Blog

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!

Hello artists and arts administrators,

ZAPPlication® is making an important security change, and we want to make sure you’re prepared. Some users may need to update their internet browsers to continue accessing ZAPPlication.org. We have outlined the changes below, and we have also notified ZAPP® artists and administrators via email.

Starting June 20, 2016, ZAPP® will only support Transport Layer Security (TLS) version 1.2. This means that with outdated internet browsers may not be able to access ZAPP® on or after June 20, 2016.  

To ensure you still have access to ZAPP®, please be sure to update your browser to the latest version. For more information, you can visit our Frequently Asked Questions.

ABOUT THE TLS TRANSITION

Websites use TLS to keep sensitive material, like your payment information, safe while you’re browsing the internet. ZAPP® is making this change in June 2016, to ensure that we maintain the highest security standards and align with industry-wide best practices. In the future, all companies that accept credit card payments will be required to retire early versions of TLS.

If you have questions about TLS or need assistance updating your browser to continue using ZAPP®, please email us at contactzapp@westaf.org. We’re happy to help you!

Regards,

The ZAPP® team

We are counting the days until the end of our 7th Annual Pledge Drive on May 31. We held the drawing for the top ten winners on Thursday, 5/26.

If your name is listed below you've just won a prize. Go to the pledge page, look over the options and send me your top two to three choices. We'll fulfill the win in the order your name was drawn.

In the order that the names are listed you can choose a prize from the listing on this page:

http://www.artfaircalendar.com/art_fair/pledgedrive.html

Some of our sponsors:

NEW PRICE!!!!!  $275!!!  FOUR USED 70 x 38.5 LIGHT GREY CARPETED PRO-PANELS FOR SALE!! In good condition. Former asking price $375. Has minimal Sharpie markings on the back sides. 4 black standard straight stiffeners included. 5 strap fasteners. GREAT FOR ART SHOW DISPLAYS! New set from company would cost $740. 
Cash deal only. No delivery. Pick up Northwest Lansing, MI area close to Lansing Mall.

Since 1988 Elizabeth Kubie/Crafts America LLC, has been a top independent presenter of fine craft shows. The organization presented three shows in very classy venues: the Washington Craft Show 1988 - 2014 at the Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC, the Westchester Craft Show, 1994 – 2012, in White Plains, NY, and the Palm Beach Fine Craft Show, since 2004 at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, FL.

Many artists represented in these shows also have their work in prestigious galleries and museums in the U.S. They have depended on these fine events to meet their specialized market and collectors. In recent years two of those shows ended and close associates believed the Palm Beach show had also come to an end.

When these artists learned that the show dates at the PB Convention Center were no longer available they were very concerned about losing this venue and opportunity. Bill Underwood, the former publicist for the Palm Beach Craft Show, and who operates a contemporary art market in Charlotte, NC, was contacted by long time exhibitors of the event. He, along with them, did not want this marketplace to disappear and accordingly has established a new event at the Expo Center at the S. Florida Fairgrounds in W. Palm Beach to take place at the same time of the year as in the past, The Palm Beach Contemporary Art Show.

Subsequently, Elizabeth Kubie announced on May 16 that she has made arrangements with the Palm Beach Show Group that produces the Palm Beach Jewelry, Art and Antique Show to take over the management of the PB Fine Craft Show and they will now produce the it in conjunction with that event. Former artists have been invited to participate, jury exempt. 

Concerns brought to my attention:

• where is there room in the Convention Center to add another show to accommodate 135 craft artists?
• the letter the exhibitors received made no mention that it would be held in conjunction with an antique show
• a concern that  that young artists, looking for their first big break, would be misled by the lack of info on the PB call
• current online information has different dates for the craft show and the antiques show

Principals I spoke with said that this is very good news, akin to Art Basel, to bring these two events under one roof at the same time. The affluent collectors will get to meet the contemporary artists, in effect bringing them a new audience.

What do you think?

