Blog

So I was rejected this year by the Crosby Festival of the Arts. I don't know why. But that's the fate we are in. So, I'm here in La Porte, Indiana getting ready for Artigras! in New Buffalo, Michigan. My tent is up. So this is a new fair for me. So I'm am getting excited to be on new turf. This means my work will be judged by a new set of people. Yes, I will apply to Crosby next year. But this is the hand that was given to me. 2013 was my very first ribbon from Crosby. So I'm excited to meet the new people of Artigras!

• Our 38th Annual Fall Art Fair
• Limited to approximately 140 artists
• An air-conditioned indoor art fair, no worry about the weather, tents or security
• free electricity 
• Cash awards totaling $4,500
• Booth sitters, 24-hour security. Rest easy knowing your booth is locked up safely at night.
• Excellent marketing campaign, expanded to television, newspaper, magazine and radio advertising, internet and e-mail promotion
• Promotional postcards, business cards and coupons provided free to exhibiting artists
• Live music throughout the art fair
• Wine tasting Friday & Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoon  

Learn more & apply: www.artfairatqueenypark.com/  

You may also contact:  Vic Barr, GSLAA President

(314)997-1181  vicbarr@sbcglobal.net

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

Find more art fairs that are looking for you: www.CallsforArtists.com

Just finished Jason Horejs' "How to sell art" (excellent book by the way, thanks Connie Mettler for recommending it!) and I thought I'd start a thread with objections and replies. You know, those things people say right after you ask them if they want to purchase your art, and what you say to convince them.

Here... I'll start:
- Objection: I have no more wall space left/Not quite sure how it'll fit with my other art in the room
- Reply: I guarantee that this piece will completely change the energy in your room. On top of this I offer 30 days money back (I do) so if it doesn't fit I can refund you.

- Objection: We'll be back, want to see the rest of the show
- Reply: gotta admit I don't have one for this objection. Any ideas?

- Objection: It's too expensive
- Reply: I have other sizes that are perhaps in your range

- Objection: I don't want to carry it
- Reply: I offer free shipping (I do) across US

Anybody else? C'mon, bring it on! :-D

Lots of us have been waiting to hear this. Who will (or possibly even can) replace Terry Adams as the CEO of the Cherry Creek Arts Festival in Denver? When Terry took over 14 years ago the organization was in very rough financial shape. An event of this scope needs a strong fiscally smart and responsible manager.

We were wondering if the job would go to Tara Brickell, the Associate Director, who has been acting CEO since Terry left a few months ago, but the new CEO, Chris Stevens seems to fit the bill very well for the event.

He has been a banker, a juror for the show, owned an art gallery, managed the arts and culture program at the Denver airport (I've seen some pretty great stuff there). He has lived in the community for two years which is probably important in order to continue the well-developed relationships between the festival and the community.

He joins the staff just a few weeks before the festival - a big job looms ahead for him.   

Welcome to Art Fair World, Chris! 

Even if you don't do "top tier" events the art festival business needs blockbuster events like Cherry Creek to keep the level of art on the streets high. A high tide raises all boats.

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_28374949/chris-stevens-lands-ceo-job-at-cherry-creek

I have kept a watchful eye on the Lockport, IL Old Canal Days Artisan Faire for several years. I have always been discouraged from doing this show based on my personal observations as well as feedback from exhibitors I have spoken with. Well this year I decided to give it a try because there were some who were encouraged by the fact that the city of Lockport brought in a new individual to organize and run the show. In my opinion as well as many others I spoke with at the show they made a poor choice.

At the beginning of the application process I dealt with Fran Nickel who is an office assistant at the Gaylord Building in Lockport. Fran made every attempt to be helpful but was unable to answer many of my questions. Fran consistently deferred to the coordinator Susan Padgen. I asked on many occasions for Susan Padgen to contact me but this never happened. I had several questions regarding parking for exhibitors, what was the jury process, when will exhibitors be notified, what is the set up time, etc all of which went unanswered and still no contact from anyone who could.

Finally about 2 1/2 weeks before the show I did receive an acceptance letter but in following up I still never received and calls or emails from Susan Padgen, the coordinator. I also received an email with my choice of set up time but still no contact from Susan Padgen. Fran, the Office Assistant had finally told me where I would be parking my trailer and informed me that I could bring my trailer in the Friday night before and park it in the lot. I still had questions and I was still asking to speak to Susan Padgen but still no contact. 

