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This show is not an easy one to report about.  Many artists plain hate it.  Some swear by it.  Others would not be caught dead going there.

I was there, so was my wife,Ellen.  So here is my take.

Truthfully, I am no great fan of this show, more-as, I am no great fan of the committee that runs it.

But, when it comes down to making a practical business decision (like, am I gonna make any real money here) you have to give this show some credit.  A lot of people made moola here--more than 5K.

I have been avidly following all the posts on Facebook the last three days.  I have read Amy Flynn's (good stuff, by the way), Will Conners (thought-provoking) and even Barely Bernstein's icy laments from the UP.

David Piper, a great showman and an even greater showman summed it up quite well. "They charge big bucks to ride the shuttle, then make the public wait almost an hour-an-a-half to get in the show, then charge $15 at the gate, charge $7 for draft beer, $8 in a skinny can, $4 for soda, and $3 for water.  Heck, a family of four has to shell out serious bucks before they even get a chance to look at the art.

Then they gotta walk all over Memorial Park in infinite directions on endless loops, sometimes the booths end for a while and you gotta walk 100 yards along the concrete before booths start again.  Then good luck getting back to an artist for a second look.  People are exhausted trying to walk this show once, let alone a second time.

450 booths, some with 6-foot sheer drop-offs behind them (I had one, luckily I had a corner to store stuff on--but what the heck, it only costs $750).  Other booths have oodles of level grass behind, even beckoning picnic benches. The drop off along the circular concrete drive is extreme at times.  One artist, at teardown, managed to slide off the edge of the walkway, meaning his van slid.  Pics on FB showed the van nosedown, endup sticking halfway out onto the walkway.  How would you like to maneuver around that.

The committee ran around putting band-aids as remedies for situations that were not well thought out.  For example, how do you get three artists into spaces that are only nine feet wide instead of ten?  Oh, you just set them up across the path from existing booths and create a choke point for the public to traverse.

You gotta love it when you get a guy who makes the kid's teepees gets called off the wait list a full month ahead of a very talented mixed media artist.

This show is not on a level playing field.  Everybody pays close to $500 for a 10x10.  Trouble is some some 10x10s are way better than others.

Like I said before, a lot of booths had no room for inventory storage behind, while others had mega-acres.

The booths at the beginning of the show, say the first 100 in each direction, got 100 per cent of the crowd coming by.  Booths in the add-on loop, had empty sidewalks a lot of the time.  Many patrons were just too wearied to make it back there.

OK, there are some of the knocks, many you have heard already.

Now look at the pluses.  There are several good ones.

Hey, Houston is either the third or fourth largest city in the USA.  There is lot of wealth here.

More than 12 corporations have moved their national headquarters from California to here.

There are not a lot of other competing art shows going on there.

There are a ton of young folks with disposable income here.

The show is held in early spring here, and most years the weather is wonderful--unlike Gasparilla's.

Many of the most talented artists and craftsman on the circuit come here--tells ya something.

If you build up a following you can make better than $5K here.

Many people this year made way better than that.  There were a lot of five-figure sales here.

Two artists who work in wood, killed them here.  One had to cancel Main Street Fort Worth, because they just did not have enough work left.

On Sunday morning, doing my walk-around before show, I heard variations on the same subject from at least 12 artists.  They all had one customer who had come in and blown $3K or better on a sale.

I heard it from two glass artists.  One guy told me he was wrapping up glass from a $2K sale, and the the guy kept adding on items, and he finally ended up with nearly a $4K sale.  And these guys still had Sunday to sell.

For every artist who made big moola, there were equally artists who barely covered expenses.

My wife was one of them.  They were virtually ignored, or not that many people wandered by.

This is a show where you have to show up and take your chances.  Some win, some lose.

Here are some relevant observations from this year's show.

Cowboy art, overall, is not a big seller here.  Houston is an international city with people from all over the world.  They don't necessarily embrace the Cowboy heritage like they do in Fort Worth.

People who depend on lots of multiple sales in the low to midrange levels did not do as well as people selling high end work.

