Blog

Public Art Project on Tour in Basel, Manfred Kielnhofer

Shared by Austrian artist and designer Manfred Kielnhofer. The “Light Guards” project is further developed and become a ghost car touring in Basel art show during June 15 – 19 2011.

http://artobserved.com/2011/06/ao-on-site-art-fair-news-summary-and-final-photoset-art-42-basel-2011-in-closing/

Eccentric art was also at Basel, if not as dominant a presence as the traditional buys. Ghost Car by Kielnhofer was a large white van with hooded figures driving outside the fair, and the Bleifrei (which translates to Lead Free in German) Art Collective told Art Info: “Art is like Jesus; it died and it’s coming again.”

Manfred Kielnhofer, Ghost Car (2011) Basel, via Kielnhofer.com

Does anyone do trunk shows?   If not I urge you to try one... or do a studio show that could be set up much the same way.

I just had my annual 2 day trunk show in my local town (population of the town and outlying district 800), hosted by a lovely lady who has the local giftware store.  Nice atmosphere - bright and welcoming.   Situated perfectly smack in the centre of the shopping street.   This was my 6th year and my 3rd venue.   As a rule it's always done well, but I think this was the best year.

I was given a space to set up as you enter the store with a shop window for the 2 days as well.   The cost to the store for hosting was nil as she was doing it to also bring people in to her store.  

We did a joint advertisement with the owner in the local paper ($50 each), sent out invitations to anyone in the local district that had bought from me in the last couple of years ($36 postage and $10 for the invites) and then did a flyer into locals letterboxes ($76) a few days before. 

It was set up as the first day 2-7pm as a 'client preview'.   We provided a few bottles of champagne and some sparkling water, cheese and crackers (cost about $60).  We tried to make it an "event".   And they sure turned out for it and were in the buying mood!  

The 2nd day was open for everyone 10am-5pm although lots of clients who couldn't come the first day came on the 2nd day. 

I was unsure how I'd go given the ongoing bad-news economy, however we have just had 130mm of rain in the last week and when you're selling to women who are on the land, rain always boosts expectations.  (Although there was so much rain some clients couldn't come as their creeks were up blocking the roads!). 

I'm pleased to say though I was busy for the whole 2 days - I DID take the camera but I was so busy I never managed to actually get it out of my bag and take a photo...sorry!

I started setting up around 10.30am the first day and had enquiries before I even had my tables put up!  It continued to about 6pm.  I thought that  was probably it and the second day would be quiet -  but people were waiting for me at 10am and the last left at 6pm.

The store owner was thrilled with her sales and the number of people through as well.

I had 34 sales comprising 65 items and have three orders yet to be made and costed.   Pieces sold ranged in price from $25 to $350.   The vast majority were previous customers so I'd already converted them to buyers in prior years so it wasn't hard to sell to them.   They were buying both gifts and something for themselves.  

I must add that I don't overwhelm the locals - this is my one show of the year.  I also have two displays in town (one gallery and one store) and people know where to find me the rest of the year if they want something.

Given Nel's recent thread about the spiralling costs of doing shows - I think a trunk/studio show is a good alternative and if you had a wide client base in different areas, you could travel around doing these types of events on a regular basis.

The grim seeker after truth
Anyone wondering why these grim reaper style figures were seated on this white van - look no further than the latest installation from artist Manfred Kielnhofer. He is from Haslach an der Mühl, in the district of Rohrbach in Upper Austria, Austria, and is an artist and designer whose work usually centres around the human anatomy. His recent piece of art is the Ghost Car, which is a product of the developing ‘Light Guards’ project. This project surfaced from the theory that humankind has always been able to boast having guardians in different ways, in potential danger from only themselves. This idea intrigued the artist Kielnhofer, who approached it with his artwork, intertwining the theme of longing for security harboured by all humans. The Ghost Car portrays a sizely white van driving, seating sheet-covered figures. Perhaps this reflects individuality, exploration and recognition of current events in society, as it seems to interpret the theme by suggesting the hooded figures are looking to the drapes and car for protection as they are possibly ghosts, who are afraid of the life after death, and long for safekeeping.
By Alessia De Silva
http://austriantimes.at/news/Panorama/2011-08-06/35422/The_grim_seeker_after_truth
http://kielnhofer.com

I'd love some feedback from anyone, everyone!  My husband and I set up at the Sylvania, Ohio Chamber of Commerce's Art and Craft show on Sept 11th, 2011.  Our first show!! Obviously exciting for me and he was a great supporter / helper!

I selected this for my first show because it's small and would be a great learning adventure.  It was that and more.  I didn't know there were that many things to learn.....

One learning is that people want to see what you have to sell without having to work at it!  I need to revamp the displays to make sure I don't overwhelm people with too many items that don't stand out much when someone is waltzing past the booth.  Other learning is to have more focus.  I think I had too diverse of an offering.  

People didn't even browse the earrings, somehow those got lost in the shuffle.  Although they're not my main focus, I do make them to match the pendants!   I received plenty of comments about how clever, cute, unusual, blah,blah my items were but darned if we barely sold enough to cover the cost of the show!  Midway through the show we moved the smaller tables out further into the walkway so that people could look without entering the booth.  Also near the end of the show I lowered prices (even tho they're very reasonable already) just to see if that was a contributor to the low number of purchases... it didn't have an impact.