I finally asked who Susan Padgen actually worked for in the hierarchy and I was told the Mayor Steven Streit's office. I called and got the voice mail but did not receive a return call. I then called the City Administrators Office, Ben Benson and he told he would have Susan call me.

I finally received a call from Susan  about 8:00PM that night and no surprises here but she told me that Fran had no right to tell me I could drop my trailer on Friday night and that she was just an office assistant and did not have the authority to do so. I asked about booth location and she said she was still working with some tremendous new exhibitors and until she had that finalized she could not give my my location. Susan asked me about my set up time and I told her that per the form I was sent I chose 5:00am. She then told me that the first available time was 5:45 am due to IDOT regulations for street closures. I was the second person to arrive for set up and I was there at 5:30 because she made it very clear in her email the punctuality was imperative. So much for imperative, I sat there in my truck waiting for her directions until 6:20 AM.

I walked the show a couple of times and was able to speak to many exhibitors and by my count there were only 4 who were returning exhibitors. I was very disappointed in the overall quality of the exhibitors as most would have been much more comfortable in a small church bazaar format rather than what was advertised and promoted as a juried show. I asked Susan about the jury process and she never would address the question.

So in the end I did pretty good at the show but my line tends to get a broad acceptance. There were two others I spoke with that also said they did well but were very disappointed in the lack of organization and communication from the show organizer. Many were downright pissed because of the delay in set up because Susan's organizational issues and the extended wait time for Susan to escort each individual exhibitor to their booth space. 

I will probably choose to do this show again but mainly beacuse it is a local show and I have a pretty good clientele which tend to come to see me at shows. However, I really hope that the city of Lockport can find someone with organizational skills as well as the connections and marketing skills to recruit quality exhibitors because in my opinion, Susan Padgen was very disappointing.

Does anybody use photo wall guides to show prospective clients what a photo would look on the wall?

I found this site for wall guides but her designs are just too 'pretty' and conventional. The problem is that I couldn't find anything else out there.

What do other folks use?

tnx!

Hey kids,

The last show I did was an inaugural show. Duh. Kick myself. I stood in freezing weather, and rain - in a location that was frequented by no one, sold not a thing... like most of the people around me. Booth fee, hotel, meals, gas...had to be $1K for zip.

I could bitch and moan about this business, but I signed up for it.

I have always wanted to control my career, and as we all know, we can't count on festivals to make a living...although many of you do, and I applaud you and admire you a LOT for figuring out how.

I am going to take the money I have left and open a bricks and mortar gallery/workshop/open studio space in a small town down the road. I'd rather be mad at myself if things don't go well than blame a promoter, blame the weather, blame the customers, or get mad at the next dog to pee on my work.

I'd rather control what I show, who sees it and how I market it. It's possible I've lost my mind, but I'm willing to give it a shot.

One thing I am good at is marketing and PR... I know how to talk on TV... I can manage my own web site, and for once, I feel like I can control my destiny... creating a space that [I hope] people will want to visit - and potentially buy some art. I am going to CURATE my own shows, and my own life.

I'm also over 60, and want to use the energy I have to create something I've always wanted...

For now, I'm going to keep the pro-panels, and find a place in the garage for the tent...just in case.

Good luck, everyone -- you are the real road warriors, these days!

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2015/06/21/thieves-hit-gold-coast-art-fair-tents-overnight/

Just completed the Stone Arch Bridge Festival and my sales were dismal. I had a good selection of 20x30 canvases on the walls, float-framed, and the response to those was great, comment-wise. Subject matter (European images) resonates with the audience; my color/style printing style is very well received, and my big pieces draw folks into the tent. They love what they see, but the audience at this show (local festival really) isn't a big buying audience (of big pieces).

Unfortunately I only had a small selection of $40-50 prints. Very little priced below that. 

So here's how I want to phrase the question: For those who have done small, mid-sized and high-end shows, especially the ones that are really hard to jury into, have you found that even at the top shows you still make most of your sales from the print bins? Is it really true that sales of bigger pieces at $250 and up are rare at nearly all shows, and you HAVE to have a great selection of smaller pieces to make money?

Thanks to all. 

Lawrence Sawyer

November 21 & 22 
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Polish Center of Wisconsin
47 booths
Deadline: June 26

Wisconsin Designer Craft Council is thrilled to announce the return of Winter Glory Fine Craft Show at an exciting new location. The new venue, Polish Center of Wisconsin, is a charming building designed in the style of a Polish country manor house. It overlooks a lake on a spacious wooded lot with ample free parking. 
 

