Blog

This was a beautiful venue on the canal in Fashion Square Mall.  Setup on Thursday started at 10am and I was able to park close to my booth space to unload and setup.  Beautiful weather all three days and sales were good for most artists that I talked to with a few not so good.  Friday traffic was kind of slow and no sales.  Saturday traffic was slow until after the Parada Del Sol parade then it picked up and sold one of my higher priced items at $1,500 and a few smaller sales.  Sunday traffic was a slow start an sales were good for my lower priced items.  In summary my sales were good and would do this show again.  Thunderbird Artists did a great job organizing this event, they had golf carts with trailers to help artists that needed it during setup, security was excellent and they made sure everyone followed the rules which made for a great show.

June 11 & 12

• Qualified buyers
• cash awards
• overnight security & free parking
• Artist breakfast

Arts, Beats & Eats - Royal Oak, MI - Labor Day Weekend

Some of you may know that I used to be part of the "Art" at Arts, Beats & Eats. I came from a background of being the schlepper at the art fairs as my husband showed his work. One day when I was helping run the show I watched a fine man sweating his a__ off pushing a dolly up the street laden with his wife's art. 

How many times had I done that? That winter someone left a dolly behind at an art fair so I confiscated it, painted it gold and added "jewels." We presented the 1st "Golden Dolly Award" (plus a check) to that man. The next year it went to Mike Strailey, then Carol Weber, etc. You never heard of those folks? That's because they are the "woman behind the man."

Each winner added his/her touch and this year Nate Burch (assistant to photographer Jan Kaulins), last year's winner, did it up very well and presented it at the Artists' Breakfast to Jeff Kutno who hauls his brother's (Phil Kutno) "stuff" at the shows. 

Many thanks to all those wonderful people who help us look good. Congrats to this year's winner.

The rest of the prizewinners at Arts, Beats & Eats:

Best in Show:  Carl Crawford, Columbia, SC - Mixed Media  

1st. Place:  David Barkby, Dover, PA - Wood

2nd. Place:  Michael George, Scottsdale, AZ - Sculpture

3rd. Place:  Sidney Carter, Powder Springs, GA - Painting

5 Awards of Excellence:

1.  James Parker, Rochester Hills, MI - Photography 

2.  Don and Serena David, Cleveland, OH - Jewelry

3.  Jack Valentine, Akron, OH - Ceramics

4.  Meredith Kuntsch, Lago Vista TX - Painting 

5.  John Wayne Jackson, Black Mt. - Sculpture 

Spirit of the City:  Debbie LaPratt, Commerce Twp., MI - Ceramics

Golden Dolly (Best Helper):  James Kutno, Phil's brother, Tucson, AZ

Street Judges:  Sara Shambarger, former Director of Krasl Fine Art Show, St. Joseph, MI

George Barfield - Former Consultant from Krasl also

Jurying for a total cash amount of $7,500 spread over all categories.

This years Stone Harbor was not a good show for me at all.  Unfortunately, it was my first show ever.  After speaking with other artists, many of them were saying sales were very slow this year.  I barely paid my booth fee.  Did not sell enough to pay for my hotel.  The parking for vendors was insufficient.  There was nothing done for the artists at all.  (i.e. name tags, water bottles...)  Don't think much advertising was done for the show because it just wasn't the usual crowd according to return vendors.  We had to submit a lot of documentation to the jury to get in, yet there were still buy/sell vendors there.  Very frustrating.  I wish I had paid closer attention to the previous vendor comments.  Seems like things have been declining for several years.  The folks putting on the show may say they want to improve it, but they aren't doing enough.  The organizers were very hard to contact.  I left three messages, never returned a call back.  This should have been a sign.

Just curious if anyone on this website has anything else to add.  

So, Maple and Main Art Fair in Sylvania, Ohio was a tale of two different days; May 30 and 31. With this being my fourth time in the show, I had my highest sales of any of the four years. Saturday was nice and dry and I hit $1000 on that day. Sunday was mostly rainy and I just go up to $70. The volunteers there are great! They handed us water, baked goods, bananas and gave us restroom breaks. I happy to do Maple and Main for I used to live in Sylvania, Ohio back in the day. Here is a picture of the rainy Sunday...

It is not so often that we can report on a show doing the right thing, or the generous thing, for an artist so I felt it was incumbent upon me to report such a deed done well.

