Hi Friends.....This review is going to be short and to the point, as there isn't a whole lot to say about this show other than that it is Excellent!!!
Load in was easy and pretty straightforward. I checked in with a very nice and friendly volunteer. I paid the extra fee to park in the elementary school lot and I am glad I did, I was steps from my booth. I had to use the dolly, but it was a breeze.
At this show you have a choice between a street booth or a booth under a large tent. It costs a bit more ($100) to be under the tent and it is money well spent. Electricity is included in the fee and I will always do the tent if given a choice. The weather this year was unusual at Brookside. Cold, snow and rain in May, can ya believe that??? I was so glad to be under the tent. I had great neighbors too!!
The crowds came despite the bad weather and sales were good, make that excellent. I sold more in one day (Saturday) than I have sold at any other show I have done this year in a whole weekend. Sunday was really good for sales too. I ended the show at a level of good profit after all expenses. People in Kansas City love their art and support their art fairs, despite the weather. I have completely sold out of my small pieces and am low on my standard size sculptures after this weekend. That is how well I sold at this show. I will be working at a feverish pace this week to replenish my stock, which is plenty fine with me. LOL
Volunteers were everywhere and very helpful and friendly. They circulated the show and Show Director, Dona Potts was very involved, accessibe at all times and very, very nice. I cannot say enough good things about this show's organization and the work done by the staff to ensure a professional, smooth event. They all did a great job!!
Load out was easy, fast and there were no problems at all.
This show gets an A+ from me in all areas. I am going to hope, pray, chant, light candles, cross my fingers and do the best possible art I can for my jury pictures for next year so I can hopefully get in again. I would move heaven and earth to do this show and highly recommend it to anyone.
I will be doing The Gumtree Festival in Tupelo, MS this coming weekend and will post a review on Monday for that show. Stay tuned! Thanks for reading.....
PS I got to meet Jim and Karen Parker at this show. Lovely people and I am now the proud owner of a Jim Parker photo that I will cherish! Thanks, Jim!!!!!
Comments
I know many people don't think being at the front of a show is a good thing, but Norm always looked for those spaces (I suspect because it was easier for load out and load in), but he always said it was because you got them coming and going and if you connected on the way in they'd find you on the way out.
I still had a great corner, with a tree protecting me from the booths that were gone on the other side. Maybe the best spot on the street. It was the entrance, though, and I heard "We just got here. We want to see what else is here, but we'll be back). I did have some be-backs buying though.
At this point, I probably 1) won't get a call because I'm still #3 on the waitlist in my category and 2) already have a show booked this weekend (Art Birmingham).
The mountains don't particularly bother me, even with the trailer. I-40 through the Smokies is a bit narrow though, and shady a good part of the time. I love that drive, but I probably won't be making it this year.
Thanks for all this additional info, Jim. Looks like you really lucked out on your space since your neighbors bailed!. I haven't seem Jim McCollum for awhile either and thought maybe he had left the business, so it was good to see him.
Here's the thing about Artisphere (don't listen if you've just been through the Midwest snows of last weekend): you have to drive through mountains to get there from here ... will there be snow? It is a beautiful springtime drive. Hope they call you.
It really started snowing in earnest about 5PM. For a while, it looked as if we would get several inches, but the brunt of the storm went east of KC. We actually lucked out on the weather here. And it is one of the most supportive art audiences I've met. Greenville, SC (Artisphere) might be better, but only slightly. And I'm waitlisted for that :-(
This is great to see the situation that you and Elle were discussing. Thanks for adding the pictures, Jim
I'll second what Elle said about the show. It was my second time there, and better than the first, even though the weather forecast was awful.
We tried to set up our outside booth on Thursday to beat the Friday setup traffic. Got the canopy up on its legs, but when the large tent had issues, we decided to take it down and come back again on Friday after hearing from Donna and Marti that the Friday night affair was cancelled.
Setup is pretty low-key. After registration, Marti walked to the other end of the outdoor area and personally showed me our booth spot. It was a good location, even though a couple of the exhibitors on that end decided to bail. Had a great corner spot, free electricity, and some room behind the tent, so we could put up a little "fishing shanty" as a wind break. The little spot was on it's own "island", so we had mud to deal with. The show sent over a couple of straw bales, which did the trick.
After the setup abort on Thursday night, we checked into the Courtyard -- show hotel. Price was good, and it was one of the remodeled Courtyards. About a ten minute drive from the show, and a decent size parking lot with lots of room for trailers and Sprinters. We cozied up to the fireplace with a hot toddy, and hung with 'togs Darren Olson and Jim McCollum for a while. Darren drifted off to get some work done, then Karyn drifted off for the same reason. Jim and I had enough to warm our innards, and by 9:30, I was pleasantly ensconced in my pjs and ready to face the Friday setup.
The shot on the left is from Thursday's setup. The snow had begun to fall, but it was a wintry mix of sleet, rain and snow. It was very heavy, and once we got the roof up, it looked as if the tent might collapse if we got enough snowfall.
I have to give credit to Donna Potts and Marti Lee for being visible, accessible and for communicating clearly during setup and all through the show. Many people in Kansas City love this show, they come to buy, and many commented that they like this show better than the Plaza, in the fall, as it isn't quite as crowded and the work is more accessible.
I parked my truck and trailer in the church lot, a half block from the south end of the show. Since I was at the south entrance, it made more sense for me, and made loading in and out super easy.
Sales were steady for us both days. The people that braved the weather on Saturday were there because they wanted to see the art, and in many cases, buy something. It's a tradition for many. Sunday sales were equal to Saturday's, with a couple larger pieces thrown in. More dogs and strollers, but still a decent crowd for most of the day.
It was very nice of you to come by the booth, Elle! I really appreciated the effort, and am sorry that I never got the time to reciprocate. I barely saw the booths down the street we were so busy. A good thing, I guess.
After Thursday afternoon's soaking, I almost didn't come back to setup on Friday. I adopted a wait-and-see attitude, and on Friday, the weather report did improved. So we showed up, and I'm glad we did. We have never bailed on a show, but then, we've never set up a show in snow before, either. Weather like this in Birmingham, MI, or in Texas would almost certainly guarantee that no one comes.
Thank you Kansas City, for being such hospitable hosts and patrons. And thank you Donna, Marti and your crew of able volunteers. Hope to be back again next year.
Thank you Kansas City, for being such hospitable hosts and patrons. And thank you Donna, Marti and your crew of able volunteers. Hope to be back again next year. You truly are a class act.
Thanks Elle for the great comments. We really appreciate all the support we received from the artists and we are also lucky to be in a great community that supports the arts. We promise next year not to have snow. The last time was 1907. I have passed on your comments to everyone involved in organization and they were thrilled to hear so many positives coming out of a bad situation. Have a good year and hopefully no more bad weather. Donna
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