Blog

Hello;

I am a "mature" (back to school) college student in my last semester of a photography degree. 

I'm also an abstract painter, (with a degree years back.) Recently my long standing family company closed down, so I decided to do a "bucket list" by returning back to school, then trying one year of Art Fairs, and see if I qualified as the next Picasso!

I applied to 9-10 fairs, and I need some advice on a few things PLEASE.

-I was accepted to the first four, and wanted to know if anyone had some experiences (good or bad,) with any to them, and would share. They are:

ARTNADO 2015 (A new event)

ART IN THE GARDENS (Unfortunately this is the same weekend as the above event, something I failed to realize when applying.) Any good reasons to pick one over the other? I'm siding with the new show that seems to allow a bit more flexibility. I have both acrylic abstract paintings on canvas, photos on canvas, and a few collages for the firs.

-MIAMI/CORAL GABLES FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS (Asking for booth payment now, for an event in Feb. of 2016)

-COCOA BEACH ART SHOW. Actually my acceptance was withdrawn as I didn't have a "qualifying booth shot" and could not get one done in the week extension I was given. Which brings me to my next line of questions.

The only experience I have with an Art Fair, is a VERY small one put on by a church in my area. I sent in photos of how I had the art displayed in that event, under a tent that they provided. My problem is that I have no qualifying "previous event" booth shot, (which I'm told has to include my art work;)  and I'm just in the market at the moment looking for a tent and the panels needed.

Should I have registered as an "emerging artist?" Would it have made any difference regarding the mandatory (personal) booth shot? Only one Fair had additional information on the definition of what constitutes an "emerging artist" and listed an age limit, (of which I have CHILDREN that are oder!!!)

Does artwork have to be FRAMED, or can the art be shown on stretched canvas' (Not only is framing much more of an investment, but most people seem to want to do their own framing.) Does framing actually result in much more sales, (as well as more investment, and higher selling prices?

Should I set up to take credit cards? (And if so, any recommendations on where to look.)

Any advice, pointers, suggestions are welcome. (and while my questions seem to represent someone "jumping off the deep end with BOTH feet," I'm the type of person that is willing to go "all in" regarding trying a project such as this, rather than wonder "what if?" down the line if I failed to give it a realistic chance to succeed.. My personal e-mail is billy17655@yahoo.com for anyone wanting to beat me down privately! :-D  

May 13-15, 2016

footprint in 2016, making it possible for 120-150 artists to exhibit in the twelfth annual event.  

Yesterday Connie and I traveled to Leo-Cedarville, Indiana to check out the Art by the Riverside show.  Actually, I was checking it out and Connie was judging the art work for awards.  This is a one day show held toward the end of September.  Yesterday the weather was perfect.  It was overcast and perfect to spend the day looking at art.

The show is run by Marsha Wolpi and is in it's 3rd year.  Marsha is working hard to make this show better every year. The art selection was good and there was a nice variety. 

The show is laid out in a large circle with the hospitality tent in the center.  When we arrived the artists were helping themselves to some breakfast that had been provided for them.  There were 34 artists in this show which helped to make this a relaxed intimate affair.  Away from most of the artists was a pavilion where there was entertainment such as soft music and some dance acts.  The sound level didn't appear to be disturbing for the artists closest to the music and wasn't even noticeable for those on the farthest end of the circle. 

Connie talks to Artist Kim Rorick about the process required to make her porcelain Clay figures.

There was a nice selection of food available in a food court next to the artist's booths.  There was even a pavilion where people to sit and eat.  I didn't really notice people eating any of the food in the artist's booths which I think is a good thing.  And the best thing is the food and the art are all set up in an area that has nice indoor bathrooms.  They were way nicer than you would expect in a park, too.

Connie chats with AFI member Nicole Moore about her unique artwork.

When you look at my photos you may think that there aren't that many people at the show.  The important thing is that the artists booths were always busy.  I could barely talk with some of the artists and I didn't want to keep them from talking to buyers.  If you like one day shows this would be perfect for any artist that lives close to the Fort Wayne area.  I don't know how the sales were for the artists.  I hope one of those artists will weigh in here. 

