This was the first time exhibiting for me in Loring Park.The weather was great, sunny and around 80.
It rained a bit in the morning the first day but then cleared up. The attendance was pretty good...but certainly not crowded. I had people bee-line into my booth from the center walkway to ask me questions and talked my head off all day to so many that passed by. From that standpoint it was really fun. The interest seemed to be there, but, alas, I didn't see anybody pulling out their wallet to make a purchase. Yes there was the older crowd there that thought I was a museum, but there was money around too. I also have never been to a show that had so many men attend, which I also thought would be good.
My sales were really disappointing. I barely broke even, and only sold one "medium" priced piece that was undervalued, and two smaller items, and all were on Saturday. Again, I had so much interest and was working my booth, and although I had incredible conversations with several hundred people and couples, most didn't pan out.
The location for the show is incredible and the promoters and layout is fantastic. The weather was great, and the attitude was very upbeat. My prices were exceptional and the traffic was pretty good. However, at least for painting, there was not a lot for sales. Other painters I spoke to were experiencing similar results. Several artists next to me, photographers, fabrics, all stated that this show generated half of last year, which was down. One featured artist (like myself BTW) said she did well. Her art was really good, being 3-D lady figures that hang on the wall. Her prices were excellent in my opinion (undervalued), but she was really happy as a first time exhibitor.
So, what went wrong? A week earlier in Bayfield, WI, I had a bang up show! I figured since we were among an age group from 30-50, this show would be really good. The reviews and comments from former artists all liked this show, so it appeared to be a must do. All I can figure is that a bigger force is weighing down on this and many other art shows...meaning economic concerns. Art is not a necessity, gas is.
Loring Park show is on the same weekend as Powerhorn and Uptown, both in the Minneapolis area market. I haven't heard how those went, but hope to see people chime in. I spoke to artists that plan on doing a different venue next year, and to would like to find out how the other shows in Minneapolis went. I am still undecided, as it may be too early to "judge".
As for the quality of art, well, frankly being biased and high minded, I thought that there was a lot of OK art there, and quite a few "pork chop on a stick" vendors. There were some really good artists there too. A lot of variety, and I didn't see anything suspicious.
I liked the show. I met some really wonderful artists there, many being so helpful. I come away with good feelings about that, but disappointed feelings for all the work I put into this show with such dismal results.
Again, others please chime in on this and other Minneapolis shows this weekend.