It will comfortably accommodate 47 booths, 31-8x8, 16-4x8, with wide aisles, social gathering areas, and a layout with good flow and plenty of accessibility to all booths. This venue will provide a fine craft show with a holiday spirit.

Any and all fine craft artists are welcome to apply to the Winter Glory Fine Craft Show. Media categories are ceramics, digital art, enamel, fiber wearable, fiber non-wearable, glass, jewelry-metal, jewelry non-metal, leather, metal, paper, photography, printmaking, sculpture, wood or
3-D mixed media.

The show is open to WDCC members. Membership must be current upon acceptance to the show. 

Applications available: www.zapplication.org/event-info.php?ID=4074

To become a member of Wisconsin 

Designer Craft Council go to http://www.wdcc.org/

Questions? Stephanie Bartz,  heybartzie88@gmail.com

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

Find more art fairs for your 2015 season:

www.CallsforArtists.com

For the readers in our group who want to stay on top of earning a living in this business, some books to check out.

1. Amanda Palmer - The Art of Asking. Look specifically at how she engaged fans, promotes their problems, and create a culture of constantly asking for and receiving help. 
   
   
2. Matt Lieberman - Social: Why Our Brains are Wired to Connect. A mind-blowing book that covers the science behind social. If you ever want to talk intelligently about how the social parts of the human brain works, read this book. 
   
   
3. Olivia Fox-Cabane - The Charisma Myth. If you're not as influential, popular, or success at managing communities or gaining internal buy-in as you think you should be, it's probably not what you're saying - it's how you're saying it. This book has some good tips for being better in person (and online).

September 18 & 19
Adrian, Michigan
in the historic downtown
80 Artists
Deadline: June 29

Jury fee: $0; Booth fee: $75

Art-A-Licious is an outdoor fall art fair located in historic downtown Adrian, Michigan. Adrian is located in southeast Michigan, just north of the Ohio border, about an hour from Ann Arbor and Toledo, in the heart of "art fair country", where people love and attend art fairs. It is a beautiful time of the year for an art fair.

Apply: http://artalicious.org/application

Our focus is to expose, excite and educate, encouraging appreciation and participation in a variety of art forms and cultural activities. The festival enhances community vitality by providing diverse artistic experiences in a historic downtown setting while offering a unique opportunity for regional artists to showcase their talents.

Our goal is to become the premier small-town fine arts festival in the region. Offering a vibrant and inspiring mix of amazing art, fabulous food, delightful music and enticing aromas, Art-A-Licious satisfies all the senses!

Learn more: http://artalicious.org or Nancy Weatherby, adrianartists@gmail.com, 517-265-2265

I won a great prize for doing something I should have been doing for years -- I made a small contribution to support Art Fair Insiders / Art Fair Calendar this year. Given how much I get out of the Calendar and Insiders, the call for artists, show reviews, etc., I wish I could have done more.

I am so appreciative of all that goes into running these sites/services and providing the wonderful support to artists across the country.

I won a free show from AFFPS (Atlanta Foundation for Public Spaces)! They contacted me immediately with instructions on how to redeem it. Love those folks, always so professional and always doing something to help the arts.

Thanks to everyone who donated prizes, thanks to Constance for all she does.

I haven't been writing reviews lately although after a three week run ( I am seriously going to try to never do that again) I thought I might do a short review of the three shows I went to. Hope it helps somewhat- of course this is just my account so hopefully everyone who attended any of these shows will chime in with their take. I'm just getting back on my feet and heading into the studio today to get ready for the next round in July.

First up: The Tubman Museum Sidewalk Show in Roanoke, VA, I figured it would be a good small show to get back in the saddle with after May's shows. Load in was easy, had a great spot right across from the museum and the town is really cute. But the town is small and very conservative..even with a fabulous modern and interesting museum. It seemed like the show was just eeking by and the Museum seems to have walked out the back door of the show and except for a place to give the awards out, was not involved.

I wish this show good luck, the volunteers were so nice and they put on a great Saturday breakfast for us. It was not good for me I payed expenses and just a little bit more and clearly not my crowd. I do contemporary encaustic work and this was a scenic watercolor and oil show...those people did great. Met some wonderful artists there though. The show was small enough so that everyone had time to talk to other artists and create friendships...one of the best things about this business. 