Last year I reported on my inability to attend a show (Grand Junction Art and Jazz) due to the death of my spouse's father on the weekend. I had emailed them to that effect and later followed up with a request for a possible booth fee refund due to the circumstances. The show's coordinator said she was unable to do anything at that time but would contact the shows director and see what could be done. Perhaps my booth fee could be used for next years show. Long story short nothing happened at that time, never heard back.

Fast forward a year...

It's time to apply for the Grand Junction Art and Jazz Festival again. I write to the same event coordinator, remind her of the circumstances from last year send it off and wait for a reply. I receive an email reply which, in effect says that yes, she remembers the circumstances and that YES, my booth fee can be applied to this years show and in effect I am pre-accepted to the show all I have to do is send in the application so that they have it for their records.

If that isn't doing things the right way I don't know what is! Kudos to Robin Brown, Special Events Coordinator and the Grand Junction Art and Jazz Festival! Thanks again.

January 17 & 18
Venice, Florida
Venice Airport Festival Grounds
Saturday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Sunday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
200 Exhibitors
Deadline: December 1

NOTEWORTHY:

• Independently juried event
• Cash Awards
• Exhibitors may park immediately behind their booth in most cases
• Long history of excellent sales
• Jury/Booth Fees ($30/$240); double size spaces available at extra cost
• Friday set up and drive up to your space to unload
• Artist amenities include morning coffee and donuts and a Saturday evening buffet meal.
• Overnight 24 Hour security on Friday and Saturday nights
• For more details about the show visit www.venicenokomisrotary.org

This highly regarded festival offers artists the opportunity to present their fine art and craft in a high traffic area during the busiest time of the winter season.  Venice, a few miles south of Sarasota is populated by upper-income residents and affluent seasonal visitors.  Qualify of the work exhibited attracts knowledgeable art lovers and buyers.  Venice is a historically significant community with an established commitment to the arts going back to the days when the Ringling Circus wintered in Venice.   

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

We were excited to get in to this fair because we believed the reviews that it was truly a fine art fair. It is not. 

Although the show is well run and people really did their best to be helpful, the prevalence of booths filled with inexpensive craft items, especially in our row, hurt our ability to sell more expensive one-of-a-kind glass art. 

Positives about the show? Helpful staff, very good entertainment on main stage [only once was the volume enough to interfere with conversations with potential customers], a beautiful setting, easy loading, and a great value on a cooperating hotel. The promotional campaign is very strong and brings lots of people, as do the main stage acts, which seem to attract the families and friends of the local performers. And no dogs are allowed in the park during the show, which seems to invite more attention to booths.

Negatives? If we were the only ones to have poor sales, I would assume it was our work and that we were a mismatch. We talked with lots of artists with similar price points, however, and only one was having a successful show. When we spoke with artists who had been there before [with one notable exception], their sales were down. We're not knocking crafters -- our neighbors could not have been nicer. We just think that if we had been in a row full of higher-priced items, we might have done better. People spent time in our booth looking at our work, but our sales were abysmal, which has not been as true at other shows. Another negative: the hours are unnecessarily long: Friday night 4-7:30, Saturday 9-7, and Sunday 9-4. 

We did have a fierce storm on Friday night, and the staff and fire and police departments were attentive and helpful about closing the show down early. That didn't necessarily help sales, and the ground was damp all weekend, but there were crowds there nonetheless. 

We can't help but wonder if this show is living on its past reputation. Apparently it once was a first-rate fine art show, but now they seem to be adding a fair number of craft booths.

Suggestion: If you choose to do this show, ask for a booth in the main upper section, above the sidewalk. That had the best array of fine art and heavy foot traffic.

I am reaching out to this amazing community to get feedback from artists who participate in Art, Beats & Eats in Royal Oak, Michigan.

It looks like the latest review is from 2011, and I wanted to know if anyone has feedback who participated in 2012 and 2013.  I think the potential is huge - but so is the commitment.

Thanks so much!

Kelli

I was in the Detroit area but just couldn't break away from a family wedding to go check out Arts, Beats, and Eats.  As I traveled around between Trenton to West Bloomfield and back and Trenton to Ypsilanti and back I kept hearing one report after another about Arts, Beats, and Eats.  I can't tell you how many times I heard it mentioned on the radio.  I was thinking about you all there and just thought you might like to know that that is just about all they seemed to talk about on that radio station. 