Ideas I've had since include featuring matching sets of pendants and earrings on a pedestal, listing the components used to construct the jewelry (as in Swarovski Crystal), and then offering the pendants separate from the chains so that people look at the item more closely and the clutter of the chains would be eliminated.

Would love your comments, thoughts, see attached pics!  Thanks!

While I am happily typing away this morn I wanted to address one of my pet peeves about street shows right now.

The escalation of booth fees at shows on all levels is really getting out of hand--especially in this economy.

I just did my app for the Milwaukee Lakefront show on Zapp this morn.  They want $500 for the booth fee.  I have done this show many times over the years and it is not the show it used to be for sales.  The economy there is not good and sales are off.  When I last did it three years ago I barely cleared $2K in sales for a show in the old days where I could do $5-8K.  So now they want $500 for a booth which will account for 25%  of my total.  And, this does not include gas, hotel, food and the cost of replenishing goods sold.  Sorry folks this is not a good business plan for any sole proprietor.

I know, show directors are going to say,"Well we gotta pay for security,police, porta-potties so we need that kind of money.  BS.  We are also paying for nice large salaries that these show directors now make.

How do they expect most artists to make a living with these kind of fees and our meager returns on sales.  Most people are off by 50-40% on their grosses over past years because of our economy which is worst we have seen in our lifetimes.

These fees kill the chances of most newcomers to get in our biz.  Too high of cost for too little of return.  Only the well-off and most successful will thrive.  These fees will kill the street shows.

Naples, an already over-saturated market has routine booth fees of nearly $500 and most artists are not gettong a five-fold return on their money.  It is a recipe for failure.

Love to hear some feedback from those 6000 lurkers of you out there.  

I mean doesn't this rankle your feathers a bit.  How can you sit back there blase and think well that is just the way the biz is.  Guess what, we are all on the way to the Poorhouse with no salvation showing on the horizon.  Show fees can not continue to escalate like this in these times.  Nobody wins.

OK now I am off to play golf, with luck I will do better on the links than I did on the streets last weekend.  Come on folks, chime in and stop being lurkers.

Background

I originally applied to this show at the recommendation of a jeweler I met in Wichita back in the spring.  I am a photographer working in traditional and historic processes with a mid-range price point.  I do offer a limited number of lower cost reproductions and postcards as well.  Castle Rock is located on I-25 just south of Denver, and about 30 minutes north of Colorado Springs.  It's an upper-middle class to high-end area with traditional-leaning tastes.  And while it's a 45 minute drive from my home, I still consider it to be local for me which helped with expenses.  The show is centrally located in downtown Castle Rock with shuttles for both shoppers and artists running regularly from the nearby Douglas County Events Center.  This is a two-day show with 177 artists and no electricity produced by the Castle Rock Chamber of Commerce.

Layout

This is an art festival first and foremost.  The show is laid out in two parking lots, one behind the library and the other behind the town hall.  The street between the two lots is closed and has may 10 artist booths along it, giving the show a loose "z" configuration.  There was a small food area near the library lot with about 5 or so vendors (no turkey legs!) and an adjacent entertainment stage with a variety of intermittenent acts.  A children's art area was set up at the far end of the town hall lot.  There was a Chobani truck situated at one end of  the cross street giving away free yogurt all weeked.

Set-up

Set-up began at noon on Friday.  Artists picked up their packets and staged at the events center.  Vehicles were allowed to proceed to the festival site as space became available and the wait time seemed fairly short.  Most people were able to drive up to their booth spaces to unload.  The pace was faily relaxed and I had my tent up before my car needed to be moved.  Booth spaces varied depending on location.  I was in a center aisle, so I had another 5 or so feet of storage behind my booth.  Those set-up on the cross street or around the perimeter of the lots had no space behind them.  Set-up was smooth for me, but others had issues - more on that below.

The Show

This is a high-quality show.  The level of the work was very good, with little to no BS.  While there were a few contemporary artists showing, most of the work catered to the more traditional tastes of the local clientele.  I saw few booths that I would have been unhappy to be next to, and I felt comfortable that my work fit in well here.  Sales here were not generally record-breaking.  Saturday morning people were buying from the time the show opened at 9 and the activity didn't drop off until lunch.  It picked up again mid-afternoon and dropped off about 4:30, with the show closing at 6.  Sunday was a bit slower start until the after church crowd arrived and activity stayed strong until about 2:30 or so.  Sales were largely non-exisitent in the last hour of the show from 4-5.

On Sunday morning the judges came around and handed out the awards.  There was one jurors' award in each category, plus best fine art, best fine craft, and best of show.  Only the last 3 had money attached, totalling $700.  I am proud to say that I recieved the jurors' choice award for photography.  Best of fine craft and jurors' choice for ceramics were both given out a few booths away from me.  It was a good corner to be in.

As far as amenities, the show had a hospitatlity tent with light breakfast items, coffee, and snacks throughout the day.  The portapotties were clean and had real handwashing stations next to them.  While a bit inconviently placed, they were located away from the artists booths so that wasn't an issue.  Trash cans were a tad harder to come by, but a local Boy Scout troup made the rounds both days picking up trash and sprucing up the portapotties.