Many more details here:

Press release from Bill Underwood, May 13: http://media.cmgdigital.com/shared/news/documents/2016/05/13/Craft_Show_News_Release.pdf

Article from Antiques and the Arts: Palm Beach Show Group Acquires Fine Craft Show, May  20

http://www.antiquesandthearts.com/palm-beach-show-groupacquires-fine-craft-show/

Two sizes in one…. can set up for 10’ x 10’ space or 10’ x 15’ space comes with two tops

Legs extend to 7’ or 8’ adjustable every 1 ¾”  heavy duty galvanized pipe,  sta bars for extra stability on the bottom. Rafters are PVC the sides of canopy has vent on each end , roof has sun top roof for added light in the booth.  Walls are flame resistant, zippered corners and added zippers for universal door opening or roll up parts of the tent walls while leaving some walls down.   Multiple awning options 30” or 54” for both 10’ and 15’ can be on front and sides or the back.  Comes with 6 concrete filled  30” PVC pipe weights for holding down corners. The pipe have screw eye cemented in to attach bungee cord . 10 x 10  canopy barely used.  Comes with 6 swing arm light in line brackets  so you can light up the booth.

email vermonttreebones@gmail.com for more information 

we are located in New Smyrna Beach Fl and it will have to be picked up

shown is 10 x 15 

the 10 x 10 would go from right to left to the front post.

if you were to  purchase new cost approx would be 3200.0 

We are selling the complete package for $1800.00

Just got back from Northern Virginia Fine Art Festival in Reston. It was a cold and wet weekend. We had the fun of drying everything, and I mean everything, out today now that we are back. Luckily it is warm and sunny in Atlanta.

This is the second review I have done for this show. The show is set up in the streets of a high end shopping and living area, Reston Town Center. There are lots of high rises and this creates wind tunnels. The show is known for wind even when there isn't any real wind forecasted. You can rent weights. They are big and not very pretty. We opt to bring extra weights of our own. We finally got 2" square solid hot rolled steel weights at 55lb each. They are awesome. So sleek and they disapear, plus they take up almost no room in the truck. You can get them cut smaller or larger if you want lighter or heaver weights.

Enough about weights that really is for the discussion boards but I wanted to brag about my new favorite thing. When setting up your booth at this show consider adding extra supports, zip ties, stabilizing bars, etc. for those occasional wind gusts. Luckily the wind was not too bad this year but we had almost constant light rain/drizzle both days and it was in the low to mid 50s. Cold and wet.

Booths are set up on the main street with booths on one side. There are some side streets with booths across from each other and a few side streets and a loop around the park with booths on one side. There is some storage in back along the wide sidewalks but the rules state you need to keep it neat and tight. Behind the booths are restaurants and shops for the most part. We are given just around 10 feet wide so no extra room on the sides. If you don't have a corner and want to get behind your booth plan on a back door.

Set up is on Friday starting at 11 am if I remember correctly. If you print out your load in pass you can line up, drive in and set up, then check in before 5 pm. If you don't print out your pass it is easy to check in and get one. They control load in.

When you get to the entrance gate they check to make sure your area is clear before you can go in. This helps to make sure there are no back ups. Each area has a block captain making sure there is a clear path for vehicles to get through. It runs very smoothly. It takes a lot of volunteers but it makes for a relaxing set up for everyone.

Friday was a beautiful day and set up was wonderful. Since we knew the weekend was going to be cold and rainy we decided to set up really slow and leave our booth open for the day. We had a lot of people looking and talking to us. The other artists that kept their booths opened and set up slowly also had a lot of people looking.

Friday night there is a gala. In the past the booths were open during the gala but now the artists are invited to the gala, food and drinks. From my understanding they are hoping that the gala can be a great place for artists and patrons to interact together before the show officially starts. Last year and this year we made an appearance at the gala but didn't stay very long and opted to have a nice dinner at one of the amazing restaurants in the area and turn in early.

There is an artist rate at the Hyatt located at the show. It is a very nice hotel and a treat to stay on site. This was a huge bonus on Saturday and Sunday because of the weather. We were able to take turns going back to the hotel to warm up and dry out from time to time.

Saturday we woke up to the expected cold wet day. We had an early 8:30 am meeting at our hotel for a commission pick up we had taken at the Arlington show we did in April. It felt good to get one piece out the door and some money in our pocket right away. Surprisingly there was a decent crowd on Saturday.

The pic was taken around 11 am on the main street where we were. The good thing about rainy cold shows is that the people who do show up are there to buy not just look. It wasn't a strong day for sales for us but Sundays are usually better for our work in most markets. We had one strong lead from a couple who drove 2 hours away and were spending the night in Reston to shop for lots of art. Didn't close them on Saturday but there was some hope. The show closed at 6pm. We left the booth open and went for dinner.