I saw countless big paintings going out of the show.  Big sculpture, big glass, big clay--and yeah, lots of photo-giclees.

The line of people waiting at the shuttle with art in hand was very long.  There was lots of action.

Then you had the opposite effect too.  Two local painters who made five figures here last year, did not make expenses this year.  Go figure.

Abstract as well as realistic sells here.

For me, if I did not have my humor images, I would have been a dead doggie here.  I made most of my sales off 10 images.  I had a real good show.

This is the third time for me at the spring show--and it was my best, even though I had a shitty location on the back loop with a sheer drop off behind me.

It is a long drive for us.  Heck, from Tampa to Lafayette,LA is 13 hour drive and then another 5 hours the next day.

We took advantage of the option of tearing down on Monday morning, we were in there at 6:30 AM and on the road by 8AM just in time for morning rush hour.

This show is a tough call.  You are dealing with a committee that is not going to change much. I think they are very greedy.  They are trying to make up for losses from the fall show by putting it all on our backs.

Also, the lucky artist near the front of the show will be there again next year.  Good luck trying to get one of their spots.

Well, that's my story.

I am numero uno on the wait list for Fort Worth.  Ellen is in.  I am going with her Monday in my van hoping to get a spot.  It is a gamble and a lot of gas, but, I will take my chances because the show is worth it.  I have been in the last four years--hope to make it five.

Hey Terri, now you got some reading material while on the road.

Barely Bernstein, hope you were taking notes.

Adios, amigos.

Altamonte Springs, FL - March 28-29, Cranes Roost Park

Sponsored by: Pennsylvania Chautauqua
held in the wooded parks and streets of Mount Gretna

by Carolyn Edlund, guest blogger

Has this happened to you?

You’ve met people who absolutely love your artwork. It might be at an exhibit or a fair, or perhaps at a social event when you share an image of your art on your smartphone. They rave about your art, showing lots of interest, and you tell them you will stay in touch. They hand you a business card, or write down their name, email and phone number.

But you never got back to them. The opportunity was lost.

You meant to do it, but either you weren’t organized, or you didn’t know what to say, or didn’t have enough time. You end up with stacks of cards, and lists of people who want to see more of your work, but you haven’t taken any action to follow up with all those interested people who could turn into customers.

Perhaps you have an art website, which took a lot of time to put together. You want people to visit, and you might be putting in hours on social media to promote it – but you don’t know who likes your work or wants to see more unless someone fills out your contact form, which is rare. You don’t have a method of collecting names of visitors for your mailing list, or if you do, you haven’t contacted them.

All the effort you put into sharing your art has been wasted, unless you choose to take further action. You must put a system into place that will collect names of people who like your art, and want to know more. Then, you need to reach out to them over and over again, because one contact isn’t enough to make art sales. As people get to know you, and learn your story, and see your work, they feel that they know you and gain a comfortable level that can lead to making purchases.

Contacting your list is best accomplished through email marketing, which is the most effective tool you can use in reaching collectors who have shown an interest. It’s far more effective than social media alone. It puts you in control of your message and when you send it. You have permission to contact them; they want to hear from you. They are your prospective buyers, and as a business person, you are taking the next logical step to turn them into your newest art collectors.

Email marketing is an incredible way to drive repeat sales of artwork, too. Once you have sold a piece of work to a customer, it’s much easier to sell something else to that same person than it is to start out “cold” again.

A regular campaign of email marketing (once a month) reaches out to all of those people who indicated that they want to hear from you, as well as existing customers. This method of communication is low-stress, because you have a “friendly” audience. Introduce them to your portfolio, talk about upcoming events, and show new artwork you’ve created. If they don’t want to stay on the list, they simply unsubscribe. They can also forward your messages to friends and others who may buy from you. Watch as your list grows and you reach more people every month.

If you haven’t gotten started yet with an email marketing program, don’t worry. You can still reach out to old lists you have, and you can always begin collecting names of new people who want to find out more about your work. Start where you are now.

Email marketing campaigns are used by businesses around the world to drive billions of dollars in sales, because it works. You can take advantage of this, too. Email marketing doesn’t have to be a mystery. Templates are available to brand your messages, and let you share your personality, images of your art, and what makes each piece very special.

