Blog

October 8 & 9 
Sedona, Arizona
Presented by:  Sedona Arts Festival
126 Artists
Deadline:  May 15

Application Fee: $30/Booth Fee:  $390 or $450

The Sedona Arts Festival is a favorite in the Southwest during the busy fall tourist season.  Sedona has a fairly affluent retired population that enjoys the festival and comes to spend. During the busy fall tourist season it is usually cool and dry with temperatures in the mid 70's.

With Sedona's spectacular red rocks as a backdrop and glorious fall weather to compliment the event, the festival attracts approximately 3,000 seasonal and year round residents and tourists.  The festival showcases fine artists from around the country, as well as a Gourmet Gallery. KidZone offers activities for children. Raffle prizes, live music (no lyrics), and a variety of food and beverages are available as well.

Please note:

Marketing:

Apply:  www.zapplication.org/event-info.php?ID=4529
Website:  www.sedonaartsfestival.org
Contact:  Lori Reinhart, director@sedonaartsfestival.org, (928)204-9456

Just got back from 4 Bridges Art Fair in Chattanooga,Tennessee tonight. When I pack up from a show and drive home I can never get to sleep that night...I don't know what it is...I'm always beyond tired but jazzed also. Anybody else have that problem? Anyway, while I'm staring at the walls... I thought I would do a review of this lovely mid-sized show. 

Friday is set up all day, the committee is there to give you the packets from 8 a.m on. A.V.A, the group that has put on this festival for the last sixteen years is incredibly organized and pro-artist.  It certainly is great to be part of a show that treats us so well. The venue is in a large open but covered pavilion. (no rain problems) So, there is a considerable dollying in situation. The right far side of the pavilion is car accessible, the middle and the left hand side are a much longer distance, depending where your booth is. There is great back of booth storage space on either far wall but if you are in the middle it can be a tight fit. Corner booths are the exception as there seemed to be more space around the side for them.

Some artists put a tent up so that they could cover their work at night but many just left the work exposed. Nothing, (I heard) was taken or messed with.The security was top notch. I put up a cheap pop up that I had when I first started, and it served the purpose. if I get in next year, I will probably just leave my work out and not worry about it.

This show feeds you and feeds you really well.....Friday night was the Patron Party and we were served a great dinner before it started. Also, we were given free drink tickets and beer on tap throughout the whole show for artists....not too shabby (Nels, take note) !!!

The Patron Party...ah, well, it was from 6 until 10 and we were all pretty tired by the end. I realize these parties are a thank you to supporters and volunteers but an hour shorter would have helped. I didn't see much go out that first night...but that is usually the way it is. My friend Matt sold the heck out of his bird houses though...so I stand corrected. From my vantage point...I didn't see too many packages go out the door. 

Saturday was sunny and solid. Everyone around me did really well. The crowds came and came inside each booth- which makes a big difference. There were very few tire-kickers here and lots of engagement from people. That could be because of the ten dollar (I think that is how much) entry fee. It didn't stop the crowd...It was busy most of the day. The show went to 7p.m. It quieted down around 6-ish but fifteen minutes before the end I had a $450 dollar sale-so go figure. And, we were served breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

There were big prizes given out, I was next to Clifton, a photographer from Baltimore who was having a slow Saturday, I did the ol' pep talk... stay positive and things will get better....Well, ten minutes later he got the Best of Show-(4K)-Ha! See, you just never know. You probably know Clifton's work, Incredible stuff... and he has that iconic picture of a little girl standing on a sink with her arms spread wide- knock-out! I was so happy for him- what a humble, wonderful human being. Lucky me being next to him. 

Sunday was even busier than Saturday. Hours were 10 to 5 and they again served us breakfast and lunch and to top it all off brought each one of us a goodie gift bag for the drive home. Ah, that every show would be that good to us.....

Load out, honestly, was hard, we were all trying to get out and it was a bit hectic and long. Artist's parking was right next to the pavilion on either side- we could get things out of our cars if we needed to- the buyers walked over from a distant large parking lot. We were right up close and personal- when have you heard of that lately? Like I said, artist's as royalty....a wonderful concept!

