Fall (5)

The Fall Craft Season Local Wrap-Up

As some of you know, I have a fine art painting habit which takes me to up to 20 events per year. As we all know, art shows are rediculously expensive when you note the entry fees, entry preparation costs, travel expenses, booth fees, sales tax collection and income tax filing requirements.. Since I sell nothing but originals, getting to the point of my work being self supporting has not yet arrived despite my years of doing summ outdoor events..So when my nearly full-time part-time day job evaporated when it became inconvenient for my former employer to allow me to have the time to do summer art shows on the weekends, I had to come up with some sort of an income stream to replace the money I was making at Home Depot (they treat and pay their average employee like a roman galley slave and most of their products come from the people's republic...buy from the other guys)....So I started to make and sell scented soy jar candles. I make an all-soy candle with no dyes or other additives and I put it in a very plain package. They have been well-received. I do several events with the candles where my wife works the candle booth and I work the art booth. The promoters for these events are very accommodating and will often place us side by side. These events are usually in the early spring and early fall. Then I do a crazy 12-15 weekend season where my wife and I are doing 1-3 events per weekend. This runs until the 2nd or at best 3rd weekend in December. Then it's sleepy time/art show applications until spring.The fall craft show season is a whole bunch of one day events for the most part which have table fees of less than $100. Many are churches, synogogues, and high schools. Average attendance is under 5000 people But, I think I had a great fall season thanks to all my repeat customers, phone orders and wholesale orders...if any of you are out there reading this, Thank You! I am sure that I made more in 15 weekends than I did doing art shows all summer.. Especially if you look at net profits after expenses... No overnight travel, lower mileages, lower cost of goods....Along the way, I noted some things:1) the local craft show scene is awash in wearables. I see a some of the 'jewelers' that I see on the summer show circuit plus the next crop of summer show 'jewelers' at these events. I also see a lot of folks trying their hands at women's wearables. The jeweler all complain that there are too many jewelers at the events. I ask them, well, what are you going to make to sell which will get you out of the over-supplied category. They all expect the other folks to get out off the business for them so they will be one of the few survivors. Makes sense to me....2) Buy/sell is officially prohibited at most events, but the events are awash in it. I did an event in Delaware which has a lot of documentation requirements to participate, including submission of raw material receipts, workshop images, paperwork, restrictive contract..... So I get there and someone has bought a 10 space suite of booths and is vending a total obvious buy/sell paradise. Then I look around and see multiple 3-4 booth 'suites' which are more of the same...The promoter is surprised when I complain and later asks how to spot it..... It's a good event for me and it's her first year doing this event as chair, so we do a little touristing and chat. Hopefully, she brings the hammer with her next fall and does a 'Carrie Nation' on these folks before ejecting them. There was no stomach for it this year.3) times must be getting harder for the promoters. More and more of them are allowing 'consultants' and 'vendors' into their events to fill the available spots. There are no end of these folks...cosmetics, candles, jewelry, fashion, and food.... the number of franchisees and consultants is increasing...again, the focus is on the female customers who make up the bulk of the attendees who buy anything. One promoter simply announced that it was too hard/too much trouble to screen out buy/sell, so they were no longer trying..As long as I am making a profit, I will keep doing these events, but there will soon either be a reckoning in the wearables division, or one group will fade, with another eager group to take their place (more likely). The promoters would be hard pressed to fill their events with original craft if all the jewelers and wearables makers dropped out..
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OR, WHAT I DID NOT KNOW BEFORE THE SHOW

Not too long ago I requested information about this show and received one response.  I was surprised as this is a large show.

That prompted me to share my experience in hopes of helping other artists make informed decisions.  

My Medium:  Ceramic Sculptures (Cats)

My Price Points:  $250 - $700

Weather:  Hot and humid Saturday, rain on and off Sunday

Patrons:  Saturday:  steady flow but not a crowd, Sunday:  Thin traffic due to the weather.  In general, the public seemed apathetic

In spite of the weather and lack luster traffic I had a terrific show, although there were many artists that had marginal to zero sales.  The mood of the artists was mostly grim, at least on my street.  So my success was an exception rather than the rule.  Sadly, the buying mood of the public and the weather cannot be predicted with any accuracy. 

