Blog

I have completed my first year on the art fair circuit. I still feel like someone who has many more questions than answers. However I do want to give back to this site which has been so very informative for me during this time of extreme growing pains.

I am a fiber artist who creates 2D work which look much like paintings. I use mostly recycled fabric which I overdye.  I didn't know what to expect from a "clearance sale" .After a year of trial and error I felt I had plenty to clear out from my studio. This show apparently has a significant following.

The load in and load out were magnificently easy. We were able to pull our van straight into the expo center and unload. My booth was very close by. It doesn't get any easier. The staff was helpful. They were easily found and gave me my informational materials. They provided coffee in the mornings. There was storage provided in the expo center but it is not around your booth. It's a bit of a walk. There is a 10x10 space allotted for your booth.

The expectations of booths were lower as it was a clearance sale so things were not super fancy. Many people used makeshift sale signs. I was amazed that people came to the show at all. The weather was miserable with ice and snow both days. There were several thousand people over both days and people were there to buy and get a bargain. Everyone was asking for discounts which was fine with me at a sale like this.

The quality of the art was high and looked like many of the artists who attend Winterfair. I walked around a few times and saw a potters booth with a 70% off sign- he had 3 pieces left on the shelf. I had a respectable weekend. Less than what I initially hoped for but significantly better than I expected with such bad weather. I hope to get in the show again next year. If the sun were shining I think the potential is there to clear out the old art and clean up on sales. Have a great day!

Sharon

Attention traveling Artists! (or anybody needing a HOTEL room)

If you have to hit the road to participate in art shows, fairs, festivals, gallery openings, seminars, conferences, or any other reason that requires an overnight stay...

...this card trick is for you.

Combine the cost-saving benefits of using Priceline.com...

...with the additional tool of TheBiddingTraveler.com.

Assuming you like saving money and getting a decent stay for a great rate then you are probably already a big fan of Priceline.com...notwithstanding the quirky, punching pitch-ster, William Shatner.

TheBiddingTraveler acts like an Ace-in-the-hole to give you the advantage during on-line negotiations.

They aggregate all the recent winning bids (and the rejected bids) for specific hotels, giving your bidding strategy the edge.  Kind of like getting to peek at the other guys cards.

Other sites claim to offer this information but I particularly like the simple navigation of this web site.  On the first visit it was easy to use and aligned with the same 'definitions and formats' as Priceline, for hotel ratings, zones, and maps.

Beyond the option of manually entering your bid, you can also choose a nifty Autobid feature.  Simply enter your lowball bid and your 'final offer' highest bid...you can leave the table and let The Computer play out the hand for you, thereby 'managing' the different timeline rules Priceline has for re-bids.  Autobid starts low and automatically raises it in increments until a bid is accepted or the final offer is rejected.

Consider the combination of Priceline and TheBiddingTraveler and you really can get winning hands of 60%+ off normal hotel rates. Hey, a 3-star Hyatt Place in Birmingham for the low $40's/night ain't too bad.

Sort of tickles the left-side of my brain...my wife the artist, just says..."make sure they have good beds".