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Unfortunately, the Art and Craft Show held in Old Town San Diego will no longer be held.  This show had been held in the Historic Old Town San Diego.  Old Town is a quaint area that attracts tourists to San Diego.

The Arts & Crafts Show Old Town San Diego first began in 2011.  This art and craft show had something for everyone, fine art, entertainment. delicious international tasty food, tequilas, and craft beer and wine.  The colorful art event ran along San Diego Avenue from Conde Street to Twiggs Street.

The art and craft show was hosted by the Old Town Chamber of Commerce.  In 2018, the show was schedule to take place.  The artists were juried in and a month before the show was to take place the show was abruptly canceled.  The artists' money was refunded.  

The Old Town Chamber of Commerce did not receive the annual financial support in 2018 that it had received in the past.  That lack of funding caused the show to be cancelled in 2018.  Because that lack of financial support still continues there was also no show taking place for 2019.

So, as of this date, there is no sign that this show will return in the future.  It is always sad to report the end of an art show. 

Selling white Flourish mesh panels with Stabars. Great condition.

3 panels for 2d 10' pop up with square legs. Panels are 5" high. 

Comes with easy zip storage bag for transpo. Tent not included.

Located in Fort Wayne Indiana. Can arrange local pickup meet half way, to South Bend, Chicago or Indy.

$500.

Sometimes people, even well-meaning people, say just the wrong thing to artists and crafters, especially at shows and festivals. So we asked our Facebook followers to tell us the top things not to say to an artist or crafter, and we got some great responses!

10 Things Not to Say to an Artist or Craftsman:

1. “I’ll just get my friend to make me one of those.”
2. “You know what you should make…”
3. “Do I get a price break if I buy two?”
4. “I can make that myself.”
5. “Why does it cost so much?”
6. “How do you make this?”
7. “Will you donate your artwork to our event? We can’t pay you, but it will be great exposure.”
8. “My nine-year-old makes this kind of stuff too.”
9. “Kids, this is what happens if you don’t go to college.”
10. “I can buy that at Walmart for $3.99.”

I want to thank all those who contributed with your feedback. We hope all of you have a great day doing, you know, whatever artists and craftsmen do with all their time…

 Well, it is my birthday, approaching three quarters of a century, and I am back in NSB (New Smyrna), drinking tequila at my favorite beach bar and writing my blog.

I am working for ya.

So, the Shaw was My last summer show.

It is a small show in a historic neighborhood in downtown southwest St. Louis.

Only 140 booths, and they are all good.

Show is held the first weekend in October and has been going on for years.

It is run by a neighborhood association.  They are artist friendly.They put artists up in neighborhood homes for free.  They have a great artist dinner on Saturday.

It s a mellow setup on Friday, everybody has tons of room behind their booths for storage.  Plenty of room on the sides too.

It attracts an upscale crowd, mostly locals.  They are savvy buyers and respect the artists.

I notice many of the heavy-hitter artists do this show.  That should tell you something.

We had perfect weather all days, though it was pretty cloudy with low light.

I lucked out.  They put me in a different spot then the one I requested.

So I show up early Sat. Morn and this women with a bubbly personality and a hot carafe of freshly made coffee shows up at my booth.

She lives across the street from my booth.

Every year she takes care of about 16 artists who are near her house.

She brings fresh coffee, then she beckons us inside her kitchen.

She has fresh croissants, breads, cookies, homemade soup, baked tenderloin, and, free beer.

She gets very sad if we do not everything there, beer included.

Then, on Sunday she does it again with a whole fresh menu—and, free beer.

I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

OK Nels tell us about the show.

Thought you would never ask.

The crowds are sparse here, not big streams of people

But, the people who show up, and usually travel with a small group of friends,  buy art.

I saw good sales going down the street all day long.

By Sat. End, I had passed my sales for the entire previous show, and they were strong.

Sunday, I surged way ahead and almost doubled my sales from last year.

In case you are not familiar with my work.  I do handcolored black and white image photographs of famous rock performers that I have shot, very Andy Warhol style.

Most artists I queried had a very good show.

I think this is a better show to do then St. James, but that is only my humble opinion.

Well, my next show is next week in Pensacola, the Great Gulfcoast Art Show, it is the best show to do on that weekend, bar none.

Of course I will give ya a great blog, plus a Tequila Report.

Aloha, amigos!

Here are a few reasons that craft fairs are so important to the crafters, the customers, and the community.