Tear Down

As is the case with many shows, little direction was given about tear down on Sunday.  But this didn't stop it from being an orderly process.  This show is done by a lot of pros, so folks were talking with each other and helping out as usual.  The only hitch was that the artists' shuttle only ran until 6:00, so I could only partially break down before going to get my car.  Fortunately this wasn't a problem space-wise and I was able to pull up in front of my booth with no problems.

Sales

As I said before this was not a record-setter for most people.  Nobody I spoke to zeroed, but the a painter and a sculptor near me only had one sale each.  I did slightly better here that I did at the 6-day odessy in OKC this spring, so it was an OK show in that respect.  A nearby jeweler said that it was a "medium-good" show for them and better than anything they had done in AZ this year.  A couple of old-timers were saying that it wasn't worth doing for them anymore.  No one I spoke to said it was a "great" show, but most of the newbies and short-timers said it would be on their "do again" list.  Because it's local for me with a reasonable booth fee I will definitely try this show again next year.

The Bad Stuff

Every show has its issues, so I left them for last:

1.  When buying your booth space, you were given the option of standard, double, corner, end, or a combination.  For $70 you got maybe 4 extra feet on one side if you bought and end.  If you were on the island end, no biggie.  But these were over sold and created in places other than just the end of a row.  It was 4 feet between booths and if you displayed your work on the outside people looking at your work would block the view of your neighbor's work and vice versa.  There were similar complaints about some corner booths ($90) not really being corners as well.  For the most part the promoter worked these issues out to the artist's satisfaction.

2.  Parking/shuttle issues:  The artists' shuttle didn't run on Saturday morning, reportedly because the driver didn't show up.  Some artists made the substantial trek from the fairground to the festival site across the busy railroad tracks on foot, others were left jogging up the hill from artist parking to customer shuttle to get to a ride.  The artist parking was in lot 1 at the bottom of a hill, but the artist shuttle only picked up at the top of the hill in lot 5 (the customer lot).  They would drop you off at the end of the day in lot 1, but wouldn't pick you up there in the morning.  A minor thing, I know, but confusing for the artists when you're told it will be otherwise.  It would be lovely if this were corrected next year.

3.  I had a little trouble getting the gift certificates cashed in on Saturday, so I had to wait until Sunday afternoon.  Since they were a small denomination it wasn't a huge deal, just an irritation.  Better communication between the promoter and the volunteers would fix this.  Ditto with the sales tax forms at the end of the show as no one knew where these should go.

All in all I have done much worse shows sales-wise and organizationally.  Like I said, this is on my "do it again" list.  If you're already out this way and have high quality traditional work this is a decent show.

As most of you know, I'm in Australia.  And that the art fair/show scene is rather different here - there are very few art shows in my area as most artists sell their work through galleries, shops or exhibitions.   Shows (art & craft style) that restrict to handmade are not around me either.   Consequently I have to find other venues to sell my work at and this past weekend attended:

* a preschool "shopping night" fundraiser

* an open garden weekend on a rural property 20km out of a town.

Firstly, the preschool fundraiser.   I'm all for supporting local groups and having been a past board member of our local preschool thought I'd help by going along with my jewellery to this one.   It was more like a 'table' show - in a large hall with poor lighting and tables crammed together and went for 3 hours.  Wine and cheese was available to purchase.  55 people/businesses took a 'table' about half of which ws handmade.   They had pre-sold 200 tickets and sold more on the night.   The hall was poorly situated in town but at least parking was available.

Of the handmade contingent there were two artists - one doing framed work and one doing cards and the rest of 'handmade' fell into the crafts category (children's wear, children's accessories, toys, fabric bags amongst the decent items - candles, decorated small glass items and decorated stubby holders (for keeping a beer can cold, in case you don't have them) etc., amonst the lower end. )  There were 3 others there with jewellery but mine was higher end than the others.   The poor lighting actually helped me - I was the only one to request power, so had been put adjacent to a power switch to which I connected my lights and bingo - it was like moths to a flame!  

Attendees had to pay to get in - there was live entertainment as well (although I'm very glad I wasn't up that end as there were so many people milling around no one 'shopping' could get into their stalls!)

The cost of a table was low . It was about 150km away and I didn't stay the night, so the only other cost was fuel.  I sold about 25x table fee and had lots of enquiries for custom work.

The second event was an 'open garden'.  If you don't have those over there either, these are when keen gardeners open their garden to the public to come and view.   Overseen by the Open Garden Scheme Australia, there is only local publicity and gate takings (around $6pp) are donated to a charity of choice who also runs the gate and usually the food availablity too.   I knew the owner and she asked me to come along.  Only one other person was there selling and that was a garden stall with plants and garden accessories.  

Cost was a donation to the charity (I gave $100) and I gave a gift to the garden owner as a thank you.  It was about 50min drive from home.  I knew about 10% of the people that came past since it was close to local for me.

Traffic varied from a trickle to I don't know as I was too busy to see!   I took around 20x booth fee.   In fact, the second day felt like "the good old days" when people used to buy without thinking about the price too much!  The garden stall also did well.

Unfortunately, events like this are only once a year for me, but they are definitely worthwhile.  

