Blog

Now that we are at the end of July, I’m finally catching up on show reviews for July. Between having our house close on July 18th and having shows 3 out of the 4 weekends in July, I’ve definitely fallen behind on show reviews. This show is always held the weekend after 4th of July and with the 4th being on a Thursday this year, we decided to depart Seattle a day earlier and spend some R&R time on our favorite island, Whidbey Island. This year’s festival was scheduled for July 6-7.

The Choochokam Arts festival is all volunteer run and this year they changed directors. That turned out to be a bit of a fiasco, organization at this show has never been great, last year it seemed to be improving over prior years and it seemed like they were “getting their act together. This year’s organization was the worst it has been in the 5 years we’ve participated, organization and communication was horrible. At midnight on the 4th of July emails went out to most of the artists asking for their insurance. What? Yes, we had sent in our proof of insurance but they changed that to needing us to have them listed as a named insured. OK, so that meant Friday morning instead of enjoying a cup of coffee and lounging my morning away, I was having to deal with contacting our insurance company and then figuring out how to get a copy of it printed since we had already left our house and our printer behind. Then we received another email saying we hadn’t paid the last half of our booth fees, but could pay at check in on Friday evening. OK, no big deal, but really, you would have thought they realized they didn’t have all the artists fees yet. Normally I’m more on top of that and had realized a week or two before that we were never even notified about our booth location, payment or official acceptance. So I had emailed and finally received the load in info, but based on all the comments for a Face Book group I’m on, we were not the only ones with all the last minute notifications, etc. In fact, it sounds like almost everyone got the same emails. Gotta love Thursday midnight emails when Friday is a travel day and load in times are Friday night. With many of the artists battling Friday afternoon traffic through Seattle and then waiting for the ferry to Whidbey Island, that didn’t leave a lot of time to deal with the last minute show requirements. And for those artists who are procrastinators and still needed to pack or were trying to finish that one last piece??? Definitely added some unneeded stress for the artists.

Another big change for this year was the booth layout. In the past the booths on our street were all quads, this year they set them up in groups of 6 with the 2 inner booths being “dead zones” and that’s where they put all the new artists, including AFI’er Steph Mader. I’m guessing these inside booths only saw about ½ the foot traffic the rest of us saw. The show also seemed really excited that they added more booths and had more artists than ever before. That left a lot of scratching our heads, do they not realize that’s just less dollars per artist as they spread the spending out more????

With the additional booths, we were concerned that load in would be difficult so we took our time after checking in, knowing we would be among the last to load in based on our booth location. We had a leisurely dinner and then showed up to load in and had no issues. Most of the artists said it seemed better than prior years, although some still had to wait 30-60 minutes past their designated time to be able to drive to their spot. This is one of the shows where they really micro manage the load in, are a little more relaxed for load out. Again, due to the additional booths, load out was a bit more problematic this year, took us a little longer and we ended up parking a couple of booths away from our spot and having to hand cart things. Load in, they had volunteers available, would have loved to see a few more volunteers at load out when we were lugging our stuff around.

Overall we still had a good show, within $15 of last year’s total sales, however, many of the artists I talked to reported lower than normal sales for this event. It was the normal mixed bag of results, a few artists had one or two large sales that made their show, most of the newbies for this show weren’t happy, but that was due to booth placement. Our sales on Saturday were way off from previous years, Sunday sales were the best Sunday sales we’ve ever had at this show. We sold one of our $500 necklaces that a customer had to go home Saturday and think about, her husband talked into going back on Sunday and buying it!! We also had 2 fairly large sales to customers who had bought smaller items in the past and decided this was the year they were buying a bigger, more expensive piece, so we had fewer sales on Sunday compared to Saturday, but the average purchase per customer was triple the amount.

This is one of our favorite shows to participate in, location could not be better, but of course, we are somewhat partial to Whidbey Island. What’s not to like about island life? A little slower pace of life, beautiful scenery in all directions with the Puget Sound, Olympic and Cascade mountains, lots of charming little towns and an island that really supports artists. Will we do this again? Probably, it’s an expensive show to do with a $390 booth/license/application fee plus the ferry fees which for our truck / 5th wheel totaled $125 round trip, plus having to pay camping fees at the local fairgrounds, however ferry / camp fees are a lot less than the cost of a hotel on this island.

I attended the Syracuse Art and Crafts Festival this past weekend. All in all, I thought it was a good show. It is held in part of the old downtown area amongst many churches, and other public buildings on tree lined streets. It made for a very nice setting for an Art Festival. 
There were a lot of artists participating and I am sure other AFI folks were there, but I just didn't find them. 

