Blog

September 17 & 18 
Creston, Iowa
Presented by:  Creston: Arts
50 Artists
Deadline: June 30

Application fee: $25/Booth fee: $75-100

Registration Deadline:  Application and fee is required to reserve your space by June 30. No refunds after August 1.

Arts and Crafts:  Handmade items.  May include pre-contructed inclusions.  Fee is $75 for 12x12 outdoor space, electrical is $10 extra.  Fee is $100 for 10x10 indoor space. No third parties vendors will be accepted.

Fine Arts and Crafts: 100% made by artists.  Fee is $75 for 12x12 outdoor space, electrical is $10 extra. Fee is $199 for 10x10 indoor space. No third parties vendors will be accepted.

Demonstrator:  Free if you are a fine craft/artisan and would like to demonstrate and sell as you "show" off to the crowds.  We encourage you to apply.  Demonstrators who do not sell product may apply for mileage reimbursement.

If you feel your product falls into one of these 7 categories, we encourage you to apply. Applications may be found online or request a hard copy from the Creston: Arts Council. All applicants must submit photographs of their booth and product at the time of application. Application Deadline is June 30, 2016 and all selected applicants will receive notification by July 15, 2016

This past weekend I was at Old Town, this year's AFI listed #1 show. I was a bit skeptical since I was there last year and just did ok, no great shakes. Not that is was bad, but sometimes when you do a show for the first time the payback isn't as good as your expectations.

That didn't stop me from sending in my money this year when I happily got accepted. The show is well organized and about two weeks before, you get a packet with all that is necessary to be able to understand what you need to do. Chicago is a big place to navigate, especially solo. One problem this year was that there was a huge medical convention and the America's Cup this past weekend and because of that the hotels were outrageous. My hotel last year downtown was $150 a night through Hotels.com...right on the river at the Merchandise Mart this year it was $325 a night. There was nothing available, even Air B&B's were $250 per night. The only hotels around $125 were at O'Hare or farther out, which is a considerable drive from the show.

I was lucky....I was a teacher for a long time and I threw it out to the internet that I needed a couch or bed in Chicago and one of my former student's had an apartment on W.Orleans...which was one of the main streets on the show route. Let me tell you that it was incredibly nice to get up in the morning and walk over to Wisconsin where my booth was. That doesn't happen often. I would hope that Old Town might consider in the future hosting like Winter Park or Ann Arbor. It would be wonderful if they did. They do send you a list of recommend hotels but they were still pretty high. 

One of the hardest things about Old Town is set-up and parking. I was there at 4:30 am Saturday morning. I drove right up to my booth and unloaded on the sidewalk. Unfortunately, a car was parked in my and my neighbor's booth . The car didn't get towed until 8am.(ugh)  By then it was a hot set up and I was drenched. I also had to find a parking spot and it was so far from the show that at night, when I had a delivery,  it took me an hour to find my car again. It's a confusing area if you are not from there...I swear the only way I found it was that I kept clicking on my key light hoping that it would revel itself. Word to the wise-at 6a.m. write better directions for yourself (duh). 

There is also a wonderful breakfast served everyday and a well organized booth sitting volunteer staff. I had a husband and wife team that actually called me on the phone on Saturday because they had sold one of my bigger pieces and then came back later and bought two pieces from me also. What more could you ask for!

The day was truly the hottest show day I have ever been at. I thought Georgia heat was bad at Decatur...this was worse. It got up to 100 degrees and it felt even hotter. Even then... the crowds never stopped coming. For encaustic, it was a bit dicy but as long as nobody touched them everything was good. I am usually telling people to touch my work because it feels so different that a pigment painting but Saturday I was a bear if anyone even tried to get close to them (they get soft in the sun and can dent). But they kept leaving the walls and it ended up being the best one day total I have ever had. Everyone around me had an good day too. It was a "5" level buying crowd.