Perhaps you don't have many shows where you live either.   Or perhaps shows aren't giving you the returns you need.   If so, where do you go with your work that aren't the usual sort of  "art fairs" or similar ?

Hi everyone!

I have been doing indoor and outdoor shows for about 3 years nows. While my booth has come a LONG way - I seem to get more compliments on my booth vs. my glass jewelry. Am I doing something wrong? Have any advice you can share. I welcome honest feedback. Thanks so much in advance!!!

Dawn

The opportunities for getting out and about with my jewellery increase as Christmas looms.   Consequently I have just started the 4 shows in 4 weeks timetable that I love ... but don't think I could keep up with regularly!

Last night I attended the first in these - a 'table' show, held by a neighbouring town's central school.    (Out here in the country we tend to have 'central schools' - that cover all grades from kinder through to Yr 12 as the population base is low.  In larger towns you find 'primary' schools - kinder to Yr 6 - and 'high' schools - Yr 7 through 12.) This town has about 700 people - in town and the surrounding farming areas.   There is definitely a well to do contingent in that population base and have $ to spend.

The event was billed as a "Ladies Night" and was run by the school's P&C Assn.  This is its second year and after a successful year last year, they moved it from a large classroom to their school hall (auditorium).   The hall was generous in size, well lit, had air conditioning for the rather hot afternoon temperature and on arrival was well set up - each 'table' was actually 2x 6ft tables  set up in a  <  shape along the sides of the hall.   A roll of red carpet ran down the centre from the stage for a fashion parade.   The show started at 4.30pm and went to 8pm.  Set up was from 3pm and the only draw back was a rather difficult entry for carrying items in - either steps or a longer (but flattish) walk.  I opted for the latter and used my hand cart (dolly?) but thank goodness I didn't have to take anything heavy/large on the route!

The organisers do a great job but fell down a bit with advertising this year - at least according to some attendees.   They apparently placed an advert in their local paper over the last 3 editions (a fortnightly paper), had radio spots the week leading up on their community radio station, plenty of mentions and adverts in their school newsletter and did some last minute flyers in local businesses but some people only found out it was on by word of mouth. Last year they did a letterbox drop instead of the local paper.  There was no signage so if someone was new to the area they may not have known where to go! 

I was the only one with handmade.   The other people selling were definitely vendors or party plan type people, however the  quality of these manufactured products was pretty
high and the prices were mostly mid range (and probably high range for
this rural area!).     There was only one seller with cheap and nasty.  They could really do with some proper art and I think it would sell quite well to this area, but they limit their art (as happens regularly in Australia) to galleries.

The cost of the show for those there with their wares was a donation of an item to the school's christmas raffle - and they weren't fussy as to what that donation was. 

There was a $10 cover charge which included a wide range of tasty looking nibblies, punch, champagne and more.  Free childminding was provided in the school's library.  I was asked for jewellery for the models to wear in the fashion parade and they brought the clothes over for me to select suitable pieces which they only took just before the parade started and returned immediately afterwards.  One of the pieces worn was sold that evening.

I was set up around the opening mark and people were already milling about.  It was by no means a huge crowd but they were my target market and I made my first sale in the first half hour and it continued with interested and chatty customers for the rest of the evening.  My last sale was around 8.30pm after everyone else selling had packed up and left.   (As usual, I'm always the last to pack up - but I'm sure I get extra sales this way).  It certainly doesn't hurt to have a little bit of champagne flowing to open purses!

Sales were about 40% new customers and 60% previous customers.   Overall sales were up around 30% on last year and I was very happy with them - another instance of just like "the good old days" (pre GFC).   Bonus is that its only 45 min from home. 

I was busy from start to finish so didn't get to chat to any of the other sellers, but the ones near me appeared satisfied/happy with their night.

I failed to take my camera - but will try and remember for next week's show - a large indoor one day event about 2 hours drive away.

Hope you've enjoyed the look into another show Downunder.

Cheers!

Annette

Although I don't have a lot of vending/exhibiting experience under my belt, I was amazed when a "seasoned" exhibitor stopped at my booth at the recent Great Lakes Lighthouse Festival and lamated that he wasn't selling anything and people just seemed to pass by his booth. He couldn't figure out what was wrong. I told him I would have to get back to him on that one as I needed some time to gather my thoughts. Actually, I didn't want to hurt his feelings or make him angry with my response so I was just buying time.

Before I give the response I gave him, let me supplement it by saying that I am an extremely observational person and can watch people interaction at events, art fairs, craft fairs, shows, etc. During my perusals of various booths, exhibitors and/or vendors I would watch how they interacted with people, what those who were successful did, other than having top-notch wares to offer, and what they did not do.

That being said, I finally responded to the questioning exhibitor and told him what I had noticed and how that might be a reason for "no" sales. 1) he was either reading a book, 2) texting, 3) watching his small portable TV, 4) not at his booth at all and 5) did not interact with people any any form. I gently told him that people like to be noticed. Even if they don't stop at your booth, at least say hello, hope you're enjoying the show/event, or, if you have a basket filled with treats, "I have chocolate to give you energy to see the rest of the show." Reading, texting, watching TV, not being at your booth, or have someone relieving you so you can go eat, use the facilities, etc., or not interacting with the public gives them the impression you really don't care whether or not you sell anything. He was surprised at my information and informed me that unless people are going to "buy" he's not going to waste his time.  My response was that if you don't get them to "stop," even if it's just to acknowledge your hello, you won't know if they're going to buy or not. Granted not everyone who stops at a booth is going to buy, but if you can get them to stop and look, not pressure them into a sale, ask how they are enjoying the show, etc. you may just get a sale out of it.