The folks putting on the show recommend that you do not set up on Thursday, so Friday morning was a little hectic with parking, but there were police officers there to keep lanes open and keep everyone moving and getting ready. Because of the police officers help, everyone was cleared out and ready to go at the 10 AM starting time. Artist could submit their work Friday morning to be judged, and it didn't have to be submitted until 11:30 which was also nice because it allowed us to get the booth open and then have time to take the work to be judged. There were coffee and breakfast snacks as well as restrooms in the same building that the judging was taking place and that building was centrally located for most of the artists. I was fortunate enough to have some really talented artists booths around mine and in general the show had a lot of talented folks displaying. 

The crowds on Friday were not very large as one would expect on a work day although it was clear that some folks came to the festival on their lunch breaks as many could be seen wearing their work id's. 

For me the highlight of the weekend came Friday afternoon late when a young lady came to my booth and presented me with a ribbon of excellence for one of my pieces. I was really excited about that, but REALLY got excited when she also handed me a nice check to go with the ribbon. I had never received a ribbon at an art event before and was quite pleased that the judges thought enough of my natural edged walnut bench to award me the prize for woodworking. 

Saturday the crowds came and it was a good day both in terms of sales and meeting new folks. I chatted with my neighbors and they were doing well, but most seemed to think that this year wasn't up to the quality of past years.

Sunday the rains came. It rained off and on for most of the morning and didn't finally start to clear off until about 2 PM. I had figured that Sunday was going to be a wash ( pun intended ) but early Sunday morning we had folks with umbrellas walking and looking at things. I sold a few items on Sunday and did better than I had expected. 

Load out! OMG! The combination of the quaint tree lined (narrow) streets, everyone trying to leave at once, and the aforementioned police officers not being present made for a zoo of everyone trying to occupy the same spot at the same time. Actually, most of the artists were working together to help each other to make sure vehicles could clear each other and moving vehicles if that was needed. Sadly, there were a couple of artists that apparently never learned to share and parked their vehicles too far toward the middle of the road and absolutely refused to move or try to help others. 

Other than the confusion of load out, in my opinion, this was a very well run event and one I hope to attend in the future. Maybe, it like most shows, was better in the past, but with todays economy, one has to do with what one is offered. 

Yes, if something is planned to occur annually, and this is the first time it will happen, it is perfectly correct to say "first annual."

This is absolutely wrong according to the rules of grammar and English. The first time you hold any event it is the "inaugural" and the next year would be the "2nd annual".

You intend for the event to take place a second time, but you aren't sure it will (life happens). You never know what might happen in a year.....safer to call the first event "inaugural".

Ask any grammar or journalism teacher!

Okay, now that that is out of the way I'd like to report on the "(Inaugural) Cheesman Park Art Festival". Many of you are probably familiar with the Rio Grande folks and Ruth Gore who, for 25 years, have done their part in Albuquerque during the Balloon Fest in Oct. If I have my facts straight...her daughter Liz moved to Denver, created "Dash Events" and decided to create a new show here. I had my reservations (and reported on that with my blog "Too Many Shows...") about yet another show in the Denver area as I was concerned about the possibilities of show burnout for the attendees. I had a free weekend, didn't have to drive far, didn't have to stay in a motel, didn't have to...you get the idea. So, why not try something new and different? I hadn't done any Denver area shows (Peoples Fair? Forget it. Cherry Creek, haven't been invited yet!) in a long time and it was worth the gamble.

On to the particulars...

Logistics: The show was staged in one of the nicest parks in the Denver area. Cheesman Park is just west of the Denver Botanic Gardens which is located about 5 blocks north of where the Cherry Creek Arts Festival is held. Apparently this was the first of its kind in this park location.The neighborhood, even on a good day, is not parking friendly. This area has a lot of apartment buildings as-well-as old large family homes converted to apartments. To say the least street parking is NOT plentiful. The show provided a shuttle from a nearby high school but it wasn't available on Fri.

Loading in and loading out couldn't have been much easier. The hardest part was making a hard left turn, when I got into the park, to get around the barriers. Hopped outta the "Art Mobile" and was greeted by the friendly staff at the main tent. Got my packet, and as I had done my homework, knew where my booth space was supposed to be. Booth spaces were already chalked out along the roadway. The clusters of tents were laid out in such a way that there was plenty of space to park opposite my booth space and unload. Liz allowed for the option of locals, or others that could, to get early access and, as I had signed up for it, I was in at 1:00 with about 30 other artists. The extra 1 1/2 hour early load-in option gave me plenty of time to set up the tent, unload my boxes and then move outta the way for others.