Marsha Wolpi has 3 awards that are given out to the artists after judging.  She also has an award for the best food truck at the show.  Then there is also a People's Choice award.  Marsha advertised that there was a People's Choice award off site.  I could see nothing about this award on the grounds.  This container full of votes is a nice indication of her efforts in reaching the public to vote for their favorite artist and food truck. 

Prior to the Art Fair the Leo Cedarville Foundation solicits local businesses and loyal patrons to buy purchase awards.  They send the invitation in the photo below which is then filled out and returned with a check.  They are then given early buying privileges, 9 am instead of the 10 am start time and an invitation to join them for a continental breakfast at the show. When they arrive they are given  the Art Fair bucks to spend like cash.  The Foundation also ran a contest on Facebook for three $25 awards of Art Fair bucks.  Local businesses also give them to employees as incentives and others  simply to support Art at the Riverside.  These bucks encourage art purchases and kick off the show.

It looked to me like Marsha and the Foundation are doing some good things to make this one day show work.  You might want to consider this show next year if you are near the Fort Wayne, Indiana area.

Any artists that were there are welcome to post a comment about your sales. 

So we found out this weekend what a fantastic organization does when faced with torrential rain and high wind forecast for a 3 day event on the boardwalk - you move the event into the convention center, and plaster every media format with ads and PSAs announcing the move.  And WOW!  

This event was the best attended indoor event we have ever done.  This change in venue was made 24 hours before the setup started. Unbelievable communications from Sharon Tanner, loads of help on site, and the incredible crowds made this a big win for us.  Friday from 12-7, but many customers were there at 10:30 because of other events going on, so they let them in at 11!  Even with the half dozen inconsiderate 'artists' that showed up at 11 to set up for a 12:00 show, all went smoothly.  Friday was the best Friday we have ever had, I think, and Saturday was insane.  Sunday pretty good, but since the weather cleared (still crazy windy) there was the option to go for a windy walk on the beach for those that wanted to.  We heard from several veterans that it's even better on the boardwalk (if the weather is good).  Our ONLY regret is that we did not roll the dice on a double booth.  Won't make that mistake next year!

Artsfest is one of our very favorite events.  Extremely well run, great crowds, great customers, phenomenal volunteers and staff, beautiful venue, great area.  Setup is uncomplicated, although you may have to dolly a ways if you are on the 'wooded path', but they have big 4 wheel dollies to use, and if you have a disability, they are on the spot with golf carts to tote your stuff.  Break down is smooth, and you can set up a day early and break down on Monday if you prefer.  I guess some folks don't like the booth fee - $50 plus 14%, but they earn every penny.  Constant crowds, great 'shoes' and lots and lots and lots of bags full of purchases.  Out of 166 booths (no doubles) I did find ONE buy/sell- Hudson River Inlay.  Beautiful stuff but I am pretty sure if the guy working the booth has ever touched a piece of wood it was a pencil.  Tough show to get into, but very worthwhile. Many Thanks to Melissa and her fantastic team!

November 6-8 
Melbourne, Florida
Presented by: Melbourne Main Street
200 Artists
Deadline:  October 8

Application Fee:  $32
Booth Fee:  $265

The 22nd annual Fall Art Festival takes place in historic downtown Melbourne and features over 200 artists. Featuring nationally recognized bands over the three day weekend, this event is currently the largest free admittance art festival and concert series in all of Central Florida.

For this yearly event, we close down roughly 5 blocks of East New Haven Avenue (also known as Main Street) in Melbourne and its side streets and open it up to artists to sell and interact with the public.  The Fall Festival typically brings in between 30,000-40,000 visitors of the 3 day event.  Located on Florida's Space Coast, we are just two miles from the beach and a short drive to Orlando.

This year we will be featuring a live art tent allowing artists to showcase their skills and the evolution of an idea.  This feature will provide an elevated level of exposure and networking opportunities between artists and the community.

Marketing:
Promotion of the event to the art-buying public in television commercials, newspapers, radio, direct mail, press releases, billboards, magazines, and social media valued at over $35,000.

