I haven't been writing much lately. I have done a bunch of shows this year (26) and truly have just beat myself up physically.....Plus, the time in-between has been studio "bust a move" time...to keep the inventory fresh and plentiful. But I figured that I would end up the year reviewing my last two shows.
Two weeks ago I did Cincinnati Winterfair. Based at the Covington Convention Center, which is nicely equipped with rugs and big pushcarts to load in our work. The booth fee is $350 and the show had about 300 exhibitors (my estimate), I can't remember the exact number. Load in was on Thursday and was so well organized that I had everything up in half the time I usually do. There is approximately 1 foot of space in back of your booth , enough for a few plastic boxes but that is about all. Electricity is free. It is cheap to stay in nice digs in Cincinnati for reasonable prices. We stayed at the Raddison "hair-curler" high rise and the room was great and less than $100 with a great river view.
The show was laid out well and nobody could be overlooked. There seemed to be an over abundance of jewelry... I think it hurt the jewelers, and many around me were not having a great day. I had one on either side and also one across from me. I am 2D and honestly, there weren't too much in my category and those of us there were doing ok. Since this is a gift show I didn't bring my large work but instead brought some medium size pieces along with my line of low price ($35 to 55 dollars) small pieces. I can't complain. The crowds were their for the weekend and I did a decent profit along with covering my expenses. It was solid for a close to the Holidays show. I don't believe that it was an excellent show for many artists though, I saw a lot of small items go by but not a lot of big work. For me working small had it's advantages because even though I didn't sell much of my bigger pieces off the wall, I sold the heck out of the small stuff (gifts) and that is what I expected.
The show is very well run with Carol Snyder at the helm who is very knowledgeable and a seasoned pro. This show is a tight ship and is the main art market for this time of year in Cincinnati/Covington. It was a pleasure to do. One of the nice things is that the show is a Friday, Saturday show from 10 until 6 but on Sunday it closes at 4pm which makes it possible for most of us to drive home that night. I live 4 hours away and it was a fast break down and we were out of there by 5:30 Then on the road and home by 10pm. I recommend this show, it has a good track record and for me, well maybe it was because I was new, not sure , but it was worth doing.
Last weekend was Winterfair Columbus...this show at the Ohio State Fair Grounds is three times the size of the Cincinnati show. The cost to participate is $375 for a 10 x10 both with no back space for storage or chairs so you had to be creative with the set up. Note: leave your Hollywood chair at home-there is no room). Load in is on you- so bring a good dolly and your own flooring. There are many entrance point though and you aren't far from your booth. . I think there were probably around 700 exhibitors- that is one thing I just didn't tabulate so if anyone can help I would appreciate it. I know that the rows went from 100 to 1100 so there were many of us. We stayed out by the airport, there are a good selection of reasonable hotels and we were only 3 miles for the fairgrounds. There was a special rate ($80) room at another hotel through the show...but it was much farther away so I think we made a good decision.
This was a wonderful show and the crowds turned out. I made over 3K on Friday alone(I brought my big work this time). The other days for me were almost as good. Maybe because I was new-maybe I was lucky...don't really know. I had friends there that did awful and I felt bad about my good fortune. But hey, I have been on their end of the stick as many times as they have been on mine...it's always a pendulum. The show goes until 8pm on Friday, which stayed busy that night, then 7pm on Saturday (dead after 5) and then to 4pm on Sunday....an easy break down even though it seemed to be sleeting a bit while we were doing it. Made it possible to get home that night.
It was a pleasure to do and since it was one of my best shows of the year...it was a great way to finish it up. Happy Holidays everyone at AFI....May 2017 be a wonderful and productive year to all of you...see you along the way. Now I'm going to put my feet up! Ha!
Comments
Yes Barry worse than Des Moines indoor show.
Great critique, Marge! Although I haven't reached your level of art fair participation yet, I always enjoy reading the reviews and comments as incentive for getting myself "out there". Thanks...
Sounds good Karen.
Thanks, Marge. Let's just forget this little dialogue ever happened, ok?
Sorry I blew up at you Karen. Too much stress and shows lately and surgery on my hand (never good to have surgery on your right hand when you are a right handed artist) and actually a feeling that I am being corrected on this site for not writing the perfect report..... so I snapped. This isn't you.....it's been happening for a while, just a sense of someone else that has done shows longer knows better and you are less than.....It's probably me and my problem and nobody else's... but it does make me think I should just take a big break from social media....I am sorry if I offended you also. Happy Holidays.
Oscar, worse than the Des Moines indoor show?
Columbus was my worst show of the year. I felt like half the people was surprise to see a hispanic guy in there. I can tell you after this experience I will never go back there. Which leave me with one choice (Florida).
I was also at the Cinci Winterfair, and I'd say I did well. It wasn't my best show, but it was far from my worst. Next year I plan on going to the Columbus one as well. Enjoyed the well-planned load-in and load-out, and the show was definitely worth the trip.
Karen wasn't trying to be rude, just trying to expand. How nice is it when you read a show review and then see others show opinions in the comments? That's like one stop shopping vs going to 15 stores in my opinion. I appreciate Karen's information the same as I appreciated yours marge.
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