That night I met two of my former students from Switzerland who now go to SAIC and we went around the corner to Renalli's for dinner. They have great pizza and wings and a helluva Bloody Mary (ah... my drink of choice) If you do this show I suggest you go and try their prosciutto and arugula pizza...primo! 

Sunday, I felt like I had left Haiti and had ended up in Helsinki...the weather was in the 60's with a brisk breeze. I saw many people with down jackets and heavy sweaters. By the afternoon it had warmed up again and people came out in sandals and t-shirt's. Let me rephrase that...Many People came out..Many, Many people came out! It was super crowed and I never left my booth except to run to the porto potty-which by the way was way too far away from my side of the show. (please Old Town redistribute them next year) I realize this is too much information... but honestly, it's important.

Well, anyway....Sunday was my next highest selling day ever. Guy's, not trying to act big or anything here, I have done many years of so-so and less than so-so shows...as I said before, I am no great shakes...but I had the magic ticket at Chicago this year. Some of you have been talking on this blog about a recession and an election year downturn. Well, I am here to say that Chicago hasn't heard about that... It was more than good for everyone around me. I didn't hear of Anyone complaining....and you all know that you usually hear a few.

Load out was fairly easy for me. With a short wait and and a curb side load up. With as tight as the streets are and without any formal instructions and attendants...it went a lot smother that most. 

And finally, this show is the BOMB...plain and simple. There is a reason it's #1 and should be. They run a tight ship with numerous volunteers and support staff that makes it smooth going. There is always someone near who can help you with whatever you need. I also love when the director's of the show come and talk to the artists and thank us for being there. With all they do, it's the least of their worries but at Old Town they make you feel extremely welcome. Kuddos Old Town......it was a real pleasure....Hope to see you next year...

Just finished the Hinsdale art festival. This was my second year showing. Here is a link to last years review if you are looking for more info. We are on the road to Virginia Beach and I am writing this in the car on the iPad so this will be a shorter review.

http://www.artfairinsiders.com/profiles/blogs/hinsdale-fine-arts-festival-chicagoish

Hinsdale is a small quaint town outside of Chicago. The art show is set up in the park in downtown Hinsdale. Great location. There is a Starbucks at one corner of the park, a gas station for ice at another corner and a ton of great resteraunts a stones throw away. It is the perfect combination of showing in a city but having the ease of showing in a park. Booths are set up on the grass and there are sidewalk paths in front of your booth. There is room behind your booth and a decent amount on each side.

Set up starts on Friday at 9:30 am. There are around 100 artists. You cant drive into the park but this is a small park and you get pretty close to your booth. Bring a dolly but for many of us you don't need one. This is a very easy low stress set up. It was hot, 95 and humid so we took it slow. The people that run the show were again wonderful. They introduce themselves and kept everything running smoothly.

There aren't any hotels in Hinsdale but Oak Brook has a ton of hotels just a few miles away. We were able to get the Doubletree for $60 a night.

Saturday called for another HOT day and rain. It hit 98 on Saturday but no rain. After melting in Decatur a couple weeks ago we packed an arsenal of stuff to keep us cool. We had a box fan on the ceiling of the tent for patrons. Two battery operated fans, one for each chair, A misting fan, Two frogg toggs, ice gel packs and the best of all my out door airconditioning that Larry Houghs made for me. We were very comfortable all day and had success with sales. The patrons in Hinsdale are sophisticated and qualified. I felt like the crowds were stronger this year. It never is a crowded show but there always were people shopping all day. The show closed at 5pm on Saturday. 5pm is the perfect time to close a show. So happy Hinsdale has this figured out.

Sunday the temps dropped to the 60s and hit about 70. If was a beautiful day. The show opens at 10 am. We set up early and went for a great breakfast across the street from the show. Sales started happening right at open, 10 am and we watched work go out through out the day. Both days the staff was womderful about keeping us stock with cold water. Booth sitters were available if you needed one. They might have had some food available but we either pack our own or in this case we take turns and enjoy a nice lunch at one of the restaraunts.