Email:  melbournefallartfestival@gmail.com
Phone:  (321)724-1741

Hi, finally got some used propanels down here in FL, "Happy girl", how do you transport your panels to your booth, do you buy the propanel cart or what, needing ideas that might save $$ but easy to use. Thanks, Jackie

This is my second time doing this show, first time blogging on AFI. It was my single best show in a still short art festival career. (I started exhibiting in art fairs in 2014.) Crowds were great with art savvy patrons. The weather cooperated. Alexandria, VA is a vibrant, fun, urban spot on the shores of the Potomac close to DC. 200 artist booths form a line (almost all back to back facing the sidewalk) the length of King Street from Union to Washington Streets in Old Town Alexandria.

Show Hours: Saturday, 10am to 7pm; Sunday, 10am to 5pm. Free and open to the public.

Load In: Saturday morning in the wee hours. Artists can drive to their spots to unload after 3:30am but cannot start setting up until 5:30am when all vehicles have to be moved from the street. Booths should be open for business by 9:30am although the show officially opens at 10am. A new policy -- restricting the booth setup start time to after 5:30am helped in getting an extra, much-needed hour's sleep. (I unloaded at 4:30am and could have done so a little later.)

Load Out: No sales are allowed after 5:30pm. Artists break down their booths and when all tents on the block are down, they are given the okay to drive in to load out. I was staying at the Monaco Hotel ... and parked there so chose to dolly out. Some very quick neighbors were out of there around 6pm, heading home. Most, more like 6:30-7pm.

Amenities: Pastries, bagels, coffee, juice and fresh fruit + waters provided each day. The Monaco Hotel right there on King Street is wonderful.  Plenty of great restaurants and shops in the area so lots of options to choose from for lunches, snacks although not too many quick ones. There are no booth sitters. You'll have to rely on your own "help" or your neighbors for a break.

Artist Mix: I never get the opportunity to walk much of the show myself but what I saw looked to be high quality, interesting art in a range of styles, presented well.  

Price Point/Sales: As mentioned earlier, this show tops the list in sales for me. Purchases were made at the mid to top of my price range to happy, new (to me) collectors. I saw few people walking around with multiple purchases -- but did see some large work passing by. In the case of my collectors, the painting(s) they bought from me were their sole purchases (that I know of) that weekend. My best day -- by far -- was on Saturday. Two more paintings were purchased on Sunday but there seemed to be less buying energy that day -- in my booth, anyway.

Booth Layout: Booths run down the center of King Street, almost all back-to-back down the center line, opening to the sidewalk.  There are some booths that are singles, opening to either side. Spaces are approximately 11 - 12 feet wide, so with some cooperation with your neighbors, there may be a little extra room between you for storage. With this single-street layout, all booths are good ones and the back-to-back arrangement means it is easier for people walking the show to see each one. Booth assignment/numbers are available the Thursday before the show -- but numbers are not posted so it takes some good communication to your potential visitors with the inclusion of cross streets and landmarks to get them to you. (I had at least one visitor mentioning that he wished he'd read the "fine print" on my email.)

Atmosphere: Perfect for producing a crowd concentrating on the art. No music, acts, activities, food booths, face painting, balloons. Any visitors interested in dining, drinks, other shopping had plenty of great options in the establishments there on King Street. Large, steady, art-savvy crowds. Lots of dogs.

Staff: This is a Howard Alan produced event. There aren't any volunteers, but there is a professional, capable staff on hand all weekend. There is no hand-holding involved. No check-in other than to show up at your booth at the appropriate time. Communication is clear and sparse.

Tips If Doing the Show: Because booth numbers are not evident, let potential visitors know your location by using cross street or landmarks near your booth. Parking is tough in Alexandria for show visitors and artists. I have a small vehicle by art show standards and stayed put at the Monaco Hotel.

Other Comments: My success at this show was at least partially influenced by name recognition and reputation in Alexandria. I'm a long-time member and frequent exhibitor at the Art League in the Torpedo Factory and two of my purchasers were already familiar with and drawn to my art. An artist neighbor indicated that very fine painters she knew did not do so well at the show. My immediate neighbors -- a jeweler and wood-turner did have a good weekend.

Yes, I would definitely return!

Hello;

I am new at this, and have a question. I am in the process of purchasing a tent for my shows, and notice that display panels come in both mesh and fabric backing. Which one is better for hanging artwork (stretched framed canvas') and HOW do you attache the art to the panels? Thanks

I can't seem to find any information on this show, and was wondering if it would be worth while.