Second: Three Rivers in Pittsburg, a show with a great history and a buying public and tons of people...except not in my area. Since it was my first time (or by luck) I was put in the new section that was not in the flow of traffic and really a hairpin turn that not many people even knew was there.

To put it mildly...it sucked and watching the hoards of people in the other sections was disheartening. I guess that's the luck of the draw when you are new but it was an expensive show to do and I walked out with most of my expenses paid but absolutely nothing else to show for it.

Load in was well organized and so was load out. The people in charge were gracious and really had their act together... but this addition was not the best choice for any of the 40 people in this row. I don't think many even knew that we were there... Will I go back? possibly, it's a top ranked show with a buying public. Hopefully with a better spot next year.

Third and last: Old Town Art Fair, Chicago. I am so glad that this was the end to my June road tripping saga. This show is one of the best shows I have ever been to. I have never been to a show that was so well organized and brought in this many active buyers. Yes, I know it's one of the top shows and one of the oldest but it just flat out exceeded my expectations.

My set up was at 5:45 and that was fine with me...Chicago was light by then (the sun must come up really early here) and it wasn't bad at all. Lo and behold one of my dear friends from Chattanooga, mixed media artist, Lisa Norton, was across form me, occasionally we do shows together so it was serendipitous and fun to have her there. She has done the show many times. She told me that the first time she ever did the show she sold out. I wasn't that lucky but I am not complaining at all, it sure made up for the two shows before.

The work at this show is incredible, I have done my fair share of top end shows but this show made me a bit insecure...and thrilled to be included. It seemed that you either blew hot or cold here and contemporary work was more in demand. An wonderful oil painter I was next to in Roanoke who made a fortune there, barley sold anything at Chicago.....But hey, I am not complaining because it was my kind of crowd and boy, did I ever need that after the last two shows.

The director made stops in everyones booth and the whole show seemed to have a lot of heart. Load out was a breeze...

Back to the studio and a big kick to replace and make enough for both Central Penn (always a good solid show) and the Original Ann Arbor.., which for the first time I am going to try, I have always been chicken before, knowing it is always a scorcher there. Hope the Weather Gods are kind. 

2015 ARTIST AWARD RECIPIENTS
Digital Art, Drawing/Pastel & Painting:
     Best in Show     Chuck Meyers, booth 239, Painting
     Second Place    Taylor Mazer, booth 143, Drawing/Pastel
2D Mixed Media, Photography & Printmaking:
     Best in Show     Chris Dahlquist, booth 202, 2D Mixed Media
     Second Place    Sarah Bean*, booth 79, 2D Mixed Media
Ceramics, Fiber, Glass, Stone & Wood:
     Best in Show     Marvin Blackmore, booth 33, Ceramics
     Second Place    Hetty & Norman Metzger, booth 211, Fiber
3D Mixed Media, Jewelry, Metal & Sculpture:
     Best in Show     Lewis Tardy*, booth 220, Sculpture
     Second Place    Harry Roa, booth 232, Jewelry
 
*Artist is new to Old Town in 2015

Art Fair Insiders is an amazing resource for me as an artist.  I can find great info on shows and where to apply, the forum for sharing info is invaluable and to top it off I won an amazing prize from an artist who donated so generously.  His name is Mike Montgomery and he is an incredibly talented painter.  I couldn't believe I was lucky enough to get one of his originals and to top it off the focus of the art piece is music and playing the guitar which fits me perfect since I am learning to play.  Thank you Mike for so generously donating one of your originals and to Art Fair Insiders for being such a great resource!  I've attached a pic of this incredible painting.

The one thing that never happens to me, is winning anything!!!  But....I actually won one of the great prizes in the Pledge Drive!!

I will get free show entry into the Spring Old Towne Art Show in St. Augustine in March 2016.  I still have to be juried in...so keep your fingers crossed for me.  I have been throwing around ideas for improving my booth set-up, so now I will have to think on it a little harder for the August entry.

I really love this site...I haven't done a lot of shows, because I was working full time.  Now I am only working Part-time, three short days a week and hope by the end of the year to be fully retired.  My goal is to participate in as many shows as I can juried into and still keep my sanity.  I love all the tips of the trade that everyone shares here.

Thank you again.  And keep up the good work.

Stephanie Ryder

Chantique Designs

Please follow me on Etsy:  www.etsy.com/shop/ChantiqueDesignsOrig

This is the second time I have done this “close to home” show. It did not meet my basic requirements for selecting a show, but I did it anyways. I hope the analysis at the end will be useful to newcomers to art shows.