              

ACCEPTANCE - SELECTING A LOCATION

Once accepted you are requested to select the location you want.  This really stumped me as I had never done the show or even been in the area.  Also, not all locations have electricity.  What I thought to be the prime location (around a pond) had an early load in with 75 spaces available.  By the time I got to this point of the process, all of those spaces were full.  So I just tossed a dart and selected Walker St.  This turned out to be a good choice as the parks (cement pond and heritage) did not get as much traffic as the streets, or so it seemed to me.

LOAD IN

Oh my!

The cement pond and heritage park artists were able to load in around 4 pm, they are required to dolly in.

 My load in time was at 8 pm and they recommended we bring some sort of light in the event the street lights were obscured by trees as was the case in some locations.  We were OK, but I would bring "head lights" next time.  At 7 pm Friday they had us stage at some parking lot far away from the actual show (or so it seemed due to the horrible one way streets which were always going the wrong way).  Artists that donated to "Art Heist" lined up first for a 7:30 load in - then the 8 pm load in - and finally the 8:30 load in.

There was no staff present at 7 pm so most of us were milling around wondering what to do.  We were originally informed that we would have a police escort to our locations.  The staff showed around 7:30, got everyone sorted out and off we went - oops, where were we going . . .no escort, and we got stopped at a light a lost sight of the van in front of us.  But we were able to catch up, and were directed to the proper lane for our street.  With big color coded cards and color coded light sticks, this went smoothly.

We thought that there were not very many artists at the staging area and learned that "those in the know" skipped the staging and went directly to their street. Fortunately it did not present a problem for us and we had no problem locating our space and began setting up.

The booth spaces are located on both sides of the street, one side backs up on the cement pond, and the other side backs up on a steep berm, I think that is the east side.  But you cannot select which side of the street you are on.  Also the street slopes down to the curbs, so plan on leveling as needed.

Booth spaces are about 10.5' wide, no wiggle room at all.  Fortunately, not everyone tried to set up at 8 pm so there was a bit of room to maneuver, however you can imagine the congestion with a 10 ' space available for each artist to park their vehicle when many vehicles are twice that long. There is parking on both sides of the street, but it does get tight depending on your vehicle.  No one parks and unloads their display in the "allotted" hour or two. We all jockeyed around to accommodate the "big rigs" and it was not too bad.  We were there until 11 pm with many artists still setting up.  We were back at 7 am to complete our display.  So, it is an exhausting set up.

THE SHOW

I encountered no problems during the show.  Staff came by frequently to provide water, snacks, and relief as needed.  If you make prior arrangements, lunch is delivered for a fee.  Portable pottys are located conveniently. Judges made their usual "fly by" and did not deign to talk to me.  But that was OK, I had a great show.

LOAD OUT

We were provided with the usual load out instructions - start tearing down at 6 pm, wait for the patrons to clear, and plan to start driving in around 7-7:30 (once we got our Street Captain's OK).

However, due to the weather (even though the rain had stopped) we got the OK to start breaking down around 5:30 and drove to our space once everything was dismantled and ready to load.  This went surprisingly smooth even though we had to pause to jockey our position to allow other vehicles room to pass or park.  Our tear down is usually slow because of packing up the product, but we were on the road by 8:30.

Oh yes, the early load in folks did not have such an easy load out due to limited parking.

OTHER STUFF

Bring bug repellent.  Lots of mosquitoes and flys.

Great underground parking at the Theater District for $7 per day.  Exits to Walker and a short walk to our booth.  Artist parking is really removed from the show, and no shuttle was provided.

Crown Plaza was an acceptable hotel, although a bit pricey.  Even with "free valet parking" be prepared to tip the valet, frequently.  There is no other parking at the hotel.

Bring a fan.  It can be hot in October.

Of course, the staff may change any of the procedures that I have shared with you, but maybe there will be some information here that will be helpful.

It was a positive experience and I thought the staff did a pretty darn good job.

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First off I am a lover of Trimline and will always be.  You will see why I say so further in this post.

 

So it all started 1 week ago when on a sunny yet windy day I got out my trimline to wash it.  Go through the steps of setting it up - never had an issue with this as I can pretty much do it in about 15 - 20 mins. on my own.  I did not rush doing this - in my backyard - as I wasn't setting up for a show.  With the roof on and fairly firmly attached I raised the legs and started to attach the sides to then spray with suds then hose them down.   Just as I got the sides up and about to attach them to the legs a big gust of wind came through.  That time I was able to get it to not fly off.  But just as I was going to try and anchor it, it fell backwards shearing off the joint where the leg and the corner of the roof beams attach.  The one bar did bend as well as the other joint - you should be able to see in the picture - faintly circled in red.  So all in all through this crazy experience the only damage were the two joints and one pole - no legs, no sides, nothing else was damaged.  Lucky.