I acknowledged everyone that went by and even looked my way and managed to sell either my photography or my book to 4 out of 10 that came by. Now that's not record breaking by any means, but I did get sales and ended up having a very good show result. For me, taking an interest in the people seemed to make them feel important, and they seemed to appreciate the hospitality. If they didn't buy anything and just looked and chatted with me a while, I would thank them for stopping by and direct them to a booth that I thought might have what they were looking for.

The gentleman didn't agree with me, which is fine, and proceeded to keep doing what he was doing, and that was ignoring potential customers. Unless someone picked up an item, he would not even acknowledge their presence at his booth. He did very poorly at the show this year, I am sorry to say. Other vendors that I have become friends with over the years have told me that the energy and positive attitude I project is catchy and they have tried some different approaches this year and have done well.

Just had to proffer my two cents on the "why aren't I selling" question that I see pop up from time to time. You can have the perfect location, fantastic wares and perfect weather, but if you don't acknowledge/interact with potential customers, you could end up with an extremely poor result for all your hard work.

Hello everyone,

We could use some artists to write a few show reviews for www.artshowreviews.com.  If you are not familiar with this website, take a few minutes to look it over.  We have no reviews for Hawaii, Alaska, Arkansas, New Mexico, and Oregon.  We also have several states that have only one art show review.  Montana, Nevada, Alabama, and Canada just have one show review.  I want to ask anyone out there if they could help us out by adding a few reviews so that we can get some more shows added.  You are also welcome to add any show reviews you want to the other states.  It will all be welcome.

Thanks for your help,

Jacki B

Here is the long and short of it--the show royally sucked--I was off by sixty per cent--and aloha, can you say "sabbatical", cause I am taking one next year, and probably will never come back.

OK, here is some real meat.  God bless Ruth and her review, lets just say it left you wanting to know much more.

I will give you the "much more."

First a little history.

I have done this show for 23 years since 1988.  Was in the State Street show six years and have been in the Guild's Show, always on Main Street, the rest of the years.

The merchants of Ann Arbor control what goes on at all of the shows.  They are a greedy bunch, who don't really care much a bout the arts, as they care about lining their pockets and getting rid of surplus goods.

The shows started, eons ago, as a way to attract people into Ann Arbor in the middle of summer when most of the college kids are gone.  They figured if they held an "Art Fair" it would attract a crowd--plus--and this is really the key--it would give them a venue to move excess goods.  They would set up booths right out on Liberty and State Street, right beside the artists, as is well-evidenced at the State Street Show.

You notice the shows all end on Saturday.  No Sunday biz.  Why is that?  Because the merchants are not open to ,

make money, so they won't let the artists make money.

Of course the "party line from the merchants" goes something like this.  We gotta close the shows on Saturday, so the cleanup crews can get AA back in shape for Monday.  I say "BS."

On any home football weekend in AA they have just as big of crowds as they have for the art shows.  Yet they manage to cleanup on Sunday so things are good for Monday.  Bottom line, if the merchants can't make any money, then they won't let the artists make money.

History lesson 2.

For years, for most of us pros, who make a living at this biz, this was the biggie of the summer.  You had four days to sell, you had crowds with moola to spend.  We are talking pre-recession, before 2006.  Many of us made $15K-$25K in those times.  Some artists could live off their sales from the show for six months.

Those days are gone.

Then the merchants did an ironic money squeeze in about 2006, just as the recession started here.  They made it so that booth fees doubled.  Booths that were under $500 were now almost $800.  Double booths and 10'x17' booths were nearly $1500.

Plainly said folks, the show costs are not worth it.

Let us talk about "NOW"

Here are the facts plain and simple why this business model does not work for 90 per cent of us.( Of course there are going to still be success stories out there, but very few.  And for every one success, I can show you fifty others who barely made expenses).

You have more than 2000 booths at all of the shows, including the scab booths, chasing a paltry turnout of buyers with disposable income.  Too many booths, too little buyers.  A very thin slice for most of us.  The model is broke folks.

Michigan's economy is not going to turn around for years to come.  Disposable Income is almost an artifact in this state.

The only real remedy to help us make money is this: Reduce the number of exhibitors by one-third in all the juried shows.  Make it a three-day show, drop Wednesday.  End the show at an earlier time.  Reduce the booth fees.  They are excessively high for the return on your dollar.

I can tell you right now, nobody is going to do any of the things I suggested.

The merchants want more.  They would love to push the Guild Show right off Main Street so that they can run their own show--with of course, ala State Street, their booths right out there next to the art.

Let us now talk expenses, or should we say investments, that the artist takes on to do this show.

Most of us, who have to travel to AA and stay in lodgings have a minimum of $1500-$2000 in operating expenses.