1. Craft fairs save dying arts by giving leatherworkers, woodworkers, textile weavers, and other artisans a venue to show their wares.
2. Crafts sold at craft fairs are made with love (not underpaid labor).
3. By purchasing goods at a craft fair, you are supporting people rather than corporations.
4. When you purchase from a craft fair, you can know that the product you are buying is unique.
5. Visiting a craft fair is a chance to meet local artists and appreciate their creativity rather than visiting a mall filled with the mass-produced merchandise.
6. Handcrafted items will usually last longer; in fact, they may become heirlooms.
7. By purchasing crafts at an art fair, you are fostering creativity in your hometown.
8. Crafts sold at craft fairs celebrate the diversity and culture of the community.
9. Purchasing from craft fairs supports local entrepreneurs and the local economy. By buying at home, you keep that money at home.
10. Buying goods at local fairs supports local art events and encourages your community to host more events like it in the future.

Share this list with friends and other crafters to encourage others to buy and sell local.

Art fairs can be a great way for you to greet potential customers and to show off your work. Not all of these shows are the same, however. Some fairs allow any artist or crafter to get venue space, as long as they can pay the required fee. These fairs may also be more general and include everyone from painters, jewelers, and leathercrafters. Other fairs, however, are juried and tend to be more specific in who they want. These fairs include a judge coming around and reviewing your art to see if you are allowed to be in the show.

Getting accepted to these fairs or shows is a great way for your work to be given exposure and for you as an artist to be taken seriously. There are a few guidelines to follow that can increase the chances that you will be accepted to the fair:

1. Understand the rules. The number one reason artists are not accepted into juried art shows is because they didn’t read or understand the rules, according to John R. Math in his "How to Get Accepted to More Juried Art Shows" article. If you study the rules carefully, you are giving yourself a much greater chance of being selected.

2. Don’t Ignore the rules. Understanding the rules is one thing. Actually following them is quite another. You might think that trying to go “above and beyond” is a good idea in order to try and impress the judges, or that neglecting one small aspect won’t matter. Doing these things almost guarantees rejection. What impresses the judges most is that you followed their instructions to the letter.

3. Know what you’re getting into. Your art may be beautiful and may even be in high demand, but if it doesn’t fit the theme or the look of the fair, odds are your work will not be accepted. And even if it is, you might not be able to make enough of a profit to make the fair worthwhile. Know before you sign up what the theme of the show is and whether or not your art fits.

4. Think about the business aspect. While it may not have any bearing on whether you are accepted to an art show or not, it is important that you ask yourself if it makes financial and business sense for you to be there. Consider the extra costs you may incur, including travel, booth rentals, and possibly even needing to purchase art fair liability insurance. Are the extra costs worth the self-confidence boost you would get by being accepted?

5. Don’t get discouraged and don’t give up. This may be the most important guideline to follow. If you are not accepted into an art fair, do not get discouraged. Do not put yourself or your work down. There are any numbers of reasons why the judges decided not to accept your work, and odds are good that it is not because they didn’t like it. Keep trying and keep submitting. If you persevere, you give yourself a much greater chance that your art will be accepted.

Once you have been accepted, the preparation begins. Part of that preparation includes taking into account the expenses discussed earlier. Travel and booth rental costs are pretty straightforward, but insurance coverage can be tricky.

If the venue site does require you to have insurance, you should consider an Artists, Crafters, and Tradesmen (ACT) Insurance. An ACT policy gives you the option of choosing liability coverage for only one or two shows or having coverage for an entire year. Both options are affordable and meet most venue requirements. To learn more about which option is right for you, please visit ACT’s Compare Policies page. Having insurance also gives you one less thing to worry about as you get ready to showcase your work.

Great Show.

The promoter for the Paso Robles Art Show, Steve Powers , has created an absolutely beautiful art show in the wonderful city of Paso Robles.

Imagine you are in the most fantastic and beautiful Zinfandel, Bordeaux, and Cabernet Sauvignon region of the State of California (Napa – Chardonnay – yum).

Imagine a weekend selling fine art in a beautiful park in the center of Paso Robles, CA.

I bring my Kinetic Fish sculptures ( www.kineticfish.com ) to the show, along with at least five pieces of my abstract sculpture – the people who own the wineries do come to the show, and do buy fine art.

If you are needing or wanting a fine art show to do, Paso Robles, this is the show to do.