If anyone has input, it would be much appreciated!

thanks

For the upcoming Atalaya Arts and Crafts Festival in Murrells Inlet, SC, AccuWeather is predicting over 4” total rain on Thursday (setup day) and Friday (setup / opening day), with showers lasting 17 hours on Thursday (with winds of 20-32 mph) and 20 hours on Friday due to an Atlantic storm coming onshore around Myrtle Beach that was thought to have “tropical characteristics” a few days ago.

Fortunately, we will not be participating this year.  I was wondering what/how other participants are doing as the storm progresses:

• Anyone canceling? 
• Reports from the front line?
• Any flooding of the castle?

March 3-6

Deadline:  September 30

Application Fee:  $50

Booth Fee:  $275 single booth
 

La Quinta Arts Festival is held on the spectacular grounds of the La Quinta Civic Center Campus, a life-size picture postcard framed by majestic mountains, lush green lawns, and a lake. La Quinta Arts Festival is ranked #1 Fine Art Festival in the Nation by Art Fair SourceBook 2013, 2014, 2015 and #1 Fine Art & Design Show by Sunshine Artist 2014.

 

Hosting 220 of the nation's foremost contemporary artists, the four day show attracts an affluent demographic and wealthy snowbirds who have second homes in the southern California desert. The festival runs concurrent with the HITS Horse Show which attracts the most accomplished equestrian riders in the world and is the weekend before the BNP Tennis Open March 8-21.  

 

Artists pay a show fee of 20% of all art sales made at, or as a result of participation in La Quinta Arts Festival.  A low booth fee of $275 for a 12'x12' space means minimal up-front investment to participate, and allows LQAF to be successful only if the artists are successful. 

 

Marketing:

La Quinta Arts Festival prides itself on the comprehensive marketing plan which brings an average of 23,000 high qualified art partons to festival each year. We utilize print, television, radio media as well as direct mail to targeted zipcodes, billboards, and social media. Goal is always to reach the "right" patron and never the mass market.
 

Noteworthy:

• Gross Art Sales in 2014 & 2015  averaged $3 million each year
• Average Art Sales per artist in 2014 & 2015 was over $13,000
• Dedicated 24/7 Artist Hotline-contact booth sitters by cell phone
• 24 hour Private security and Police
• Leisurely 2 day set-up and tear-down.  Paid Labor Assistance with flatbed golf carts available
• Artist Hospitality includes morning and afternoon snacks, chilled bottled water throughout the day, a gourmet lunch box delivered daily to each booth (Artist selects lunch order)
• Impressive Artist Award Reception
• Booth Fees from $275-$775-all booths located on lush grass
• Year round exposure to art buyers on LQAF.com Artist Galleries,  $100 annual fee

Apply:  www.Zapplication.org 

Website:  www.LQAF.com or call or email our dedicated artist helpline:
760-564-1244 ext. 112 or helpline@LQAF.com

Contact:  Kathleen Hughes, Kathleen@LQAF.com, (760)564-1244

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Find more shows looking for you right here: CallsforArtists.com

March 18, 19 & 20
Winter Park, Florida
Central Park along Park Avenue
225 Artists

The 57th Annual Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival is one of the nation's oldest and most prestigious juried fine art shows. It consistently ranks among the most highly regarded outdoor art shows in the nation as artists compete for one of the largest cash awards ($72,500) among the top shows.

Along with cash awards our enthusiastic Patrons Program is expected to spend more than $60,000 in Patron Bucks this year. The show is conveniently located in Central Park, a beautifully landscaped area whose surrounding streets are closed during the festival to allow for foot traffic only. 

Artists' booths nestle under large oak trees in the park and line Winter Park's Park Avenue, the heart of a charming downtown with brick streets, unique boutique shops, and inviting outdoor cafes and bistros. Attendance usually reaches 350,000 people for the three-day event. 

Highlights:

• Ranks #5 in the nation and #1 in the southeast bySunshine Artist magazine in their 2015 list of Best 200 Fine Art and Design Shows
• Ranks #1 in Art Fair Calendar's 2014 America's Best Art Fairs survey
• Presents $72,500 in 63 cash awards including a $10,000 Best of show purchase award, a $5,000 Art of Philanthropy Award purchase award and a $2,500 Award for a Distinguished Work of Art given by the Morse Museum of American Art
• Lists all artists' names, art image and contact information in Art Festival Magazine and on the website
• Celebrates with a Saturday Night Artists' Award Dinner
• Produced by an all-volunteer board that focuses on the artists' success
  
  

Apply today before its too late! www.Zapplication.org

For more info: www.wpsaf.org

E-mail: WPSAF@wpsaf.org

Phone: (407) 644-7207

First time doing this show.  For me, was a great show and was very pleased with crowds and management.  Here is a breakdown with the good the bad and the ugly....

