

The venue isn't a show-killer by any stretch.  But it may put a "cap" on the attendance, and (for artists not struck by "last minute lightning", anyway) the amount of money to be made here.  To its credit, von Liebig markets this show as an off-season event, with a booth fee ($300) that's much lower than its January-through-March offerings.  Overall, this show can be decent for local and regional artists, but it's not a sure bet for out-of-state artists hoping for the kind of return on investment they could get here during peak season.