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Am looking for any artist feedback on the mesa arizona show coming up this December. We got into Tempe and were looking to tie another show into it since our drive is 24 hrs. We have done Tucson in the past and are not doing it this year and then I saw this Mesa show on Zapp. D'line is next Friday, so any input by then would be greatly appreciated!

For more information visit: www.artfulvision.com

The show is well juried, well managed and I saw (for the first time this year) a good number of pieces walking down the street headed for a new home on the walls.The show has become a "destination" event where folks will plan their Summer trip to the mountains, and fill the streets both days.This is monsoon season in the hills, and you can plan to drop the sides more than a few times during the weekend. Saturday, the rain hit at three pm, this pretty much killed the day but they came back in droves on Sunday.

This year over 800 artists applied for about 185 spots, and there were no empty spaces.I can see this one becoming better and better over the next few years as the word gets out about the overall coolness of Crested Butte, the sales and quality of this well managed show.

Incidentals:

Now, we are there to sell, but it doesn't hurt to have a bit of fun.Took the camera down the street to the music corner.This chick rocked as good as she looked.The food court was all down home.Real bar b que smoke filled the air,local vendors peddeling fresh lamb and other goodies, there was plenty of veggie faire for the non carnivoires.There are no fast food places here, the support your local folks vibe permeates the entire weekend. We were set up with the local coffee house right behind (the entire weekend spent well caffeinated).There are dive bars,a real nice steakhouse, and all sorts of eclectic eateries and shops that give hope to the dream of the independent business person.Crested is pretty much off the grid, and the locals know how good they have it.Be ready to entertain some of the local characters, but aside from the Hells Angels passing thru on the Sturgis pilgrimige (50 was a distinct presence as well) it was a weekend you leave with a smile on your face, and a few bucks in your pocket.It's one I plan to keep on the schedule.

Don't hate us because we were successful at this years Orchard Lake Art Show.At first I was scared about the location of the new venue and did not think ANYONE would find the show..it was very far off of Orchard Lake Road.Patty Narozny. of Hotworks did her job with tons of signage and television coverage - which brought the people out. The Friday night preview party was packed! Bob and I usually don't depend on these parties to determine the success of any art show...drinking and shmoozing is what the crowd usually wants to do.That night we sold a very expensive piece to a young couple from Royal Oak, and we had no stress from then on.That is not the case for most of the artists we talked to. A much larger show(240 artists) larger than the previous years- good for the customers, not always for the artists.Set up and take down was a breeze....

And come to the show they did! The quality of art was fabulous! Lots of great artists who also did Ann Arbor the previous weekend.We sold three large,two medium and two smaller pieces at the show which added up to the best show of our summer so far..we also delivered and hung three pieces which I think added to the sales we made- customer convenience is something every customer wants.There was alot of money walking around the show...don't know if they all spent it, bnut they were there!!!

I think the crowd did buy from some artists- there were mixed reviews from artists around us...same as always.

We will be back next year and hopefully sales will be even better!

And , Nels...we missed you- sorry you had such a great Ann Arbor show and could not join us for dinner Saturday night at Bravo- we enjoyed our martinis anyway!

Every show has its challenges and this weekends show was no exception. But there was something a little different ... a little "off", on this show. The paperwork asked for a 6:45 a.m. set up. Which on normal shows, would be fine. But this show did not open until 12-noon on Saturday. I thought it was strange that it has a late opening time. I send an email to the organizers to request a later set up time. They told me I could arrive at 7:30. But couldn't make it any later. It will only take us 2 hours to set up.

When we arrived, it was drizzling a little, but soon stopped. The street was a little tight for tents on either side and cars unloading down the middle. But you make the best of it. We unloaded, got set up. We were all set up and ready by 9:30. So now we sat there, no customers and chatted with other artists for over 2 hours. There seem to be no good reason for us to be there sooooo early. We had traveled 3 hours away. So we had gotten up at 3:00 a.m. to sit there. We could have "slept in" til 5:00. We asked artists if they had done the show before. I did not find one artists that had done the show last --- not a good sign.

The gates opened at 12-noon. But they charged $7 to get into the area. This admission charge also included music at one end of the festival. This has a major affect on the type of person attending the show. These were people that were willing to pay for the (rock) music, but not interested in buying art.

The "services" provided to artists were strange as well. When we checked in, there were no name tags. About 1:00 on Saturday afternoon, they walked around and handed everyone a name tag. The "artists lounge" was open from 2:00-5:00=which was the peek selling time.

The show was to run until 10 p.m. but the artists were able to close earlier, if they wanted to do so. We left on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. out of boredom. Some others did stay open later, but did not sell anything. Sunday night they closed the show a 9:00 p.m. (do you know how dark it is at 9:00 p.m.?) Then an other hour or so to pack up and get out. We left at 7:00.

Total sales were very poor. We covered our expenses, plus $100. Not even closed to what we expected.

This seems to be a music show that added art. They are not really interested in developing the art side of the festival OR don't know how to run an art show. Too bad. It could have been a good show. But we will not be returning next year. Most artists around us did little to no sales. One artist next to us did OK on Saturday, but nothing on Sunday, told us he would not be returning next year.