 

This led me to really thank my lucky stars that this didn't happen at a show.  I have insurance - that wouldn't be an issue, but the horror of seeing this happen effecting possibly every neighbor beside me and behind me is something I cannot shake.  I have never had this happen - a flying canopy.   I have seen it at nearly every show I have done.  I am fully aware of the importance of anchoring a canopy and do so, but all it takes is a split second. 

 

Having said this - it is my fault that I did this - not Trimline.  So many times people quickly blame the canopy or some other thing/place.  And am thankful this was with a trimline as with any other canopies I have used you would most likely have to replace it - parts can be expensive and they might not be in (as such was the case with an EZ-UP I had two years ago).  The two joints are only $20 each and the one bar that got bent was about $30.  Also, if the same thing were to happen to any other canopy it wouldn't have been a lot more damage - legs broken, fabric torn, etc. 

 

So, today I am thanking my lucky stars that I did not set up my booth with in the toppled over canopy, this didn't happen at a fair, and the show I was going to do was a rain or shine event when the tornadoes hit and chose to not go forfeiting my booth fee.  Still have no idea if the show actually happened.  The show, funny enough was infront of a courthouse.  The best thing ever was this happened in my own back yard and with a Trimline.  Now if you want to do the same thing as me: 

1.  Set up your canopy when it is windy without any help - any other weather conditions it is easily doable.

2.  As soon as the legs are on, do not anchor it - it can be done later.  (yes there is sarcasm hidden in here)

3.  Do not properly secure the top - I did the corners and the "seat buckle" straps as instructed, but didn't do the ones on the sides where you would normally attach the sides.

4.  Put the sides on only having used the zippers on the top to create a wind-tunnel to help give the canopy lift. 

5.  Sit back and watch the kite fly. 

 

In all seriousness - if you are to take anything from this lesson, anchor your canopies and if for some reason you find you can't do it in time, always alway always make sure you have insurance.   The good news, the customer service with trimline is impeccable and got my parts Monday - I am good to go for this Saturday show - on pavement - with anchors already packed.  

- Michelle, By the Bay Botanicals

www.bythebaybotanicals.com

www.quickcraftartisttips.blogspot.com

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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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Back from another festival - my thoughts...

Greetings all! I am back from another festival and pretty tired still. I did the Westminster Fall Festival this past weekend - don't have any photos of it as I left my camera at home this time. It was a pretty bad show and attribute most of it due to the rain. There was advertising and all that good stuff, but with the extra distractions (rides and commercial vendors having better visibility) it just wasn't anything to write home about. I knew all of this going into the event, and in the past the crowds have been big (anticipating a good buying crowd despite the distractions). Everyone seemed to suffer except some food vendors (and people who sold dips). But I chalk that all up to passing this event for another next year. The good news is it was close to home and with the rain pouring hard at the end of the day Saturday the management choose to close the event early - saved 1 1/2 hours of being miserable in the rain. What baffled me was a HUGE number of people who haven't done shows before exhibiting there and having no clue the responsibilities that go into owning a canopy. I don't need to get into it as I am sure many of you have mental pictures from your own experiences of what heavy rains and high winds can do to canopies, but it did occur at this festival and thankful none of those parties damaged my work. I am still so happy making the choice of going with my Trimline and even got a few other serious exhibitors interested in the design of it.My Food/Beverage Report... I didn't have anything of the alcoholic nature although was very much in the mood for it after being drenched from the rain while zipping up my sides . However, found a neat small authentic Mexican restaurant 1 block from where the event took place. There were about enough room for 10-12 tables and neat decor. I settled with a very good chimichanga - the service was really good. I was all set for a glass of Sangria but not on their menu. For the life of me, I can't recall the name of the restaurant. There aren't any sushi places in the area and only one pub, but since I didn't make any money at the event settling for Mexican one night and Sunday Panera Bread - which am now in love with their new chicken salad sandwich.I am really looking forward to my next show, The Darlington Apple Festival. Bring on the big crowds and good weather as I have consistently have growing sales each time I attend it. Will report on all my findings soon.
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