Load out is easy. The show closes at 5pm. The police officer starts letting vehicles in right at 5pm. Again this is a small show and pretty easy to get your vehicle close to your booth space. You don't have to tear down before getting your vehicle. This is nice because you only have to touch everything once.

We hope to return next year. The setting is so nice. The patrons are great and the show staff are wonderful.

Now on to Virginia Beach. From everything I have heard about this show I feel like we are entering an art fair game show challenge. But first we are going to visit Point Pleasant WV, home of The Moth Man. I am thinking of staying in the historic hotel in this town but it may be too creepy from all I have heard:)

Just finished up my fifth year as a demo artist at the Smoky Hill River Festival in Salina, Kansas.  Once again I have to say this is my favorite show of the year even in a heat wave like this year!  As a demo artist we get treated like royalty and I only pay 10% commission for my booth (with a cap at $325).  Everything at this small town festival is done right from my point of view and one of my favorite programs is their First Treasures program.  

They ask artists to donate any number of pieces they would like.  Then the kids get to come in and shop without their parents.  Kids as young as 4 years old go into a big tent and pick out something for $5 (everything is priced the same regardless of value).  Now I know some artists complain that they usually don't have product that is valued so low but I don't think it matters.  You are donating just like you would for any other fundraiser.  And really this is MORE than a fund raiser- it's teaching the kids to be art patrons!  And I have seen the results.  Every year I see kids that have saved their own money to come and shop in my booth.  I would say I had up to half a dozen such purchases this year from young shoppers - spending as much as $40.  Someday these kids will grow up to be the art patrons that really make our shows!

And this year I had my largest sale from a mother who told me she always checks to be sure the artists she buys from are First Treasures contributors.  She even said she almost bought from one artist but saw they weren't contributors so she went on her way!

Of all the great ideas at art fairs out there I think this is one that should be emulated everywhere!  Has anyone else seen similar programs?  Have they also been successful? 

One of the shows that I've been doing for the last few years is now moving to a new location. Unfortunately, with that move, you can no longer pull up near your booth to unload your vehicle.  Unloading now will be from a small parking lot where they want you to unload your items to your booth space, park your vehicle a couple of blocks away, and then return to set up.  My space is located at the far end of the new show area and I'm looking at 350 - 400 feet one way just to get to my space.  I estimate that I'll need at least a dozen trips to unload everything which may take over an hour to do.  Set up times are staggered...but I imagine that it is going to be quite a traffic jam on packing up when everyone wants to get out at the same time.  And if it is raining on set up then all bets are off...I'll have to get my booth up first before bringing in the my display and items.  Any thoughts??

September 16 & 17
Adrian, Michigan
80 Exhibitors
Deadline: June 17

Application fee: $20; Booth fee: $60, includes electricity

Artalicious is an outdoor event located in beautiful historic downtown Adrian, supported by numerous foundations and grants, a passionate committee and the businesses and the citizens of our community.

Our plans include:

• A layout that will concentrate the visual artists in the best locations.
• Enhanced artist amenities such as booth drive-up, security, close parking, lunch and break service, and Saturday morning breakfast.
• An aggressive regional marketing campaign including print, TV, radio, online, social media, and outdoor advertising to expand the fair's audience. 

From my inbox:

Connie

I am Michael Craven's older brother.

It appears I created an account on your site soon after my brother's passing, but today, my youngest granddaughter asked to see his picture online as she was to young to remember him and it's her way to "connect" to him to her memory. When I brought it up in a search, I saw your comment to members of your art community announcing his death and thought I'd just be sure to thank you for the mention and tell you that you were spot-on about his fastidous devotion to his art.

