Last winter I participated in three art fairs, Naples in Cambier Park, Gasparilla in Tampa and Lake Wales. The trip was successful last year with the weakest show being Lake Wales. This year I booked five art fairs, but ran into a string of wait list invitations in the process. Ft Myers, Cambier Park (Naples), Gasparilla and Winter Park all put me on their wait list (so frustrating).
So far I haven't heard from any of them. Anyway, I thought I'd make the best of it and do the shows that I was invited to: ArtiGras in Jupiter, S. Miami, Lake Wales, Bonita Springs and Downtown Naples.
I chose ArtiGras in Jupiter because I really didn't like doing Coconut Grove a couple years ago. And it turned out to be a good decision. ArtiGras is much easier to do, is well run and has a pretty good turnout of people.
Weather was cool but sunny all three days, making the art fair a better destination for many than the beach. We were lucky enough to find parking on the street not far from our booth location on all three days of the show (this one runs Saturday, Sunday and Monday because of Presidents's day).
Setup was pretty easy on the Friday before the show. Marcia and I had all day to setup. I wanted to work on a better booth shot so we took our time and initially did a setup specifically for the booth shot. Then, we set up for the show itself. I also needed a lot of extra time because I made some major changes in the artwork I would be showing.
Until this show, I exhibited a wide variety of artwork from landscapes to a new line of rather surrealistic (and sometimes humorous) landscapes I call "Urban Punk." They sold well last season in the midwest, so over the winter I created more in the Urban Punk series. And, since I needed to bring enough inventory in my van for five shows, I drastically cut the variety of art I used to show. For the Florida art fairs I decided to show mostly Urban Punk.
It turned out to be a good decision. Customers responded well, and so did the judges. I sold $5200 worth of artwork for the three days and won first in the Digital category for another $1000. Saturday was the slowest day, and as the day wore on, I began questioning my decision to show so much Urban Punk. But Sunday was gangbusters, with sales over $3500.
But the biggest surprise was when the committee showed up with a bugle blaring and the announcement that I won a prize. I was given a crown (really) and a ribbon and they took some pictures of me with the crown and a silly smile on my face.
Monday was a little slower than Sunday but I still raked in over $1200. Break down was pretty straightforward, especially since we had the van parked on the street only about a block away from the booth.
I'm very pleased with the show and I plan to participate next year, but my success was not mirrored all over the art fair. There were a lot of unhappy artists who did not sell well, but, I guess that's the case at every art fair. I'll be doing one of those nasty early morning setups tomorrow morning in South Miami. I'll post the results of that fair next week. Keeping my fingers crossed for another good show.
July 4 & 5
by Erin Melloy of EM Events, a well-established promoter of art shows in the Chicago area. EM Events works closely with some of Chicagoland's most innovative and creative communities and organizations to produce premiere art festivals of distinction. At EM Events, it's about the art. 