The area gets lots of people out for dinner so we wanted to give them a chance to look more but we needed to eat and warm up. Around 7 pm we went back to the booth. We dropped the walls in the front and started to close the booth. During this time we had someone poke their head in and say "county police" I thought it was another artist teasing but it really was the police. They were just making sure no one was screwing around. Excellent security. We really appreciate the attention and care they had for us. We were impressed.

Sunday morning we opened up right at 10 am. We had planned on going to breakfast together after set up and leave the booth open. Most shows open at 11 am on Sundays and it was cold and wet again. Who would be out early shopping on a Sunday morning? Well there was a decent crowd already so we took turns for breakfast. Good move because the couple who came for the weekend to buy lots of art showed up at 10:15 am. They had bought 6 pieces on Saturday and were ready to buy their 7th piece from us. After they bought from us they went to two more booths and bought 2 more pieces. Great way to start Sunday.

Throughout the day we took turns at the booth. Each time I returned another piece of art had sold. Each time my partner returned I was able to show him another empty space on our walls. It was a great day. I wish I would have taken a picture of the streets because at one point the streets were full of umbrellas with buyers under them. I didn't get a chance to walk around much. I don't know how the patrons did it. They really support the show and are excited about the art. We didn't have anyone try to negotiate price. They treat the artists with respect. From what I heard from other artist friends most people had good to great shows. Some were down from past years but still had good shows and were happy.

Show closed on Sunday at 5pm. Break down usually means total break down then line up to bring in your vehicle. The artists were nervous about this since we would be loading out in the rain. The show had a meeting on Sunday and decided that we could do a soft break down but keep our tents up. They let us drive in and load up starting at 5:15. This was a huge help. They really were concerned for the artists and our work.

One of the board members came by to talk to us Sunday afternoon to ask us for input on the show. We were impressed with their vision for the show and the future. They already run a top notch show and plan on doing even more to make it better. Erica the director continues to be wonderful to work with. The block captains and volunteers all around are amazing. This show is a treat to do. It is wonderful when you know that you are being heard and cared about as artists and our lively hood.

Fun stuff. We are in the middle of spring show marathon. We decided to take a mini vacation along the road from Atlanta to Reston. Just under a 3 hour drive from Reston is Natural Bridge. It is one of the new world 7 wonders. This is a beautiful and amazing place to visit. We spent 2 nights at the historic hotel at Natural Bridge for only $69 a night. They have caverns, hiking and FOAMHENGE. Lexington is a fun town. We had the best time, it was like stepping back in time. We love the traveling life as artists. Take time to enjoy the journey.

THURSDAY, MAY 26, 6 PM ET - Expert advice on Mobile Websites, Photography for Shows and Marketing to Patrons

The guests:

• Scott Fox, author and e-biz strategist who focuses on online marketing, e- commerce, using the Internet to build businesses and finally doing the work you were born to do. His popular books include Click Millionaires, Work Less, Live More with an Internet Business You Love.

• Larry Berman is the recognized authority on "all things photography" involved with the art fair business. Larry's extensive technical knowledge makes him the answer man for creating digital images that get you into the shows. He consults with art fairs and blogs about the business at BermanGraphics.com.

• Connie Mettler is the host at ArtFairInsiders.com and creator of ArtFairCalendar.com, ArtShowReviews.com, CallsforArtists.com and ArtFairRadio.com. She has worked in all facets of the art fair business for over 30 years, as an artist's partner (participating in over 400 shows), show director, juror and consultant to events.

Do you have questions about using the Internet to further your career or better position your art fair online? Anything Internet, Scott can answer and point you in the right direction.

Concerned about your jury imaging, booth design, visual appeal, digital help? Larry is the expert.

All things art fair: marketing your show, connecting with customers, making the sale, travel tips, organizing your schedule, Connie can help.

This will be a call in show. We welcome your questions. Call in: (805) 243-1338

If you can't call in, post them below. Remember you can always download these podcasts to listen to any time.

AND -- we will be drawing names for the top ten prizes in the Pledge Drive. Have you pledged yet? Do it now so you can get top pick! Right here.