Blog

Hello Everyone!

For those of you who have read my previous posts on the Artegon Marketplace in Orlando, FL, this should be my final one.

I am leaving at the end of my 6 month contract, and it is my opinion that no artist should try this venue until a couple of years go by. This is only my opinion, and you can take it for what it is worth. But I would highly suggest you do your own research before signing up.

There are 51 empty booths today, out of 165. Several artists have more than one booth, and some booths are buy/sell. Regardless of what they contain, there are more and more empty booths each month. My sales have remained an average of $1000 gross per month, which is based on a 60 hour week that we are required to be open. In July, management has decided that we should be open more hours, so now that is increased to 68 hours a week.

Traffic has increased slightly with the advent of summer vacationers. What little advertising I have noticed on my commute has decreased.

Management is the core problem, I believe. There has been turnover and new ideas, but nothing seems to have impacted yet.

If you do decide to try it, I wish the best for you. It is a great idea in a great town, but it hasn't worked for me.

So, It's the first day of July and I am about to finalize my Fall schedule of shows and organize my whole life until Christmas. It certainly isn't a impetuous life we lead in this business....always thinking 6 months ahead and trying to make the funds to do that... while still making art and paying for that too. It's a roller coaster for me...I'll admit, with a great show, intermixed with some not so great and the wheel keeps spinning around.

I love it, it fits my temperament, but I always think I could be much smarter about it....that I could be doing more and doing it better. Which brings me to the question at hand.

I have really appreciated all the input that goes into this site and the wisdom of the many sages that populate it. So, I was wondering about your take on a couple of shows I have been juried into....if they are worth the drive and expense to do and if they are a proven good risk. I have done a few first time shows this year with some iffy results so I want to ask before I barge ahead and commit.

I am a contemporary mixed media artist, and I realize we all have pretty different experiences based on the local of a given show, booth spot and the economics of an area. I have looked up Peoria but I haven't seen all that much, what I have seen is good but I'd like to know if it's worth an 8 hours drive. I just got in off the wait list and if you could give some feedback about your experiences there it would be so helpful.

OK,  so now I'll just dump all these at your feet...what the heck, I'm already in too deep. I am wondering about Greater Gulfcoast in Florida and Centerfest in Durham and while I'm asking, might as well ask about the Covington Art Festival.  

I hate to throw this out there to the group (been done so often) but I have looked up the available info (thanks Connie) and haven't found any recent reviews and was wondering if these shows are still good choices, although I know a lot goes into that assumption for every different artist. Thanks in advance and I hope your Fall Schedule is wonderful and carries you through to your spring schedule....as that wheel keeps turning.

When one of our active members shows up in my news feed I need to share it. 

Carrie Jacobson was in Norwalk, CT, at the Norwalk Arts Festival -- and they chose her for the article:

Rain Can't Dampen Spirits at the Norwalk Art Festival

AND -- after last weekend's heavy rains around the Midwest here is an excellent article, with lots of good photos about the Crosby Festival of the Arts in Toledo: 

https://www.toledoblade.com/local/2015/06/29/Arts-fest-weathers-storm.html

I would love to get some feedback on my new booth setup/shot. Many thanks in advance!!!!

Des Moines, IA - June 28, 2015 - The on-site jury of the 2015 Des Moines Arts Festival® presented awards to ten visual artists at an awards ceremony held this morning at Centro Restaurant in downtown Des Moines.   Ceramic artist, Michael Schwegmann was awarded Best of Show.  Zora Murff was named Best of Emerging Iowa Artists.

Michael Schwegmann received a BFA from the University of Illinois.  He has made ceramic sculpture as a full time studio artist since 1995.  Michael's sculptural ceramics focus complex ideas of labor.  He sells his work through galleries, public and private commissions, and juried art fairs across the United States. 

Best of Show:

Michael Schwegmann: Ceramics

Best of Show Emerging Iowa Artists:

Zora Murff:  EIA

Awards of Excellence:

Deborah Mae Broad: Graphics/Printmaking

E. Douglas Wunder: Jewelry

Joachim Knill: Painting

Matthew Hemminghaus: Photography

Robert Erickson and Tor Erickson: Wood

Juror Awards:

Lynda Ladwig: Ceramics

Andrew Kosten: Graphics/Printmaking

Dylan Strzynski: Mixed Media

Want more? Here's a quick article plus a video from the festival: http://whotv.com/2015/06/28/des-moines-art-festival-california-artist-brings-his-own-art-box/

Sponsored message from Chroma - Atelier Interactive Acrylic Paints

Meet Jim Cobb The paint making alchemist. I'm sure I've already met a great deal of you while on my travels from town to town discussing the paints that Ive created over the years. For those of you that I havent met, it may be worth understanding why Ive been pioneering artists paints for almost 50 years! LEARN MORE

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