Sometime good things happen

I got an email today from a show I did last summer:  "You are receiving this invite because we enjoyed working with you in 2022, you followed the rules of the park/Mtn Fair. As well as being in the top sales of your category. We look forward to working with you in 2023."  I don't have to submit photos, just complete short from application and $50 jury fee. Jury fees are up this year as another one is $45. 

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  • Wow, what a nice surprise. However, why would you have to pay a jury fee when you have actually been invited to participate and know it's a done deal

    ?  

    • No idea but know they use the money to put on a very good well managed and attended event. It's worth it and I don't mind paying it. I look forward to the post competition sale of the pie constest. 

      • But isn't that what the space fee is for?  Forgive me, I guess it's just sour grapes on my part because i've only applied to two "juried" shows and didn't get accepted into either one.  However, it was recommended i try again the following year.  Uh, no I dont think so, at least not without an explaination (that i feel i paid for) as to why my work was found lacking.

        • The booth fee is separate and $450 this year I think. For $25 extra you get to select a space which is good if you know where the shade is. I like the scroll piece on your info page. Jury fees have been $25-35 but it looks like they are goiung up. Jewlery is a tough medium with lots of competition. Don't give up. 

          • Awww, thanks Richard but every since 2108 when the economy collapsed, i got rid of my fancy displays and glass cases and now only do the smaller cheaper shows. I'm too damn old at this point to even try to compete.  Sadly, compiments don't pay the bills. When I stared in 1998 i did shows where i was the ONLY jewelry.  We all know how that is now and i've pretty much thrown in the ol' towel.  I wish you the best of luck though and i'm sure your merchandise is terrific to be invited back, what an ego boost.  Bless your heart, make piles of money and have a most wonderful Christmas and especially a very happy (prosperous) New Year.  

            • Jeannette, just for comparison, I apply to about 30 or so shows in a year, spend maybe $1,200? or so in application fees. I get accepted to maybe 2/3 or them, invited to a few others and will do 12-15 shows in a year, depending on how much coffee I drink. So keep applying; you may want to have a look at some of the different discussions about "tips for better jurying" there was an excellent one hosted Tuesday by Amdur productions/Chicago area, if you contact them they will have a link to the webinar (recorded) very informative. There are also others, a good one sponsored every so often by Cherry Creek Arts in Denver. But, yes, you will have to have a bit of "a thick skin". I hear you say you've been doing shows since 1998. I started mass marketing in 1984 in other industries (consumer electronics/tech/medical), have been doing art shows 9 years, so even with 40 years of sales and marketing experience I still learned something from Tuesday's presentation. Good luck. And yes, you will have to pay some jurying fees, and accept the fact that you might/might not get in, and if not, you will not hear much if any of an explanation. C'est la Vie

  •  hi Richard, I've gotten a few invites like that over the years, and there is one regular show I do in Denver now based off of the working relationship. The show is familair with my work and they have a handful of artists that form the 'core' of the show. This isn't my best selling show, but it is local (no travel expenses), no commision expenses, and I can set out soem experimental work. Show attracts Mountian, southwest and midwestern artists. 

    I agree with Connie's comments

     

  • Sounds like a smart committee to me. One of the reasons we continued to do shows that were not the top sales for us was these invitations. Being able to plug a show into next years schedule, that you could depend on and knew, was a tiny sliver of security which is not one of the qualities that makes one choose to do art shows for a living. 

    So Richard, are you going back?

    • Yes, we will be going back although we had talked about rotating it with a commuter show closer to home. It was a record breaker for shows with no saddle sale included, but summer housing in the Aspen-Carbondale-Glenwood Springs corridor is more expensive in summer than the winter ski season. Last year I found a Rodeway down on I-70 for $100/night but that was a big mistake and I ended up writing to coorporate about the place. It has since been boughht by the county to convert to apartments for winter sevice employees like snowplow drivers. Bikers who you dndn't want to argue with were barbequing in the handicap parking spot. Not since field geology days have I had my 38 on my nightstand. I will bite the bullet for accomodations this year.  Mark, I am a core exhibitor at some other Colorado shows and they are the ones put on by community organizations looking at the tax revenue that you generate with your sales. If one heads south, I will rotate it with another and then go back. It seems to stimulate sales as I hear "oh, we missed you last year" etc.

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