June 6
Jackson, Michigan

The Ella Sharp Museum presents the 11th Annual Art, Beer & Wine Festival.  The event will feature over 30 local wineries and beer tents, as well as 45 artists!

Festival goers can enjoy live music and artist booths nestled on the grounds of the Ella Sharp Museum and within the courtyard of the museum's historic Hillside Farm Lane.  

Adult tasting tickets include entry to live entertainment and artist booths, gallery access, ten sampling tickets, and a commemorative glass.  Tickets are $25 pre-sale and $30 at the door.  General admission tickets are $5 (no alcohol included). 

Artists will have an opportunity to present and sell their work to over 2,500 festival goers from south central Michigan as well as enjoy the festivities throughout the day that surround them at the event.

Learn more about our historic museum and events and apply:

 http://ellasharpmuseum.org/?page_id=886

For more information:

Kyle Liechty

Director, Art, Beer and Wine Festival

kyle@ellasharp.org

(517)787-2320

Cheers!

Learn even more about this event: 

www.artfairinsiders.com/profiles/blogs/saturday-at-the-museum

There are just a few options for purchasing weights, commercially made. Sculptor Jim Eaton with an industrial design background made and sold the Eaton Weights, Happifeet was another product available for some time and every now and then those John Deere tractor weights show up. The weights made precisely for tents usually come with an attaching system specifically designed for tents.

1. Dumbbells:

2. I think this is an iron bar:

3. Weights from your John Deere tractor:

4. One Eaton weight:

5. Stack your Eaton weights:

6. Happifeet:

7. and if you're really worried about blowing away bring your barrel and to make it really nice wrap it up:

Do you own any of these? Any recommendations?

After having a banner year last year, I'm receiving a lot more rejections this year. I don't know what has changed? I was rejected for South University Art Fair, Crosby Festival of the Arts and now tonight Arts and Apples. It makes me wonder about my other applications. Will those be okay or will I see more rejections? I guess I am in a down year. Which I did not anticipate...

Arguably the best art festival in the country took place March 5-8 in La Quinta, CA. I've been promised by several people a review of the show (it was so good maybe they don't want to share), but an art fair patron sent me this because she wanted attention to be paid. Congrats to these artists!

Hi everyone,

I have a quick question. I am new to art fests and was wondering the etiquette on displaying women's breasts in a painting. It will be very tasteful, such as in the victorian nude attached. She will be nude from the waist up, and will be depicted as a mermaid. I hate to have to cover her by adding long hair, but if I must, then I must. THANK YOU for your input:) P.S. I have checked the rules and regulations of the art fests, and did not see anything relating to nudes. It is the Columbus Arts Fest and Ann Arbor Street Art Fair. 

Downtown Naples Festival of the Arts took place on March 21-22 on a six block stretch of 5th Avenue in downtown Naples, Florida. I participated in this show a few years ago and did not do well, but I applied to this year as a backup for Winter Park, which ran on the same weekend this year. I was on the wait list for Winter Park and did not get an invitation, so Marcia and I showed up at 5:30 am for the dreaded early morning setup on Saturday morning. Some artists don't mind that early morning setup, but I hate them. It typically takes us 4 hours to set up and, being in our 60s, we are pretty tired by the time all the artwork is up. Then, its a 10-6pm art fair in hot weather.

Besides the early morning setup, new chairman Jody Agastos has a serious parking problem to contend with in this art fair. The big grassy field north and east of the art fair that has traditionally been for artist parking, is now being developed and is no longer available.

To compensate, the committee secured artist parking two miles away and provided shuttles for the artists. Jody also found a parking lot of the Women's Club just 1/2 block from 5th Avenue at Park Street. 40 spots were available on a first come first served basis for an additional $50. for the weekend if paid in advance. Marcia and I jumped at the closer parking and paid the $50 and were awarded the #34 spot. Of course, when we got there we found that our booth was way west on 5th avenue so our "close" parking was still five blocks away. Better than two miles, but still, pretty far.