Tents were staggered so that there was a row of about 10 tents on one side of the road and then the next row of ten were on the opposite side of the road. This left plenty of browsing space for the patrons. I hope they keep that set-up as it made things less chaotic overall.

Show Hours: Set-up was in the afternoon on Fri before the show from 2:30 till 6 or so. Saturday show hours were 10-8 and Sunday was from 10-5. I think the show probably could have been shortened to 6 or 7 on Saturday as the crowd was pretty thin by then. Someone once told me "Its better to leave the party while it is still fun then to be the last one to leave!" I think that same philosophy would be applicable here as well. By 8:00 it was already too dark to see into the tents, except for the one photographer who was smart enough to have set up his lights, and the crowd had thinned substantially.

Amenities: On Friday, when it was so hot that I thought I was going to pass out as I set up, one of the show staff came around with a wagon of cold soda, just in time! When I checked on Sat morning there was coffee but as I don't drink it I didn't care. Other than that I don't think there were any other offerings...correct me if I'm wrong on that. The staff was very attentive in walking the show on a regular basis which I think is a good thing for a promoter to do rather than handing you the packet and that's the last you see of them. Although they didn't specifically report it, I asked one of the blue T-shirt clad people if they were booth sitters and they said, "Sure, if you need anything just let us know!"

Demographics: The area itself is mixed with the young upwardly mobile as-well-as the long time established so there was a great mix of ages at the show. Not the usual second home retirees who have no wall space that I'm used to in some of the AZ shows that I've done.

Food: What, no corn dogs, no popcorn, no overpriced anything? Nope, what they did have were some of the nicest catering trucks  with food prices that were not exorbitantly jacked up for the captive audience! I missed out on some of it on Saturday as we ordered out from a nearby restaurant but I took advantage of the El Toro El Tot wagon on Sunday for lunch. An incredible burger and tots that were seasoned with oregano and other secret spices, awesome! The whole meal + local soda=$10 I've paid more than that for the extra long corn dog and watered down lemonade!

Quality of the Art: This was a mixed bag. I think it was pretty wide. Not that the offerings were bad just that I thought some of the booths might have been better placed at a craft show. So, my question to the promoters would be, "What kind of a show are you wanting to promote? Is it just fine arts? Is it crafts also?" I guess the name of the show is open and vague enough to fit any bill.

Reflections: I thought that Liz and her crew did a great job for a first time show. Having been around the show promotion biz I'm sure she learned a lot from her mom. In fact Ruth was around for the show as well. All the staff showed enthusiasm, as evidenced by their happy faces, and were genuinely nice to every one. They didn't have the ho-hum look, and detached indifference, on their faces that I've seen on some other long time fair promoters faces. Things ran smoothly.

Now, the really important part...did people show up for the show? You bet! In fact when I sent a message out to my wife I told her I thought it was like a mini-Cherry Creek crowd! Not only were they walking the show but they were actually crowding into the booths (not like the walking dead I've seen lately, or the ones looking for free weekend entertainment) They really wanted to engage with the artists and were good critical viewers. I barely was able to get in a few minutes of rest-my-feet time from greeting people who came in.

Did they buy? Yes, indeed! In fact, after having had 3 stinker shows in a row prior to this one my expectations were pretty low. In terms of my bottom line it was the most profitable show I've had all year next to Topeka. Would I do it again, yes, without reservation.

So, overall, I'd say that Liz did a great job getting a new show off the ground, showed the right kind of enthusiasm and attention to the artists, provided a nice atmosphere for the patrons and got them out to see what was going on. A resident who lived adjacent to the park said that she had seen the tents going up on Friday and was a little concerned about what might be going on but was very enthusiastic about the quality of the show when she came out to walk it. What better endorsement than that could you want? Hopefully, there will be a "2nd Annual Cheesman Park Art Festival"!

I found this in a magazine that nolonger exists but for those of you who need help with doing a review of a show here is a template.  Magazine folded in 2009.

Event Evaluation Form

In our continuing commitment to improving The Crafts Fair Guide, we have upgraded to a more reliable online review process for The Crafts Fair Guide. As always we appreciate any feedback. Thank you for taking the time to submit your Evaluation for the event you attended.

Event Information
Show ID: (if known)
City:
State:
Start Date:	End Date:
Promoter Name:
Event Name:
Weather:
	(example: Overcast, Raining, Sunny, etc...)
Environment:
Describe Venue:
	(example: In the Parking Lot adjacent to Sunset Park)

Sales :
Attendance :
Enjoyability :
Public Mood :
Buying Power :
Organization :

We were anticipating a good weekend for this year’s Sequim Lavender Festival Street Fair (July 19-21). The weather forecast was PERFECT!!  Unlike last year where it rained 2 out of 3 days and everything was a soggy mess with a river running through our booth.   However, we still did well enough last year to say it was worth returning, thinking that perfect weather would bring out bigger crowds and improve our sales.   With a forecast of sunshine and temps in the 70’s we were anticipating a huge crowd and a fun weekend.