My son was also in town for Jazz Fest in Detroit.  He also mentioned hearing about ABE while at the Jazz Fest.

Jim Parker was featured in an article written building up to the start of ABE.  You might like to see what they wrote about Jim and see a few of his photos.

http://www.paragonapartments.com/blog/2012/08/23/arts-beats-eats-artist-preview-jim-parker-turns-his-hobby-into-a-career/

Can anyone let us know what you thought of the Art portion of ABE this year?  How did things go for you? 

August 31-September 3 

Happy buyers at Arts, Beats & Eats

Royal Oak, Michigan
Downtown Streets
155 Artists
Deadline: April 10

We invite you  to apply to the 15th annual Arts, Beats & Eats. This festival is the "go-to" event  that heralds the end of summer in metro Detroit, hosting more than  300,000 visitors who come to enjoy the amazing diversity of art, music  and food in a cool urban setting.

This event is held in Oakland County, which is the  third-wealthiest county in the nation (including cities such as  Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills and Rochester).

The 155  artists chosen to participate come from across the country to join our  celebration. Being an art fair artist is a demanding business. A  professional staff awaits your arrival and we look forward to welcoming  you with perks such as vigorous volunteers, easy set up and take down, good cash awards, free food and beverage tickets and personal attention  to particular needs.

New this year:

• A lower number of artists than in 2011
• reduced exhibit space prices
• an enhanced layout with varied price  structures
• easier load in and load out
• improved parking access, and  much more!

This year we  will miss Connie Mettler, who has left to pursue

People love this festival

full time her commitment to artists through her various websites. Good Luck to you Connie!

We are pleased to add Donna Beaubien who has joined us as our new Associate Art Director to our Art Team. Donna comes to us from a long history as an artist and a director of art fairs, such as the Art  Fair Chair for the Guild; Art Fair Birmingham, Meadowbrook, Greektown, and the Village of Rochester Hills Art Shows. Welcome Donna!

We know you  are aware of the challenging economic times throughout the nation and in  Michigan, but we want to reassure you that we are committed to meeting  your needs and bringing you the audience you deserve. Ford Arts, Beats & Eats has been one of the few festivals that has been able to sustain a fine arts component over 14 years, and the event's recent move to Royal Oak and limited number of booth spaces, positions it as one of the top potential sales spots for artists anywhere.

Our  promotion is considered among the best of art festivals

nationwide. You  cannot be in the metropolitan Detroit area on Labor Day weekend without seeing specials about the arts activities on television, hearing artists' interviews on the radio stations and reading comprehensive feature articles in the press, directed solely to the juried fine arts show.

Buyers of all ages

**********************

Looking for more art fairs for your 2012 season?

Visit www.CallsforArtists.com

June 2 & 3
Deerfield, Illinois
Deerfield Festival of Fine Arts
Deerfield Road and Park Avenue
Presented by: Deerfield Fine Arts Commission & Village of Deerfield

Debbie Netter is proud to announce the 10th Anniversary of the Deerfield Fine Arts Festival.  Ms. Netter, President and founder of D & W, has 20+ years of organizing events and knows how to make it less stressful for everyone!

Held in town, busy city-like atmosphere
- Approximately 125 artists
- 10th year festival
- Median home price - $825,000

Top reasons to consider this show: (not in order of importance!)

1. Well run, organized and fun!
2. Attentive artist hospitality including booth sitters, hot and iced coffee both days, continental break fast both days, indoor restroom facilities, bottled water delivered to you frequently throughout the show, discounted hotel rates, overnight security
   
3. Booth fees for all shows remains at $300.00, and jury fee, $35.00. Larger booths and corners available for an additional fee
4. Wonderful attendance from a higher economic buying crowd
5. Advertising intrinsically placed to capture the high to middle economic crowd
6. Easy load in and out
7. Promoter who cares and will implement your suggestions
8. Apply easily on line through Entry Thingy
9. Smaller show means less artist competition
10. Juried and judged by industry professionals

What artists say about D & W Events, Inc.:

Hi has anyone done this show? I am looking for some shows to do in FL in Feb and March that I can still get into.

I am a painter and I live in Atlanta. Thanks!