DEMOGRAPHICS

Castle Rock is town with a population of 53,000 on I-25 about midway between Denver and Colorado Springs. Residents work in both places.  It is the county seat for Douglas County, ranked as the 9^th wealthiest county in the US. Median income for the county is $101,600, and for Castle Rock it is $86,280 (US Census data).  It also has one of the highest per capita horse ownerships in the country which reflects the high income of residents.  There has been significant growth in the area and a new housing development has been started east of town.

Castle Rock is an interesting “berg” making the transition from a typical western town to more urban with Denver and Colorado Springs commuters. You can still see the bullet holes in the pressed tin ceiling at the B&B Cafe across the street where the town marshal was shot and killed while attempting to make an arrest in 1946. The old courthouse burned down in 1978 when some gal started a fire in the jail in an attempt to break her boyfriend out of the place.

SHOW SETTING, SETUP & TAKE DOWN

The show is produced by the Greater Castle Rock Art Guild. There is a $25 Jury fee and the booth fee for 10X10 is $200.  This was the third year for the show and it has had different management each year. This year’s show was managed by Guild President Suzanna Opp and marketing Director Anthony Constantino. The show was advertised for 50 artists but only 19 were present. There were eight 2D artists (oil, watercolor, ceramic etc.) three photographers, three jewelers, and one each wood, glass, fabric, pottery and leather (me).  Quality of the work was very good.  There was live music both days. Restaurants are abundant around the courthouse square. A doughnut and pastry truck was on site Saturday, and a hot dog vendor was there Sunday. Overnight security was provided Friday and Saturday nights. The show was advertised on digital signs at the outlet mall north of town and the town hall sign. I saw signage at street intersections and an ad in the local newspaper.  Tax forms were provided for paying city sales tax (4%), but you had to pay the county and state taxes(3.9%) on line.   

     The show is held on the courthouse grounds in the center of Castle Rock on grass lawns.  Set up was scheduled for Friday starting at 5:00 pm but Anthony sent out an email that we could start as early as 3:15 - SUPER!  Prior to the show, there had been heavy rain for about two weeks that finally ended Friday morning. The ground was soft and table legs etc. needed to be blocked. You dolly into your site on sidewalks, but the maximum distance was only about 40 yards. There were access spaces between booths and ample storage space behind booths. Take down was equally easy. There were porta pots and a hand washing station behind the courthouse, and there were indoor restrooms at the guild gallery across the street.  Other amenities were cold water and Gatorade during the day, and coffee and goodies at the gallery in the morning. Booth sitters were available. Overall, this is a well-managed show.       

ATTENDANCE AND SALES

     Attendance Saturday was very weak but slightly better Sunday. Consequently, my sales were very slow. My gross sales were $965 and the average sale for 14 sales was $68.93 (my price points range from $7 for a belt buckle to $5000 for a saddle). The range of sales was $15 for a set of napkin rings without bandanas to $270 for two belts with silver buckle sets.

 ANALYSIS

     The rule I follow for shows is not to return unless my minimum gross sales is $1000/day for the weekend. I did this show its first year in 2013 (breaking another one of my “rules”) because an artist friend had organized it, I needed to find a good show in June, and the demographics were right for it. My gross sales that year were a tad under $1300 with an 81% profit margin because we ate and slept at home. Because it didn’t reach the $2000 minimum for returning, I decided to do Smokey Hill River Festival in Salina, KS in 2014. At that one, we grossed a few dollars less than $3K over 3 days and the profit margin was 58%. OK, but at the low end for most of my shows. The BIG DOWNSIDE for Salina was the trip over there across boring eastern Colorado and western Kansas. It’s flat and monotonous with only the “world’s largest prairie dog”, limestone fence posts, and Cathedral of the Plains to break the monotony. It’s like counting grain bins in the Texas panhandle. Besides that, I was up at 1:00am tracking tornadoes approaching Salina Saturday night. There was horrendous wind driven rain, but my inventory survived.

     Based on those factors I decided to break my rules and give Castle Rock another shot. Sales this year don’t justify returning, but the show will remain on my watch list simply because the demographics are right. Hopefully the guild will get a consistent management that researches what other similar communities like Golden and Boulder do to produce successful shows.

Note: this show is not listed in artshowreviews.com

Photos: up and down my aisle in front of the courthouse, sunset and storms out east on the way home .