St. Augustine FL Old Town Art Show
The link above is my blog post with pictures and such, about my experience at the Old Town Art Show in St. Augustine, FL.
Some points that were not mentioned were:
1. Very easy load in and out
2. Super easy, free and convenient artist parking
3. Everyone has a corner booth
4. 12x12 space w/ 5' behind for storage
5. The event takes place in a flat, open field, no trees. Not a pretty setting, but serviceable. You are allowed and encouraged to use stakes as well as weights, which we did. It was quite windy each day!
6. My sales were very steady, with a large purchase within 30 minutes of opening. My price points are $15-$75. I had my best show in well over a year [since moving to FL last summer]. I would definitely apply to do it again.
Comments
I did the St. Augustine Old Town Art show for April 8-9 2017. (oil painter)
PROS:
1. easy setup load and unloading
2. staff was great and super sweet and adorable.
3. everyone gets a 12x12 corner booth and plenty of space in the back
4. its a field of grass but it's pretty flat
5. bathrooms were kept pretty clean
6. there was some marketing done as the hotel I was staying in nearby had the postcards at the reception which is good.
7. some artists (very few) were top notch. Although others showed very amateur work. The top notch artists said they would probably not be back.
8. HINT HINT: the artist/painters that did good were the ones that had St. Augustine touristy themes on their paintings, or sea escapes/beach and low priced.
9. the food vendor made a killing! He was the only food vendor at the show. He said he was very happy and that he would be back next year.
10. I think jewelers were the ones who did better, besides the food vendor. It seemed that mostly women were buying jewelry.
CONS:
1. the show felt like a borderline cross between a flea market and a craft show, definitely not a fine art show.
2. people were not interested in art and just not buying, most were just taking out their dog for a stroll/go pee.
3. most people were not even stopping to look at art, they were just walking. Crowd was few but steady.
4. the vendor/artist next to me sold a few pieces, but it was very low end art. How low? $40 or less for original art, say a 16x20 framed. I think she did sale a big piece, 3 feet by 4 feet but for like $200.
5. it was very windy-but this is no one's fault just the weather we had to deal with.
6. I made $0 in sales, couldn't even sale a $20 print. But, it looked liked a lot of vendors prices were $5.
7. I talked to a jeweler and she told me that people were trying to bargain her $1 earring/necklace beads, like really people!?
I really really really wanted this show to be at least half decent because I LOVE St. Augustine, and wanted to come back here for work/vacation. But the money was just not there, at least for me. I won't be coming back, can't afford it. Also, I spoke to an acrylic artist who had attended this show the prior year and she told me that it was bad for her. But, I still wanted to try it and see for my self. She did say though that the St. Augustine show in November was better for her.
Good luck!
Tammy, I really enjoyed reading your blog post as well as this review. Your pictures are really fun. I loved seeing how you reconfigured your set-up for the corner booth. Gives me a lot to think about. Also good to read about a successful show.
Tammie, you sure included a lot of great photos in your blog post. I hope people take a few minutes to look at them. Thanks for posting about your first "sleep over" show. I am glad that turned out to be a good experience for you.
We do the St. Augustine show Thanksgiving weekend and love it. I handcraft paper beads and create earrings, bracelets and necklaces. Price points $20 - $120. We usually average $3,000 - $3,500 for the two days. Easy set up/tear down. Plenty of room behind tent. Excellent morning coffee & bagels! We travel from Mobile area in Alabama and set up small camper/rv at the Stagecoach RV park just a few miles away. Glad you had a good show!
It's been a few years since I've attended that show but I've done it several times, spring and fall. I'll chime in with a plug for a good promoter. Lynn Wettach is professional, available, approachable and responsive, and her booth fees are not rapacious as seems the norm these days. My sales were OK, but OK is about as good as it gets for brooms in FL. Well-juried, no buy-sell crap as far as I could tell...