I had a really good show. I had done the show in 2013 and it was lack luster for me. I applied in 2014 and 15 and got in... but didn't attend. I thought it wasn't my market. Boy, was I wrong! The jeweler next to me and my friend a 2D artist had fabulous shows too. I saw a lot of big work walking out the door- almost everyone was carrying a package. Can't beat that!

I have to say, that for a small Southern City, Chattanooga has it's act together. I used to live here many years ago and it sure isn't the same town anymore! Bike lanes, great restaurants, museums, super clean, and just a really positive vibe among residents. I recommend a visit- you will be blown away.

Just for the record...I have been lucky this year so far. I have written three reviews- all good. I am not Susie Sweetheart...I can be as snarky as the next guy....and I have been to plenty-and I mean plenty of bad shows. This one turned out well and hopefully this run will continue, if it doesn't ....I'll roll...that's what we do-right? 

September 23, 24 & 25
Kansas City, Missouri
Country Club Plaza
240 Artists
Deadline: April 25

Application fee: $25; Booth fee: $425, corner add'l $175

The Plaza Art Fair marks the beginning of autumn for all Kansas Citians, and attracts art enthusiasts from all over the nation. This annual celebration is located on the Country Club Plaza recognized as the oldest shopping district in the country and a beloved destination in Kansas City. 

During this spectacular weekend, nine blocks of the Country Club Plaza will be filled with amazing artwork from 240 premier artists, cuisine from 24 Plaza restaurants and the best local and regional live music on 3 stages. Additionally the Plaza has teamed up with the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art to provide interactive art activities for kids. 

Expect:

• 300,000 art enthusiasts in attendance
• $10,000 in cash awards
• Artist electricity included in booth fee
• Artist breakfast, booth sitters, hospitality area & free parking

Ranked as one of the Art Fair Calendar's Best Art Fairs and in the Top Ten Fine Art Events by the Art Fair Sourcebook.

Learn more: plazaartfair.com

Apply: https://www.zapplication.org/event-info.php?ID=4729

For questions contact Jan Cichello, jcichello@taubman.com, 816-960-6234

Thought you would enjoy member Mark Oehler's message to me about leaving art fairs behind:

Connie,

It is 2 years now since my last art fair.  I do miss seeing my art fair friends, customers with money and good times.

That said I do not miss packing and unpacking my van. Or finding a RV park for my camper. Or eating in mysterious diners or art fair food trucks. I also don't miss ridiculous high entry fees, or driving 2 days to a show and as I found missing many customers at my gallery. So, I am happy to report that there is life after art fairs.

I did my first show while still in college in 1967. I took every pot I had made that semester. Not a great number, but I was hooked. Now I have spit the hook.

I wish all the art fair doers the best of luck and safe travels and good sales.

Mark Oehler

I'm sure Mark's sentiments mirror many of yours. They are a contrast to Margaret Luttrell's recent blog post about taking a chance on a 10 hour drive to Louisiana and the ensuing rewards. 

Which side are you on? Mark's off the road and it is working ... or Margaret's still up for the adventure?

This was my first show of the year and the first since having rotator cuff surgery four months ago. I learned some things on this go around, among which was the need to organize the way I hang pieces better and to next time take a decent step stool so I can reach the top of the panels to hang stuff instead of standing tippy-toe on the top of a two-step stool.

Load-in is on Friday morning starting at 9:00 AM and it is strongly suggested to be there early if your set up takes some time. Last year the community center building where the show is held had good size skids available, but I didn't see them this year. I did bring a dolly and it was a good thing as it is a few steps from the load out area to where my booth was inside the building. The problem is that if you unload everything into your space, which is only 8 feet deep, you have to move everything around while you set up display panels.

There is no storage space available in the booth unless you sacrifice some space at the rear. The show does have locked storage available, but it's the set up clutter that's the problem, not storage after the set-up is done. Several artists took the tactic of bringing in panels first and quickly setting those up before bringing in the rest of their material. Unfortunately that tended to bog down the spaces available to park your vans or trailers while unloading.