Show hours- Friday 6-9, Sat 10-7, Sun 10-5.  The Friday night hours are open to anyone but it is when they do their patron event.  They said they had over 600 patrons and it was fairly busy.  Some sales but nothing other than prints.  Kind of a pain in the rear if you don't have an easy light set up as these three hours are the only time you will need lights as the show closes at 7 on Saturday. 

Load in- Friday morning with split time of 730 am or 930 am depending on booth location.  Very well controlled with good communication between people on site and the guy at the entrance.  You basically pull up to your booth and unload.  All paved and wide road. I drive a F250 Supercrew with 16 ft trailer and had no issue getting in or out.

Load out- Once your booth was torn down and ready to load, you were given a load out pass.  Same deal that it was controlled so you were let in when there was a space fore you.  Pull right up to your site and load.

Amenities-  The artist hotel is literally at the end of the street so very easy to park your vehicle for the weekend.  Does not include breakfast but there were some breakfast bars in artist hospitality area.  They provided dinner from Outback Friday night.  lunch was provided Saturday and Sunday which was basically QT sandwiches and chips.  There is tea, water and coffee available.  Fancy luxury port a potty available near this area with regular port a potties on the end.  Sunday morning before show is a hosted Artist breakfast at the hotel.

Artist mix-  24 photographers represented the photography medium quite well.  Other than heavy on photographers, good mix of painters, glass work, a few jewelers, and potters.  Almost all of the work I saw was high quality and didn't see any junky type or commercial work.

Price point/Sales-  Saw pieces everywhere from $3.50 (note card) to $9000.  I had my best sales at a show.  Moved several big pieces and a lot of prints.  My sales were $15.00 to $700.  The return artist all said wait till Sunday as that is the day the patrons come back (they were partying and drinking Friday night and just strolled around).  I saw several big pieces being carried around on Sunday. I saw some works in the 1200-1500 range go by but also talked to one painter who didn't sell a single piece.  Most people I talked with seemed to have a decent show though.  I overheard one person said that he was in danger of selling out but never did figure out his medium.  It is located in a commercial area that seems to be more affluent

Atmosphere- Decent music played on the stages that seemed conducive to an art show,  Wine and import beer available to the crowd walking around.  No carnival food sales and not really a food component.  The food places I saw was Outback and two other places. had tents set up and they brought food in cambrios.  Several kids art activities.  The street runs along a lake and grassy area.  They bring in landscaping for the street.  It is nicely done and very consumer friendly.  Although drinking, this was a wine crowd and did not see anyone that looked intoxicated.

Staff/Volunteers- Staff was very friendly and helpful stopping by several times chatting.  there were volunteers that came by some but was more rare than the not,  Came through with water 2-3 times on Saturday and 1-2 times Sunday.   Saw no volunteers on Friday night. Show appeared to have good community support from the local businesses.  Not sure about advertising.  There was on site security on site when I was leaving in the evening Friday and Saturday.

Areas for improvement- More volunteers coming by to see if we need something.  Instead of having us pick up lunch from tent...put them in the rolling cooler and walk by and offer.  It is a long time out of the booth if you are at the other end.  They were individually prepackaged QT sandwiches.  They could have put them in the same rolling coolers they used when they came by offering water.  Clean the portapotty each night.

Tips if doing show- If you are at the end opposite the hotel, pull your vehicle around to the other end on Sunday or on the other days if you have back up work in vehicle.  it is a long time consuming walk to the hotel parking lot if you are in the "C" or "D" booths.  The street the show on is part of a large commercial development with the hotel at one end and businesses with large parking lots at the other end.  it is all owned by same group which is one of the corporate sponsors of the art show.  Thus, it appears from the number of people parking there that there is no issue parking there.  (I parked there Sunday without any issue)  Stay at the Hilton Garden Inn on site but bring your own snacks/ beer/ etc.  Hotel restaurant was expensive ($7 for Heineken to take to the room) and there was a fridge and microwave in room.  There are restaurants in area and a grocery store across street. ($7.99 for six pack of Heineken to take to the room)  Parking at hotel was OK with plenty of curb space to park trailers.