On June 19th, he would have marked his 60th birthday, and we still miss him. As his sole surviving family member, I wasn't ready to part with his collection at the time of his death by liquidating them through private or an estate sale so I brought them back with me to Florida. He had been preparing for another "road-trip" of art shows so he had prepared a large stock and even packed his trailer and RV. Hard to imagine he isn't still out there on the circuit he loved so much where his great delight was associating with his peers.

I miss his calls to relate his latest travels to shows and the overall experience.

I still have no real idea as to what I will eventually do with his collection although a number of his fans from his loyal customer base still ask to buy additional signed originals from the collection. I'm pleased his prints are timeless and still hold up well.

So, thanks to your members who knew him well and remember his unique art-style.

Sonny Craven

Michael died way too young. I'm posting this here because this is a community site. Michael was a member of this community and he was mourned by many at his untimely passing. I did a "search" for his name on AFI and came up with many moving tributes. I know you join me in not only honoring him but in honoring the creative spirit that makes life worth living for so many of us.

If you search for "obituary" of "In Memoriam" in the discussions on this site you'll find the names of many people who have enriched our business and our lives.

A friend gave me her old Pro-Panels minus the outside covers which means I will have to recover them myself. I know this won't be an easy fete, but one I can afford. What color do you all think I should use for my walls. I am a woman who makes glass jewelry. My hanging frames are either Fern green or black.

My husband thinks I should use light gray and I think a cream or oatmeal color.

I looked up some sites about how certain colors repel or attract certain customers. It says that blue, purple, and green attract women and that women hate gray, brown and orange.

In a workshop I had with Bruce Baker, he said to avoid orange or purple altogether because people either love or hate these colors.

What do you think?

Thank you in advance

Let me say first, this festival was well organized, easy in and out, and a lot of fun.  It is located in downtown Hampton, about a block from the waterfront and the marina.  The Pirate ship set off a lot of noise with it's canon.  There was a separate children's activity area across the street near the marina, which meant a lot of active kids were not near the vendors.  There were 2 blocks of vendors every 12' apart. 

We learned a lot about the people who attend the festival (who are all ages from college grads to retired).  They came from the Southeast region especially Baltimore.  We even met a retired couple from our small town of Bumpass, Va.  The people who attend this event dress up and even their children dress up.  A lot of them said they also do Renaissance festivals, Civil War re-enactments, and other dress-up events.

Unfortunately, we did not do well and made slightly more than our booth fee.  We  could not cover the other expenses.  Everyone there knew about chainmaill.  We make chainmaille jewelry.  But they said  they had it already or they made it themselves.  The people who did buy had no problems with our prices.   We would not do this event again.  There were no fine art vendors there.  The ones who did well there were those who made and sold costumes.  Like I said it was a lot of fun, but, unfortunately, not for us.

October 8 & 9

Newport News, Virginia

Presented by: Port Warwick Foundation

100 Artists

Deadline: June 15

Application Fee: $35/Booth fee: $300-$550

The Port Warwick Art and Sculpture Festival is celebrating its twelfth year this fall with world-class art by artists who demonstrate the highest levels of innovation and originality.

The arts festival is held outside, in beautiful Styron Square, surrounded by restaurants and shops. The vibrant atmosphere draws a great mix of art patrons with an average household income of $90,000+, College Educated, Married. 

Many patrons continue to return because they know they will see some of the best artwork around and be introduced to new artists. 

• Champagne Awards Breakfast; lunch provided both days for all artists
• VIP Dinner w/Sponsors & Art Buyers
• Discounted hotel rates
• 24-hour security & booth sitters
• Load in/out assistance
• Our guest judge will award prize money totaling $5,500

ESTES PARK, CO, ART MARKET, MAY 28-30, 2106

APPLICATION

This was the 15^th annual Art Market produced by the Art Center of Estes Park.  You can apply to the show on Zapp. The jury fee is $30 and standard booth fee is $300.  The application deadline is the first of March.