On Sunday morning when we arrived to park in the Women's Club lot we discovered that the Women's Club was having an event that morning and all the parking spaces were taken by members. Jody was there trying her best to manage the situation (she was blind-sided by this unexpected event), and she graciously directed us to a temporary spot until the event ended and the Women left. We came back later to re park in more convenient spot.

Anyway, I don't think any artists were pleased with the parking situation. And, it seems to me that most of the Naples art fairs will have similar parking problems next year. I hope the committee will come up with a better solution next year.

One thing I like about this show is that artist booths are setup down the middle of 5th avenue, back to back in quads. That means that every booth is a corner booth. What I don't like is that there is very little storage space in back of each booth... maybe two feet that has to be shared between the back to back booths. And, artists are prohibited from storing stuff on the sidewalks because of the many shops, galleries and restaurants on 5th Avenue. Luckily, we were opposite a vacant storefront and we did manage to store some stuff on the sidewalk during the show.

Sales on Saturday were meager. We had lots of people coming by and had lots of positive feedback for our work, but few customers. I'm not sure why it is, but the clientele that come to the art fair in Cambier park for Naples National in February is much different than the people who come to this art fair. We closed up the tent at 6pm with about $800 in sales. A big disappointment.

Sunday was much better because we sold two large canvas prints bringing our Sunday total to just over $1700. Total take for the show was $2500. At most shows we typically sell 15-20 small framed prints for $56 each. I bring lots of extra frames with me and pop new pictures in the frames as I sell them. This low cost alternative has been a great product for us but at this show we only sold four of them. There just were not many paying customers at this show.

Like most shows, sales were good for some, and not so good for others. We kind of came in the middle. Not a terrible show, but not a great one either. The 5am setup and the dismal parking situation will probably make us think twice about applying to this show again unless these problems are addressed next year.

We're from Saugatuck, Michigan and this was our fifth show of our Florida "tour." The others were ArtiGras in Jupiter, South Miami, Lake Wales and Bonita Springs. We grossed around $16K for the five shows. Sounds good, but when you factor in gas, lodging and meals and all the application and booth fees, our profits were kind of slim. I've got some ideas about some better shows that I hope to get into next year, so, we'll be back. Of course it is always up to the jury which shows we ultimately get into.

I've always relied on renting pipe and drapes for indoor shows from the show promoter – however I'm now considering purchasing my own.  I do a couple smaller local shows which don’t offer rental options and sometimes the promoters at my larger shows chose a drape color that just doesn’t go with my product.

I realize there are several options out there – however can anyone recommend a quality product that won’t break the bank.  I don’t mind spending a little more money for nice quality – however I don’t want to spend it unnecessarily either.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

My booth is typically 10' x 10', however occasionally I can only get a 10' x 8'.

We just finished our first show of the season, the three day, two shows combined event in Fairhope, Alabama. The festival ran March 20, 21, & 22 and show hours were Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. An awards dinner (great pasta food and deserts) was held Friday night from 6:30 to 7:30 and tickets are required that were exchanged for Mardi Gras beads to be served. One ticket was provided for each booth with the booth fee and an extra ticket costed $15, but they were not selling them to just anyone who wanted to attend since they denied my request on Friday afternoon when I inquired about bringing two collectors who came to see us there from out of town.

Fairhope is a quaint community full of southern charm nestled along the eastern shore of Mobile Bay, and it boasts having one of the oldest running events of this kind in the country--2015 was its 63rd year. We did the event sponsored by Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce for our second time (2011 was the first), and we had a pretty good show worth writing home about since we won an award on Friday night and sold some original art on Saturday and Sunday along with some repros. I called my collector friends and boasted my win.

We didn't see the same number of repro buyers that we saw in 2011, and that's consistent with the current trend everywhere, but quite a number of artists around us were grumbling about sales figures being completely down. One artist with whom I'm well acquainted and who was doing the other show packed his trash and left on Saturday night. I think that the weather report fueled his fire to leave, but we got lucky with the weather this year since the heavy rain stopped before the show started on Sunday morning and the skies cleared for the duration. No part of the show got affected by rain this year, whereas last year the artists weren't so lucky and the show Director gave the option for everyone to leave on Saturday night without penalty, which everyone smartly did do. Anyway, back to the future...