Booth fees--$750 for a 10'x10'   10'x17' are $1300  Double booths are double the 10'x10'

Auto costs: A minimum of a full tank of gas each way--so about $200-$275

Auto parking: $100

Lodging: A minimum of $50-$125 per night times six: $300-$750

Food: At least $50 per day or higher.

Sales;  Ah, thought we ever get around to that.

Average exhibitor this year barely made expenses or a little over.  In the past many people have had an"OK" show by doing around $5-6K.  Other pros have cleared $8K or better.  I am talking recession-era now.

Sorry folks, but that almost $2K in operating expenses could be better invested for a return on money, rather than AA.

WHAT HAPPENED THIS YEAR?

Excessive heat way beyond the norm (It is always hot at AA) but this went beyond that.

People were fainting in their booths on Thursday with 100-degree temps.  Crowds were almost non-existent. At times, you could have thrown a bowling ball and a cinder block across the aisle and not hit anybody.

When the crowds did show, they bought very little and very mediocre.  Low end sales.  I was off by 60 per cent over last year.

This is show in a death spiral.  Things will get worse.

Take your money and invest it elsewhere.  Ann Arbor is a bad gamble.

That is all I am saying.  Aloha, Nels.  You can fool me once, but you won't fool me twice.

Postscript:  I am in the Guild show on Main Street.  They run a professional operation.  Plenty of help for the artists, water, food , booth-sitters.  They do a creditable job.

Mid-afternoon view of the show, from the Spice House

The Wells Street art festival in Chicago is usually one of my best shows. It is also one of the hardest set-ups we do. Early morning. Crowded streets. Two rows of tents down the center of the street, with food vendors blocking straight through access in the driving lane. Assigned times for artists are supposed to allow everyone at least an hour for load-in and setup before the show officially opens at 10AM on Saturday. In practice, artists find anyway they can to get their equipment in place as early as possible.

Dog's-eye view of the show

 
I've had a double booth in the same location, near the Spice House and Topo Gigio, for several years. It's a high traffic location, because of O'Briens, The Fireplace Inn and a new club, the Benchmark. The main stage is in the O'Brien's parking lot, and provides a steady beat throughout the entire show.Friday night I didn't leave Michigan until almost 10:30 PM. I had to pick up Karyn in Ann Arbor, and by the time we got to Chicago, it was about 4:00 AM. No sleep for us. I walked down Wells to see where our booth spot was -- new numbers meant that I was moved slightly south. At 4:45, I was able to get my traile and truck down to the booth, about a block and a half in. My load-in time was officially 6:45, but there is no way that I could get the trailer and truck in and out that late. I think that the show has finally realized after 40 years that some artists are always going to need early access to the show. The coordinator told me that the show director had given permission to a few artists to come in early, after a phone call. I've called in previous years and been told that it's impossible.Some artists dolly in from the northern paid lot on Wells, The Carriage Lot. Some dolly from parking spots on North Ave. Some dolly from the side streets, Schiller, Goethe and Scott. Some do bring their vans in. By 10AM, the show does get set up. It's a minor miracle, but we were unloaded, the truck and trailer parked in the paid lot at Franklin School, the double canopy setup and all the art hung, with lights, by 10AM.

My credit card machine always has trouble connecting here -- server overload with all the cel=phones and texting

Saturday was cold and drizzly. It didn't out and out rain, but it was chilly. It didn't stop the young urban professionals from crowding into the show, and buying art in the morning and early afternoon. But the temps got colder by 4PM, and the crowd slowly changed to a party mood. Lots of beer and lots of strolling. A mix of dogs, strollers, couples and professionals. I sold a few smaller pieces, but nothing large. By 6PM, most of the crowd were there to party, not to buy. My neighbors, Jean-Claude Louis, another photog with a double that looked exactly like mine, and David Bigelow, the well-known printmaker, both closed up by 8PM. Usually we'll stay open, and send some art home with new owners, but the weather put a chill into the sales. We closed up and walked down to our hotel on Clark Street. Along the way, we stopped at Panang, a friendly Thai restaurant on Clark. Good food, efficient service, and inexpensive. Since we hadn't had sleep for almost 42 hours, it didn't take long to catch a few zzz's. Luckily, we waited until we got to the hotel for that.

Jean-Claude Louis, from Agoura Hills CA

David Bigelow wins for Works on Paper -- Congrats, and well-deserved!

Sunday was bright and blue. The sun was out, and cheered me right up. We stopped at the trailer to restock, and opened the booth up about 10:15. Sunday was better for sales, but still slower than previous years. I saw a couple of previous customers, including Liz Hein, who posed for a shot with her favorite piece, "No Exit". My friend Maureen stopped by. I got to step into the Spice House for some fresh cumin and some Moroccan spices. The show provides a break room in the offices of the Old Town Merchants Association, and serves up coffee, pastry and fruit all day long. The bathroom is clean, too, but you might have to wait a minute for it. We spent a lot of time talking with David Bigelow in between sales. This year's crowd seemed much more intent on partying and being seen than in previous years. My sales reflected this, too. I did about 50% of what I did last year. Enough to pay a few bills, but maybe not enough to reflect the long hours and brutal setup.