I opted for a 15 foot wide space, which were determined by request and how fast you sent in your payments. I sent mine in immediately after acceptance. I left a little space on the left side of the booth behind the panels, so the left side of the booth was only two 38" panels deep which left about 16 inches space behind me. That was just enough space to slide in Rough Totes sideways with zero clearance behind them and the artist behind me. But it worked though :-)

Aisles were narrow, zero clearance behind and beside your space, so you sit inside the booth or stand around. I put up an L set of panels in the middle and sat behind there where I could still see people when they came in on that side.

Sales were all over the place with some folks doing well, some fair-to-middlin', and others struggled. In other words, just like any other show, although I heard from several that they were down this year compared to last. I was down almost 50% from last year and wound up taking a loss. I'll apply again next year to see what happens and decide at that time what to do.

Some complained about the Friday portion of the show, which started at 5:00 and ran to 9:00. A mixed media artist got off to a good start with a couple of nice sales and was already breaking even by that point. Saturday was 10-6, and Sunday was 11-4.

Volunteers came around frequently with water and checking on us. Another nice touch was being able to order food in advance from the concession folks, with the volunteers delivering it to your booth. Sandwiches were great tasting and healthy, with the chicken salad sandwich as good as anything I've had elsewhere. I might mention that this is a volunteer driven organization and they have the show logistics well in hand. 

Tear down went fairly smooth with most out of the building in about 2-3 hours, and I wasn't the last out although close to it at 4 hours. I can lift heavy tubs to waist level but can't lift to shoulder high if it weighs more than 25-30 pounds, so it takes some finagling to stack tubs in the van on top of each other.

The show is organized in "streets" with names and a center "boulevard" that keeps it from clogging up with heavy traffic. There are about 130 artists in the show with all but about 12-15 in the rink area of the building. The others are in another room where the food concession and restrooms are. You need to bring your own lights as the building lighting is very high and some sections are dimly lit. Power is supplied with a limit of about 300 watts per booth. 

Here are a couple of shots taken from up in the bleacher stands to give an idea of the layout of the show. the shots aren't the greatest as all I had with me was my cellphone.

Atlanta, Georgia
Old Fourth Ward Park
Presented by:
The Atlanta Foundation for Public Spaces
Approximately 130 Artists
Deadline:  April 22

Application Fee: $25 ($35 mail in)
Booth Fee: $250-$400

Named "Best New Event" by the Southeast Festivals and Events Association, this two-day arts festival has become the perfect celebration of the artistic innovation that the Old Fourth Ward Neighborhood, considered to be the most up and coming neighborhood in Metro Atlanta. Visitors will enjoy art from up to 150 local and regional artists carefully chosen to reflect this historic but progressive neighborhood.  

Contact: Randall D. Fox, randall@affps.com | www.affps.com

It's a great question. And over the years I have always opted for a double booth for my own reasons.

It looks much more substantial which customers can assume , "Oh this is more impressive, this artist is more successful  THEREFORE I'd better check it out."

I specialize in humor which at first blush always suffers from the Rodney Dangefield effect- "Don't get no respect". But once people catch on to what I have (sometimes it's the color that draws them in- sometimes it's my personality) they have to read every single title of every single piece.

That's because when there's humor involved, no one wants to miss out on a good laugh. So when they read every single title, they stay longer, the booth fills up more, it looks like "Hey it's crowded so it must be worthwhile checking out". And the longer they stay the better the chance of them buying something. Plus it gives me more time to address the entire group with information (our specials) and humor "No internal laughing allowed here folks!"

Does a double double my sales? no!. But it sure feels more like a gallery than a broom closet. Way back I had a single inline booth at a very busy show. People got trapped in there. I could not get in to talk to anyone and I vowed never again to have an inline booth. Other artists can do fine with it. I can't.

So it's a single corner or a double if I can afford it. Whew! There you are. I hope that helps some of you.