Recommend?-  Yes, I will be applying again next year.

Your invitation to participate ...

3rd Annual "America's Best Art Fairs" Survey

WHAT

Hello;

I was accepted to Art in The Park (in West Palm Beach) in November. Does anyone have any experience with this show that can tell me something about it? (Is it a good show to be in?) How are the (average) sales? popular price points? Crowd? Artist experience?

I do photography and print it out on stretched canvas.

Best of Show

Robert & Tor Erickson - Wood

Judges Awards:

Charles Gatewood - Painting

Michael Wommack - Drawings/Pastel

Jenny Mendes and Mark Roegner - Ceramics

Emerging Artist

Joyce McCown

First Place

Matthew Hemminghaus - Photography

David Bryce - Sculpture

Grant Silverstein - Printmaking

Christos Palios - Photography

Joachim Knill - Painting

Ray Jones - Wood

Chris Dahlquist - Photography

Jill bedford - Photography

Robert Farrell - Metalwork

Sam Stang - Glass

Second Place

Bryan Griffith - Painting

John and & Erin Blackwell - Glass

Michele Friedman - Jewelry

Scott Amrhein - Glass

Susan Frerichs - Jewelry

Kina Crow - Mixed Media

John Herbon - Ceramics

Paul Eshelman - Ceramics

Roger Rimel - Jewelry

Beth Bojarski - Painting

Here is a great link with good images of the winners, including the one of my friend Charles Gatewood above:

http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/blog/2015/09/winners-shine-at-saint-louis-art-fair-gallery.html#g1

The really interesting thing about these prizewinners is that the majority of them have been in this business for a really long time. What does that say to you?

I just completed my first time doing the Marine on St. Croix Art Fair. Marine on St. Croix is a tiny little town on the St. Croix River, about 20 miles due east of St. Paul, MN. They've been doing this event for 40+ years to raise funds for their fire department. Sounds podunk, until you realize what a great little community it is, how much money there is in the area, and what a beautiful setting the show is in. 

Application is by mail. No Zapp. I juried in with my photography of European scenes, but I don't think it is a tough jury process at all. Communication is basic but effective. Show up on setup day and ask around until you find the registration in front of the Fire Dept. Traffic is pretty well controlled on set-up day, Friday. Lots of space around your booth and nearly all are on grass in the city/village park. Lots of time to set up. Everyone can start at noon. Count is maybe 100 artists. 

The show runs Saturday-Sunday, 10-5 each day. Plenty of parking for vendor/artist cars and trailers within 200 yards of your booth, max. Load-in and load-out are pretty easy, as there is little density on the grounds, depending on your location. Nice grass on the grounds and plenty of mature trees for shade. This was really a lovely setting. 

The patron mix is fairly upscale, though it was more blue collar on Sunday I thought, than Saturday. Attendance pegged at 5000-10,000. I have no way to check the accuracy of this claim, but I would not doubt it. This was my first time at this show so I didn't know what to expect in terms of artist mix. I figured out pretty fast that it was more crafty than I anticipated, but at least it was good quality crafts. 

Patrons came to buy, and did so left and right. Tons of people walking around with purchases. I sold a few prints in the $40-$75 range and one $400 20x30 canvas. Sunday I moved an $800 canvas. 

Across from me was a gent selling basic design furniture items, priced ridiculously low. He made at least 60-70 sales. That dude has it figured out, though his profit was truly thin. Next to me was a direct metal sculptor with items from $15-$850. She was surprised to have sold fewer small items than she thought was on tap, instead moving more mid-priced work. It seemed to me that this crowd is not afraid to drop $40-$100 on just about anything, and hundreds if they like what they see. The only downside is, it's a small crowd.

I'll be back next year as this is an easy 45 minute drive from home for me. Price point mix is the key here, but at the same time, I don't have a ton of data about what kind of items sell best. My guess is more practical things, as opposed to purely decorative. 

Not a bad show for me and I plan to do it again.