Blog

discussions (4)

Changing the format of posting on ArtFairInsiders.com

Posted by Connie Mettler on September 28, 2017 at 6:30pm

Hello all of you who over the last 8-10 years have been generous to share your ideas, show reviews, tips and stories in the Blog here on ArtFairInsiders.com. During this time over 6000 posts have been added to this blog. Impressed? I know I am ... however ...

Changing times means even AFI needs to make some changes now and then. Starting today if you come to this site to add a blog post will you please instead post it in the "Discussions?" 

I hope by moving the blogs to the discussions area it will make it easier for the members to read and respond and keep the conversation going. This is a test. Let's see if it works.

In the meantime, where would this site have been without you? I hate to start naming names, but I'd guess the champion blogger is Nels Johnson. Melanie Rolfes has really kept us up to date in recent years, Richard Sherer reports in on every show he does ... That is such a short list, I'm embarrassed to start. 

See you in the "Discussions." Click here and then click on "ADD", write it up, then choose the category you want it to be in ... who's first?

Read more…

My Mistake! Please Resume Normal Activity

Posted by Connie Mettler on October 11, 2017 at 7:30am

Well, it seemed worth a try but after wrestling with trying to move blogs to the discussions I'm now thinking, not such a good idea. Sorry to have caused confusion, please revert to the old ways: blog posts in the blogs and discussions in the discussion forum.

Here is a rule though: NO tent sales in the blog. Put them in the "for sale or trade" section in discussions. Please.

Read more…

Changes at Art Fair Insiders - Part II

Posted by Connie Mettler on November 4, 2009 at 4:45pm
There is so much interesting content pouring in here that there is no way I can keep up with it so I have instituted some changes to make it easier for us all. Thank you everyone for your participation! 1. A good way to keep up with the particular discussions you are interested in is to click on the "Follow-Email me" link at the bottom of all Forum discussions. This will tell the system to automatically email you when people respond to topics you find interesting. It's a great time saver. 2. I have again reorganized the discussions area (forum). I hope it makes sense to you and I'm still looking for feedback on it. Don't forget the "follow me" at the bottom. 3. I kept missing new details on the show reviews section because people were posting them in two different places, the blog and the show reviews. So this afternoon I closed down the "show reviews" and copied the archives into the blog. Well, actually I didn't, but my trusty tech guy did. The advantage of having the show reviews as blog posts is that you can add photos, links to sites and also add "tags" at the bottom so we all 1116310745FSO41q.jpgcan search the site for information more easily. 4. It is time for a little trickle of income on the site so the classifieds are no longer free. As of today it is $25 to post a classified ad. Heck, if you sell your van here, or your laptop, or your Flourish canopy it might be worth $25 to you. I'm sure you will understand. The above is just part of what I was working on in Los Angeles this past week with my Internet guru, Scott Fox. We also did a lot of google analytics stuff and worked on marketing issues, all of which will bring better exposure to the site and useful tools to you. Let me know how this all looks to you. Comment below. We are listening!
Read more…

Top Ten Blog Posts for 2009

Posted by Connie Mettler on December 28, 2009 at 1:30pm
Art Fair Insiders has been a busy place this year. Here are my choices for the top posts. Do you agree with these choices? 1. Here are some great examples of artists being their own promoters and drumming up their own customers in trying circumstances. Great job, Maria Arango. 2. Many thanks to glassblower Renee Engebretson for her reports on the Des Moines Art Festival and Denver's Cherry Creek Art Festival. 3. R.C. Fulwiler's moving tribute to the loss of Michael Craven to cancer. We also lost ceramicist Nick Rostagno, photographer John Peer, and painter Kevin Finnerty. 4. Art fair patron Geri Wegner gives artists a fresh perspective in " From the Outside Looking In." 5. Artist Jacki Jacobson's thoughtful post: 21 Facts abut Selling at a Street Fair. Sort of a scary photo taken by Bill Sargent at an evening fair.... 6. Can you imagine this? "Artists Behaving Badly at Art Fairs" 7. Looking at all the empty real estate at the nation's malls has brought art to the mall. Can Art Save the Mall? 8. Show reviews Archives includes information for over thirty events, big ones and little ones. Interested in finding a specific show review? Type the name of the event in the "search" box at the top of this page and you can retrieve the results. 9. Michelle Sholund tells us " How to become an expert of doing "Bad" art shows." Nels Johnson's photo of a crowd at a fair -- do you think there will be much buying happening here? 10. And, it's a good thing some artists not only do lots of art fairs but they write about them! So many great articles this year from photographer Nels Johnson who entertains us from Florida to Texas, to Chicago, to Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Ann Arbor, etc. I particularly liked his report on the art fair that he went to a week late, in Perrysburg, OH. Coupled with lots of pertinent fair details he also takes us on a culinary voyage of the art cities and their various tequila bars. Thanks, Nels. Can't wait to see where you take us in 2010. Nels Johnson comments on artists moving into the Internet Age: In the Old Days we sat in our vans and smoked numbers, now we are smoking on our computers! Fabulous discussion boards led by the best discussion of the year by Linda Anderson, regaling us with her struggles with the Edina Art Fair, her communications with the committee and the outcome. And how about these? " Can you survive financially on your art fair income alone?" Ron Mellott's discussion: Art shows: Who is doing it well? What needs to be done? Rising Booth Fees - started by Bobbie Matus And please contribute to this discussion: Wrap up of the 2009 art fair season. We'd love to hear your take on it! We've reported on the art fair business including the great (and not so great) sales in Texas - Ft. Worth and La Villita, the moving and hopefully consequent rejuvenation of Arts, Beats & Eats, the new art fair directors in Omaha, Columbus and Ann Arbor, prize winners at Winter Park, stolen paintings in Des Moines. Laughed and cried at the convolutions of entrepreneurism at its best -- the art fairs of the U. S. Wishing you a great year!
Read more…

Featured Blog Posts

Latest Blog Posts

Most Popular Blog Posts