The lovely Elizabeth Hein shows a little love for "No Exit"

 
I know that some artists did well at Wells this year. Photography was perhaps over-represented. My friend Lisa sent many of her well-designed t-shirts and tanks home with happy owners. Jean-Claude had a better show this year than last year. But all in all, it seemed to me that the energy was directed more towards having a good time than feathering the nest this year. It's an expensive show to do, when you add up all the extras. Electricity costs $150, and puts you in the middle of the show. Parking ranges from $75 to $150 for the weekend, and is definitely worth it if you have a hard-to-park rig like I do. The booth fee is average. Hotels are out-of-sight downtown, and I can't recommend the Howard Johnsons on Wells. Many stay out in the suburbs, at the airport hotels, or out in Schaumburg, which is a lo-n-n-n-n-g hike. 

Load-out is efficient. Artists begin closing at 8PM, but vehicles are not allowed on the street till all the partiers go home, which can be as late as 11PM. Many dolly out the same way they came in. Vans have a definite advantage over trailers here. Some folks rent an Enterprise van or cube truck specifically for this show. We didn't really start breaking down until about 9PM, had a couple big sales at the end to make it all right. The trailer was into the show at about 10:45, and by that time, over 75% of the artists had found a better way out. We were on the road by 11:45. A very long weekend. We can't drive the entire way back to Michigan after this weekend, so another night in a hotel is required. This year, I stopped in St. Joseph, and made the rest of the drive on Monday morning. Exhausted but happy. 

A last word: There is a lot of buy-sell here. Some is blatant, some is not. While the show says that all work must be original, some is clearly not. It doesn't matter. Bring whatever you want. At $7/pop "Suggested Donation", I'd estimate that the show grosses about $1.5 in gate fees alone. It's still fun, still unique, and one of the best parties in Chicago in the summertime.

So sad...I had my 1st show in 8 years, Barrington IL Art Festival by Amdur Productions. Very organized, easy setting, tons of parking. Show was right in the middle of town, coffee and cupcake shops, adorable gift stores and boutiques set in old style homes,tons of local independent business, banks and investment companies, the town is charming, beautiful amazing houses, mansions with horses.

Saturday was chilly and  light rain couple times. People browsing, I didn't have a good day but too early to judge. 

Sunday was starting to be crowded, people finally coming inside my booth,tons of families excited to be out for Memorial Day, they were asking questions, leaving their e mails, I was 11:00 am,starting to feel excited when they notified us to secure our tent because a storm was coming. End of the story...storm came, hitting hard, I got in my car and went to Mc Donald's drive through to kill some time, then I came back to check my EZ UP, EASY DOWN tent. I'm glad I did. Water on the roof was just about to cause a disaster. Other artists helped me to on do my tent so the water just came down like a waterfall. Amdur team told us that storm was coming heavier so just go ahead and pick up, we wouldn't be penalized.

There's always good things in bad things, all I can say is that I am glad I met wonderful artists and they helped me to take all my tent and displays down in minutes and load my car, everybody soaking wet and they didn't care, they were all helping other artists. I'm looking forward to see them in other shows that we will be doing this season, we will stay connected :). It's 1pm and I'm already home blogging, geez! Thank you weather!

Please, tell me not to get disappointed and all sows are not like this!

• Parking next to or near your booth for daily loading/unloading (if you heed the advice to pull your pieces at night) for 2 hours.

•  Parking on Friday and Saturday runs in the average of $30 within a block of the square and the price goes down exponentially as you move further away.

•  The security crew is friendly and is just as excited to be there as the artists.

•   The farmers market is trying to make a living, just like us, so use your honey to catch those bees, not vinegar.  They try to accommodate upon request

•    Bus routes and subway routes are within walking distance (Philadelphia is one of the highest ranked walkable cities in the US) and can get you to your hotel across town, or very close to Cherry Hill, NJ--where allot of artist’s stayed.

•    End-of-show packing is always crazy, no matter how much space you have.  With a little patience and communication the parking spaces stretch to meet your needs.

When you work hard with special care or effortlessly from some kind of pure place of personally unique concentration then the art you are creating is precious and unparalleled in value. That this is true whether or not a juror helping assemble a show thinks it's a good fit or not into that show doesn't take away from any of this value. Ever. Can't happen. Good work reflects unique vision. And unique vision operates quite beyond the financial realm. Mind you, most of us can't afford to lock into pure Vision and pay our bills so some commercialization or popularization of our artistic voice has to happen in order for it to relate to the hearts of the people who will eventually connect with and even buy our work.

That's ok, that's just us interpreting our unique Vision for the outside world. Part of the education process we artists offer the world at-large.

Ain't no jury gonna tell you otherwise. What's yours is yours and rejections can't take that from you.

Don't absorb whatever energy you think might be contained in a non-invite to ANY show. Chances are it's not the integrity of your work, your images, or your booth that done your chances in this go round - more likely it's just a plethora of entries bouncing off the eyes of well intentioned jurors who must stay somewhat mindful of the potential of the local populace to embrace the work they're choosing. As much as not being included into a show shouldn't hurt is as much as being included in a show shouldn't make you feel good!

Don't absorb any of that noise. None of it's healthy. Stay pure to your Vision, your process, your optimism and know that what happens next is perfect and right - no matter what.