Jeff

I rented a double booth at the Great Lakes Art Fair in Novi, Michigan last weekend. This is the first time I've had a double and I only did it because the art fair offered the second booth for 1/2 price, and its an indoor show. The double cost me $600 and I loved the extra room and the panoramic display on the back wall. For this one experience, the extra investment seemed to pay off. My sales were 50% more than they were last year (but that could be accredited to other factors as well). I'm wondering what other artists think about the extra expense (and work) of doing a double. I've noticed that most photographers have double booths. 

I have a Trimline booth. I'd be reluctant to buy a second one (my wife would kill me. She's not all that crazy about setting up one booth let alone two. Trimlines are hEAVY)). I'm thinking that I could set up in the middle of a 20-foot space and wing out a five foot awning on both sides.  This would only work in good weather so renting a double would be a risk. But, if I can make 50% more with a double, the gamble might be worth it. What are other artists' experiences with doubles?

I've been exhibiting at the Great Lakes Art Fair off and on for many years. I've never done terribly well at this show, but the timing (early April) and the location (indoors), is so tempting. If I can make a few bucks early in the season, it would be a great way to finance a few more shows in the summer (and pay a few bills). It is also only about three hours from my home in Saugatuck, Michigan. In past years I've sometimes kicked myself for investing in this show, but this year I'm happy I did.

The show takes place at the Suburban Collection Showplace, a big convention center in Novi, Michigan. It offers an easy setup on Thursday, when you can drive your vehicle into the convention hall, unload, then take all day for a leisurely setup. Or you can set up on Friday morning. Friday setup requires you to dolly your stuff into the hall. This year the show offered artists the option of buying a double booth for 1/2 off of the second booth. Single booths are $400. I added a second booth for an additional $200. Electricity is included. I stayed at a nearby Holiday Inn Express for four days, bringing my expenses up around $1200 for doing the show.

Show opens at 1pm on Friday and runs until 8pm. Saturday hours are 1-6pm and Sunday, 11-5pm. Crowds were never very big on either of these days but the best times seemed to be right after dinner on Friday, mid-day on Saturday and mid-day on Sunday. Saturday and Sunday after 3pm the place was nearly empty.

My sales were OK at about triple my expenses, so it was worthwhile for me to do the show. Other artists around me were mixed in their sales results, but that's the case at all art fairs. There are a few good artists exhibiting at this show, but there are also a lot of questionable exhibits. The show could use a lot more fine art and fine crafts. The convention center sponsors this show and does their best to make a profit. They charge a $12 admission fee for each day and they also sell booths to local businesses hawking windows, insurance and rain gutters (among other things). A mattress company rented a big space and had a lineup of about 20 beds in one location. They also have a small cafe set-up and a bar in the middle of the floor. My booth was right across from the bar (which paid off for at least one sale to a tipsy fair-goer).

If you do this show, don't expect sales to skyrocket, but it might help pay a few bills early in the season. I'd personally like to see a lot more fine art and craft. I think it would boost the popularity of the show among the locals. I plan to participate again next year.

This show has been going on 42 years, and this was the first time they cancelled the Saturday of it because of imposingly bad weather. Ironically, I had left Tampa early Friday morn and headed up to Cedar Key to do a shoot before traveling back east to Gainesville.

When I arrived at the show location nobody was around. So I checked my emails and saw that they had cancelled the Friday setup andSaturday Show because of bad weather. We were to setup Sat. After 5pm and have a show on Sunday. Bummers!

I drove back to Tampa, a two hour drive.

So Sat. I left home at noon in a pouring rain,heading to the show. Being the first of the month, all the snowbirds were heading north out of Fla. The interstate was clogged with traffic and the weather sucked. It took me four miserable hours to get there.

Thank God it was a mellow setup. They had a free dinner on Saturday. I finished setup and drove for 30 minutes to my hotel in Ocala. Sunday morn was clear and chilly, needed a vest. Show started offically at noon but I opened at 10am. Made my first sale at 10:30.

Crowds finally showed up around noon.

Sales were pretty much low end for most of us. I only saw two big packages go down the street all day.
I made decent money for the day, but it was way too much driving. I won't do that again.

This is nice little show but I would come any great distance to do it. Too many exhibitors for too little sales.