GEOGRAPHY, CLIMATE, DEMPOGRAPHICS

Estes Park is the eastern gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park.  Access from Denver and I-25 is by US-34 through Big Thompson Canyon or US-36 up the St. Vrain River. The St. Vrain and Big Thompson Rivers flooded in the fall of 2013 and evidence of these major floods is still present.  Check the weather and road reports (www.cotrip.org) if the weather is bad.  Trail Ridge Road crosses the mountains in the National Park and the resort areas of Granby, Grand Lake and Winter Park are on the west side.  This year, the road opened on Saturday but was closed at night.      

“Parks” in Colorado refer to broad intermountain valleys.  You have all probably heard of South Park.  There are also North Park, Middle Park, Allens Park etc.  Estes Park is one of these valleys at an elevation of 7,522’.  Mountain weather can be unpredictable, and this is true of Estes Park.  During the show weekend, there were a few sprinkles during Friday set up and a good rain Friday night.  Saturday morning was chilly but it warmed up over the weekend. There were the usual brief afternoon thunderstorms that lasted less than 30 minutes.

There are many summer homes around Estes Park and in the foothills.  The area is a destination for metro Denver residents and both national and international tourists.  It is not unusual for tour buses to pull up an unload their passengers at the show, but they are not typically my clients. One can observe many nationalities and hear diverse languages being spoken at this show. I outfitted a young man from Tamil Nadu, India with a belt and buckle. The crowed is definitely middle class, many families with pre-teen kids, lots of dogs, with a large percent from the Midwest judging from college sweat shirts.

SETUP AND TAKE DOWN

Registration was listed as open at 9:00am Friday but volunteers were there at 8:00am to start check in, which was great. You check in, get your booth assignment, then unload in designated areas on the park perimeter. The procedure, which I like, is to park, unload your stuff, move your vehicle off site, then set up your booth.  There was none of this parking in front of your and your neighbors’ booths while you dink around unloading and setting up for several hours.  There was a designated trailer parking area with a shuttle back to the show.

Take Down was similar.  You took your booth down and then you were allowed to bring your vehicle into a parking area to load your stuff.  There was no congestion created by people parking vehicles in front of their booth site for hours while they took down and loaded. No one had to dolly farther than 40 yards. The late loaders could drive in for loading. There were lots of volunteers to help with unloading and loading.

SALES AND ANALYSIS

I have done the Estes Park Art Market in six of the last seven years.  It started out as a solid $2K sales show for me and in my best year sales were a little over $3K.  Therefore I went this year with financial expectations of $3K sales.  I missed this target by $21, so I still consider it a show I will apply to again.  The crowds were good Saturday and Sunday. Monday was a little slower as people were heading home, but it was still a good day. I had 45 sales and the average sale was $66.20. Individual sales ranged from $3 for a bandana for dogs to $155 for a canteen. It came to me this year that this show is good because every year there is a turnover in the clientele with the large tourist base.  In addition, I did have returning clients.

There was a good mix of mediums. Wild life photography is popular with western subjects. Photography and jewelry were the most abundant mediums.  

AMMENITIES ETC.

     The Art Center provided a very thorough pre-show information packet. Besides the usual check in and set up information, there were tips about the weather, wildlife and adjusting to the high altitude. They also provided maps of the Estes Park region.  An artists’ reception was held Saturday night at the Art Center Gallery. There was coffee every morning and booth sitters were available. There was a kid’s area with bubbles, hula-hoops, face painting, and art projects.  There was a silent auction of donated art.  If you completed the exit survey, there was a drawing for $100 off next year’s booth fee. Booth sitters were available, and there are clean accessible rest rooms in the City Hall.

     Sometimes we hike in the park after the show, but grand kids were due to arrive at home Tuesday afternoon this year.  An interesting event this year was a cow elk that gave birth behind the library adjacent to the show. On other mornings heading down the hill to the show, I saw deer, cow elk and one young bull elk with a little rack still in velvet.