Figure these shows are all moving targets and the best way to catch the ones you need are to:

• apply to multiple shows with an open mind
• stay true to you vision but
• be willing to grow and adapt when doing so serves you
• Big shows aren't always big shows and neither are little ones always little ones

When you don't get into the shows you hoped for log into this site to semi-privately blow off steam so you can go back to your drawing board and design or re-do the work you feel reflects the world you care to illuminate. Because no jury's decision is going to help you do that, yea or nae. That's not their job. That's your job. And you do it well. You do it so well you're unstoppable!

The Coconut Grove Arts Festival is a very well run show. Attendance is high all three days, but the type of audience varies significantly over the weekend. Monday's crowd consisted mainly of tire-kickers, strollers and museum-viewers. Sunday was my best day, although the serious buyers were out early on Saturday morning. Sales for higher-end work seemed strong in our section of the show all three days, however. I was on Pan American Drive, almost at the end of the show. Traffic was slower than on Bayshore, but I still had a booth full of people until about 4PM every day. After that, it tapered off. We did have our share of fun people, including this guy who wandered in off the street.

Communication is generally good, although load-in instructions were vague. There were no instructions on how to actually reach the load-in entrance most appropriate to your booth included in the packet, just general instructions on a Google map on how to reach Coconut Grove. The load-in instructions specifically stated that no booth setup was allowed before 3PM, yet when we arrived at 3PM, it seemed like half the show was set up already. We drove around a bit before finding the right parking lot entrance. And I'm familiar with the Grove -- for artists that had never been in that area, it would have been a nightmare. Traffic in the area is very heavy, especially after they close Bayshore Drive. Expect to wait a bit. Patience will be rewarded.

Artist treatment is very good. There were many volunteers available to booth sit, and the zone captains were on hand to make sure that logistics ran smoothly. Security is great -- the show is fenced on the perimeter to allow them to collect the $10 gate fee, and it's locked up tight as a drum at night. Never had a worry about my work being safe in the tent overnight. They have a terrific hospitality area, with breakfast every day, and a nice artist awards dinner on Sunday night. They give you tickets for lunch too, but only one per booth, so if you have a spouse or a partner, you end up sharing the food. Which is decent. We had rice and beans, chicken, a bit of salad, and plantains every day. Plus a little sandwich. Enough to keep you going without having to resort to arepas, hot dogs or slushies. No free tequila, however. Boo.

The booth fee is higher than many shows. At $800, I suspect that it covers not only the venue, but also the labor costs involved in mounting the show, as well as an extensive ad campaign. There are many volunteers, good security at the entrances, and security 24/7 during the event. I even saw a volunteer on the street directing artists to the well-hidden artist dinner venue at the Atrium. Well-done, volunteers! And the artists have their own air-conditioned trailer potties, near the convention center. Bonus! And the free t-shirt was also a nice extra.

Patron traffic is very high, but the percentage of buyers on the low end was much lower than I expected. I made one really good sale, which helped to cover my expenses for the weekend, but overall, I was expecting better sales based on the reputation and the high booth fee. I did not sell a ton of bin prints, like I expected. Many of the artists near me did well, however, including two painters and a sculptor with larger work. Of course my work is less focussed on tropical themes, and here that does make a huge difference.

Reserved parking for artists at the expo center lot as well as at Lot 67, next to Pan American Drive. At $30 a space, this is a bargain. Thank you Coconut Grove, for providing affordable parking for trucks, trailers and vans. There seemed to be enough spots for everyone's trailer and van, too.

All in all, a great experience. The show was above my expectations for the artist treatment, weather and logistics. Sales were just average for me, but many of the folks around me went home very happy. The painter next to me made a great sale after closing on Monday night, and our friends up the road also had a good show. Others did not fare so well. I heard the usual rumors of zero sales, slow sales, no sales. I know I was expecting more sales than I had.

One artist did bail on Monday afternoon -- packed up, dollied out around 2:30. The show sent a golf cart down to block his vacant spot, as patrons were walking through the booth behind to get to the other side. (I think there's a chicken joke in there somewhere). Don't think he'll get invited back again.

Coconut Grove is a difficult area to navigate, and the police, security detail and show organizers did a fantastic job of getting everyone in and out of the show. The quality of the art is very, very good. The show is well-run, well-organized and deserving of its reputation. We made some new friends and connected with old friends. I'd be happy to do the show again. Four stars.

OK, I’ve fallen behind a couple of days and peeps, I had a couple of hairy nights and Expo had the Gala last night, which I’ll write about in a separate post.  Suffice it to say, I may not have been writing, but I’m collecting a ton of material...onto Charles, today’s Peep!

Charles came into the art world because of a terrible accident which nearly ended his life.  Despite the fact that it ended a very successful career as a high-end carpenter, he says he would “relive the accident a thousand times” because it opened up a new life for him.  One look at his work and you can understand why: these beautiful forms couldn’t come out of a two-by-four! Organic, flowing, full of movement, the wood comes alive, this in purple heartwood and maple:

I wish I could do the wood grain justice with my camera for this mahogany piece:

Although he has patiently explained to me the intricate process of transforming a 2-D drawing into a 3-D sculpture, I still can’t wrap my mind around it.  It looks ingenious to my2-D artist eyes.  This is a piece in the making:

 Here's Charles with his sculptures to give you an idea of the size.

See more of Charles’ work at: envisionsbytaube.com