Jeff

Another Sedona Arts Festival done. Awesome!

Thankfully this year the weather was fantastic. The city was FULL of people, people coming in from all over the US, and many from the nearby Phoenix area looking for a weekend away from the big city. Sedona was jumping!

The show was beautiful – Fine Art Only (FAO), and very well done. I heard many compliments from the attendees on how good the art was – I agree.

I did very well this year, great sales both Saturday and Sunday.

Load in is easy – just select your desired load in time and get going. Load out is also good – once you are broke-down, you get a card to bring your vehicle in and load up. (I dollie'd out because it’s easier for me).

There are a lot of people in the Sedona area with a lot of money and little to do. The art show is a great place for them to drop a bunch of money on fine art for their beautiful homes.

My clients were from all over the US. A lot of snowbirds (back-easters with their 2^nd homes in Sedona or just out for a week in the high desert (4,444 foot above sea level))…perfect!

I saw many of my pieces go to homes in Sedona and as far away as Minnesota and Florida – and others.

This show is really beautiful. Set in Sedona, AZ at the high school baseball field. The music is “class act” defined. Local musicians with outstanding talent. There are great food trucks lined up with great fare.

The only thing missing is wine or beer – the high school grounds do not allow alcoholic beverages.

Consider the area for your artwork, or not. I bring “Native American” style artwork to this show. I did the show about 7 years ago with abstract sculpture – did not go well. While I was in Sedona I saw some Native American Shaman sculptures that inspired me and I made some for my home. An Arizona resident / client of mine came over to my home one day, saw my awesome Shamans hanging on the wall in my home, and immediately purchased them. This struck me as – hey, this is what the people of Sedona want.

I decided to make lots of Shamans for the next year’s Sedona show – and I never looked back. My Shamans are my break and excitement for my Arizona shows. Most of the time I am making my abstract steel artwork for California “desert” shows (La Quinta and Palm Desert) - (Modern and Contemporary Artwork lovers).

So, If you are looking for a show in Arizona, in October (beginning of their wonderful winter-season), the Sedona Arts Festival is the one to do. (No guarantee of the weather – sometimes it actually rains in the high desert, most times not (crossed fingers for 2020)).

I’ll be back…Thanks Sedona for a wonderful show. A special thank you to Lori Reinhart and crew for all your hard work to make the show a success.

Jeff

So, artists often complain about show producers not advertising enough to get people to their shows, I understand. I personally don't know how much promoting/advertising promoters actually do. Shows that charge a commission really should (NEED TO) advertise their shows aggressively – thus making them more money from commissions on sales at their events.

I’ve done some shows where there are large billboards on the highway near the show that advertise the upcoming show – excellent – it really does work and people do come because of the billboards (I asked people at the show and many said that the billboard sparked them go.)

Where a billboard cannot be used, radio advertising is an excellent avenue to inform people in the area of the upcoming event.

Television advertising is obviously expensive (I really have no idea what a TV ad costs), but this is obviously the best way to advertise a show. Everybody watches TV (I assume) and those that see an ad for an event on TV often come to the show – I asked my buyers. Often, the Chamber of Commerce can help with getting the event on the TV.

For smaller venues, TV, radio, and billboards are often out of the question – too expensive.

There is another way to advertise an event – even many weeks before the event... that option is simple door magnets that are placed on vehicles that drive around many weeks before an event containing all the pertinent information about the event.

Because many shows have volunteer groups lined up to help at their event, these groups could receive door magnets, supplied by the promoter, to advertise the upcoming event. Every volunteer would then also be a moving billboard advertising the upcoming event.

I’ve personally done this for events I’m going to be in, in my area. It’s a simple and very inexpensive way to promote an event that I will be at in my area. Because I have some skills with graphics, I can create any artwork needed for a door magnet advertisement. I design the art, go to Vistaprint.com, upload my file, and within two or three days, I have some door magnets advertising the event.

It’s simple and “cheap” to order door magnets. Just go to Vistaprint.com / Signage & Trade Shows / select Car Magnets, and go. A 10 x 20 door magnet is only $22 bucks. 40 door magnets is only $880 – the price of only one double booth! (In my experience). Imagine, 40 cars driving all over the city every day advertising your event!

Sample:

The image above is a “sample” of what any advertisement could look like.

NOTE: I am not affiliated with Vistaprint at all. I just use their services regularly. 

Just my 2 cents…

Jeff