Photos:

1. Lunch break during set up. I use my tan tent at Estes because it is heavier and will take the unpredictable weather better.

2. Typical crowd.

3. Mama elk and her baby

It's always a pleasure, when you drive up to load in for a show and three people say to you."How can we help". Kind of takes you aback...doesn't happen too often.

The Decatur Arts Festival is so well organized and is outfitted with such a great volunteer staff, that I knew from the moment I got there that this would be a show I would want to come back to. Once everything was unloaded and put on the sidewalk by the volunteers, I went to park and came back to set up. It was all very smooth.

Saturday morning the crowds came out and it was steady all day. It also was hot as Hades all day. The staff kept dropping off cold water and I didn't get out of my booth much -which is a good problem to have. So the time went fast. This is a town that has it's act together...packed with great and very different restaurants it's foodie heaven. I was lucky to have insiders (Atlanta residents Karen and Paul Fincannon ) next to me. This is the second time this has happened when we haven't requested it and from now on I just need to request it because we always have a great time. Karen knows everyone on the circuit and it's fun to meet and hang with all her creative and funny friends that are also showing. Kathleen Taylor the painter,who I have always wanted to know was there.  I also got to meet and hang with Melanie Rolfes who had just gotten back from a string of shows up North...and getting to know her was awesome. She said she was bequeathing this show to me to write about because she had hit the wall. I understand that because I can just do two shows and hit the wall, no less 4 in a row. It was great to get to know her. The day was good for me, heck it was beyond good and five minutes before the end of the day someone waltzed in and bought a big piece.....that always blows me away.

Saturday night we went to a wonderful restaurant called Leon's, an old service station that has been refurbished into a high end gastro pub/restaurant. The food was great, the drinks were unusual and the company was fun. One of their specialties is fries ( I know right....) but really good fries with about eight different sauces you would never think to dip them in. Excellent. Walking back to the car a great Prince cover band was playing on the Square, seemed like the whole town was there....

The next day was so hot I kept turning on my battery fan and holding it up to my face all day. It was like a model shoot but not a model shoot...not in the least....ugh. I was solo at this show so I didn't get to see the rest of the show much. I know there were awards brought to booths on Saturday but in our area there were none so I didn't see who got them. Those around me did well, the woodworker next to me made bank ( they usually do and deservedly so), Karen who does ceramic animals had a great serge at the end of the show, sort of like mine the day before. Everyone seemed to do pretty well from what I could see. My Sunday wasn't as great as the day before but I'm not complaining.

Load out was pretty smooth. It was well organized and again there were many volunteers to get you packed up. A little bit of a line and wait but not bad compared to others I have been in. I had some really great volunteer help and I was able to get on the road before 7pm (unusual ) which put me back in Knoxville three hours later. Well run, great volunteers and good crowds, not much more you could ask for. Worth a shot if you can put up with the Georgia heat.

Tuesday, May 31, 6 pm ET

Emily Peklo, senior event project coordinator for the Omaha Summer Arts Festival and its fall sister-festival ARTsarben in Omaha, Nebraska, joins Connie to draw the names of 40 contributors to the 7th Annual Pledge Drive. Did you pledge? Will you be a winner?

With nearly 70 prizes donated by friends around the country everyone who pledged has at least a 1 in 3 chance of being chosen. Thank you to everyone who has built our business, who attends art fairs and buys art, to the show organizers who bring these cool cultural events to their community and to the artists who take risks every day with the financial and weather vagaries of life.

The suggested pledge is $24. The minimum prize value is $40. Pledge by 5 pm ET to be included in today's drawing. Will you do that? Click here: http://www.artfaircalendar.com/art_fair/pledgedrive.html

After the drawing any prizes not chosen will be available on a first come, first served basis to anyone who has sent us $$. That's right, everyone has a chance to win!

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ABOUT THE TLS TRANSITION

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