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Just got back from Northern Virginia Fine Art Festival in Reston. It was a cold and wet weekend. We had the fun of drying everything, and I mean everything, out today now that we are back. Luckily it is warm and sunny in Atlanta.

This is the second review I have done for this show. The show is set up in the streets of a high end shopping and living area, Reston Town Center. There are lots of high rises and this creates wind tunnels. The show is known for wind even when there isn't any real wind forecasted. You can rent weights. They are big and not very pretty. We opt to bring extra weights of our own. We finally got 2" square solid hot rolled steel weights at 55lb each. They are awesome. So sleek and they disapear, plus they take up almost no room in the truck. You can get them cut smaller or larger if you want lighter or heaver weights.

Enough about weights that really is for the discussion boards but I wanted to brag about my new favorite thing. When setting up your booth at this show consider adding extra supports, zip ties, stabilizing bars, etc. for those occasional wind gusts. Luckily the wind was not too bad this year but we had almost constant light rain/drizzle both days and it was in the low to mid 50s. Cold and wet.

Booths are set up on the main street with booths on one side. There are some side streets with booths across from each other and a few side streets and a loop around the park with booths on one side. There is some storage in back along the wide sidewalks but the rules state you need to keep it neat and tight. Behind the booths are restaurants and shops for the most part. We are given just around 10 feet wide so no extra room on the sides. If you don't have a corner and want to get behind your booth plan on a back door.

Set up is on Friday starting at 11 am if I remember correctly. If you print out your load in pass you can line up, drive in and set up, then check in before 5 pm. If you don't print out your pass it is easy to check in and get one. They control load in.

When you get to the entrance gate they check to make sure your area is clear before you can go in. This helps to make sure there are no back ups. Each area has a block captain making sure there is a clear path for vehicles to get through. It runs very smoothly. It takes a lot of volunteers but it makes for a relaxing set up for everyone.

Friday was a beautiful day and set up was wonderful. Since we knew the weekend was going to be cold and rainy we decided to set up really slow and leave our booth open for the day. We had a lot of people looking and talking to us. The other artists that kept their booths opened and set up slowly also had a lot of people looking.

Friday night there is a gala. In the past the booths were open during the gala but now the artists are invited to the gala, food and drinks. From my understanding they are hoping that the gala can be a great place for artists and patrons to interact together before the show officially starts. Last year and this year we made an appearance at the gala but didn't stay very long and opted to have a nice dinner at one of the amazing restaurants in the area and turn in early.

There is an artist rate at the Hyatt located at the show. It is a very nice hotel and a treat to stay on site. This was a huge bonus on Saturday and Sunday because of the weather. We were able to take turns going back to the hotel to warm up and dry out from time to time.

Saturday we woke up to the expected cold wet day. We had an early 8:30 am meeting at our hotel for a commission pick up we had taken at the Arlington show we did in April. It felt good to get one piece out the door and some money in our pocket right away. Surprisingly there was a decent crowd on Saturday.

The pic was taken around 11 am on the main street where we were. The good thing about rainy cold shows is that the people who do show up are there to buy not just look. It wasn't a strong day for sales for us but Sundays are usually better for our work in most markets. We had one strong lead from a couple who drove 2 hours away and were spending the night in Reston to shop for lots of art. Didn't close them on Saturday but there was some hope. The show closed at 6pm. We left the booth open and went for dinner.

The area gets lots of people out for dinner so we wanted to give them a chance to look more but we needed to eat and warm up. Around 7 pm we went back to the booth. We dropped the walls in the front and started to close the booth. During this time we had someone poke their head in and say "county police" I thought it was another artist teasing but it really was the police. They were just making sure no one was screwing around. Excellent security. We really appreciate the attention and care they had for us. We were impressed.

Sunday morning we opened up right at 10 am. We had planned on going to breakfast together after set up and leave the booth open. Most shows open at 11 am on Sundays and it was cold and wet again. Who would be out early shopping on a Sunday morning? Well there was a decent crowd already so we took turns for breakfast. Good move because the couple who came for the weekend to buy lots of art showed up at 10:15 am. They had bought 6 pieces on Saturday and were ready to buy their 7th piece from us. After they bought from us they went to two more booths and bought 2 more pieces. Great way to start Sunday.

Throughout the day we took turns at the booth. Each time I returned another piece of art had sold. Each time my partner returned I was able to show him another empty space on our walls. It was a great day. I wish I would have taken a picture of the streets because at one point the streets were full of umbrellas with buyers under them. I didn't get a chance to walk around much. I don't know how the patrons did it. They really support the show and are excited about the art. We didn't have anyone try to negotiate price. They treat the artists with respect. From what I heard from other artist friends most people had good to great shows. Some were down from past years but still had good shows and were happy.

Show closed on Sunday at 5pm. Break down usually means total break down then line up to bring in your vehicle. The artists were nervous about this since we would be loading out in the rain. The show had a meeting on Sunday and decided that we could do a soft break down but keep our tents up. They let us drive in and load up starting at 5:15. This was a huge help. They really were concerned for the artists and our work.

One of the board members came by to talk to us Sunday afternoon to ask us for input on the show. We were impressed with their vision for the show and the future. They already run a top notch show and plan on doing even more to make it better. Erica the director continues to be wonderful to work with. The block captains and volunteers all around are amazing. This show is a treat to do. It is wonderful when you know that you are being heard and cared about as artists and our lively hood.

Fun stuff. We are in the middle of spring show marathon. We decided to take a mini vacation along the road from Atlanta to Reston. Just under a 3 hour drive from Reston is Natural Bridge. It is one of the new world 7 wonders. This is a beautiful and amazing place to visit. We spent 2 nights at the historic hotel at Natural Bridge for only $69 a night. They have caverns, hiking and FOAMHENGE. Lexington is a fun town. We had the best time, it was like stepping back in time. We love the traveling life as artists. Take time to enjoy the journey.