Check-in started at 3:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon in the Chamber of Commerce office on Fairhope Ave. and lines were long, but that goes with the territory of a 200 artist show wherein nearly everyone decides to check-in at the same time. Set-up began at 6:00 p.m. later that evening and it can be hectic since the shows are held in the middle of the city streets. Police won't allow any vehicle to be parked or standing and will either make artists move out or have towed those unattended. Once all clear, you better have your engine running and be behind the wheel or you might ruin your flow. You all know the drill. I didn't have any problem whatsoever with unloading right into my booth and didn't see that others had trouble with set-up either. Usually we artists check-in, find our booth spot, and then begin discussing the flow with other artists around us. So this method proved golden once again.

What's especially cool about the C of C event layout is that booths are set up in blocks of four with a 10ft. space in between each quad, so everyone has a corner booth. And all of the booths are in the middle of the street. That doesn't leave room for any storage behind the booths, however. The other show, which is sponsored by Eastern Shore Art Center, sets its booths up side-by-side on opposite sides of the street with tents backed up along each curb. The shows are adjacent to each other, so the only way to tell you've moved from one show to the other is by noticing the booth layout.

I'm not going to do any heroic journalistic duty and research all the pertinent details about the Art Center sponsored event. If you want to read about that, hopefully someone who did it will comment about it. Otherwise, you'll have to seek the info on the Art Center's FACEBOOK PAGE HERE or their WEBSITE HERE.

Both shows combined total about 350 artists and that might have something to do with lackluster sales. But there were plenty of tourists afoot all three days. They were out in droves, and just about every five minutes one or more of them would walk by with a bag load of pussy willow for decorating with their homes. Got art? NOT! Got pussy willow? YOU BETCHA! Someone told me the vendor selling that foliage wasn't even in either of the two sanctioned shows. I dunno. I didn't investigate. It didn't stop the good natured art patrons from eventually finding me and lighting my fire.

Another cool feature about the Eastern Shore C of C event is that they provide refreshments all day, starting with large slow cookers full of cheese and shrimp grits, gourmet pastries, fruit, juice, and hot coffee on all three days behind the C of C office. Then throughout the day volunteers come by with rolling coolers and offer Coke Classic, other soft drinks, and cold water. We needed the support, too since the weather report was completely wrong for this weekend. It was a little warmer than it was supposed to be, but apparently not nearly as hot as it got on the folks in Orlando doing Winter Park.

The C of C show has a great video of the artists in the show on its website done by a local resident and volunteer. He came by my booth and interviewed me for the video. YIKES! But the show was slow changing the 2014 roster to 2015 since they did it the day of check-in. That's right, the day before the 2015 event. But they got it done before the new show, anyway.

Tim Peters (clay) won Best of Show, and when he heard his name called at the end of the presentation he briskly skipped his way from the back of the large civic center room to the stage. What personality! Other awards included the Chairman's Award, the Chamber Award, 10 Distinction, 5 Merit, 1 Juror's, and the one we got, the Eastern Shore Art Center Award of Excellence which is selected by the committee of the other show. When announced, our award was called the "Reciprocal Award" meaning that the committee from both shows choose one artist from the other show as their winner. So does that mean we should be doing the other show? I dunno? I don't think we will, though.

Hotel accommodations are plentiful in this area, but pricey. Get a room in late summer and keep checking for reduced rate opportunities. We stayed 12 miles from the show out on I-10 in the LaQuinta for nearly $100 per night.

One last note about our event. Our booth was directly in front of the little Hampton Inn in Fairhope (not your typical Hampton Inn, but a quaint inn a few steps off the street), and we got "adopted" by them. More than half the artists in the show got adopted by merchants in Fairhope, which meant the artists got to use private restrooms and partake in other benefits offered by the merchants. Hampton Inn gave us everything but a room, and it was a delightful gift of good fortune! WOOHOO!