Logistic details really haven’t changed for this show, I gave quite a few details in last year’s blog.  We had the same booth location as last year with the same great location to park our 5^th wheel.  Gotta love these shows that give us free RV parking with walking distance of the booth, got to go “home” for lunch each day, never had to use the porta potties once all weekend.  Yep, there are some advantages to having a home on wheels parked close by. 

Last year’s blog for anyone interested in logistics:  http://www.artfairinsiders.com/profiles/blogs/sequim-lavender-festival-2012

A couple of changes from last year, booth fees went up by $20 and the artist hospitality booth was eliminated.  So, with our RV parked so close we ended up providing coffee for a couple of artist friends who were car camping and didn’t realize the hospitality booth was gone and had expected to at least have a cup of coffee and a bagel or something at the show. 

End results for this year?  Down 25% from last year, not quite what we had hoped for or expected.  Friday we started off with great sales, we only had 11 sales all day, most of the in the morning, but they were large sales.  Our average sale was over $100 per sale so we were very pleased, thinking we were off to a great start for the weekend.   That turned out to be our best sales day, much to our dismay.  Saturday the crowd seemed to change drastically, all low price point sales, lots of requests for discounts, more comments / surprise when we charged sales tax, like they thought this was a hobby, not a business.   Sunday sales were even worse, about ½  of Saturday and the crowd never materialized making for a very slow day and way too much time to visit with our artist friends.

So, is this a show we’ll do again? Not sure, the sales we had this weekend were about on par with a 2 day show that we did for 5 years before trying this one last year, held the same weekend with a lower booth fee and where we built a good following.  However, this one still attracts more people and tourists and just seems like a show where the overall results should be better. More thinking and analyzing to do on this one.

This was our 4^th year participating in this show in Eastern WA and this was the first time we left there totally mystified, not quite understanding what just happened, but definitely feeling as if we had been punched in the gut.

I’ve blogged about this show before, logistics, set up, etc. have not changed other than Friday was an hour shorter, they ended the show at 8 PM instead of 9 PM on Friday which was a welcome change for the artists.  The link to 2012’s blog, which has a link to 2011’s blog can be found here.  http://www.artfairinsiders.com/profiles/blogs/art-in-the-park-allied-arts-richland-wa-july-27-28-2012

So what happened this year?  Definitely a lack of sales and a HUGE disappointment for almost all of the artists we talked to.  We were all assuming Friday’s weather and high temp of 102 caused a slower than normal Friday, plus the local Hanford plant that takes every other Friday off was not off this year on Friday.   Over the past few years their Friday off coincided with this show so we were all hoping they would show up on Saturday when the temps were supposed to be 8-10 degrees cooler.  Unfortunately the crowd did not materialize on Saturday. In fact, the crowd never really showed up, not like it has in the past.   We watched a small crowd walk through on Friday morning, then thin out considerably as the temperatures climbed, unlike prior years, the crowd never really returned in the evening. 

There also seemed to be more "no show" artists than usual. This show is held the same weekend as the 3 Bellevue shows with 800+ booths on the other side of the state.  After trying that madness and mayhem one time, we decided Allied Arts was a better option for us.  However, this is a show that some artists will apply to as a back up and if they get called off the waitlist for a Bellevue show, they forfeit their $80 booth fee and take a chance in Bellevue.  Interestingly enough, this year I was actually hearing some good reports from Bellevue unlike the past 3 years while I wasn't hearing that very many artists were happy with their sales here in Richland.  

We left there very disappointed and wondering if this year was an anomaly or this is a start of a new trend for this show.  And as always, since I have a tendency to over analyze everything, I’m sure we’ll be thinking about this between now and next March when we will need to apply for this show.

What a disappointment!  I had read the reviews of this show on AFI and while it sounded like there was a lot of B/S, there was still a chance to make some good bucks.

This is a Chamber of Commerce show (50^th anniversary) and they get a good crowd but it’s the wrong crowd for us. 

Staci’s work is all about color and most of the fine art that we saw going out here was traditional New England style seascapes.   It was the only show we’ve ever done where people came into the booth, tilted their heads and got a “what’s this bright stuff” look on their faces.  Only a few smiling “I love your colors” compared to what we normally see.

So we misjudged the opportunity here – bad on us.

Show specifics:  It’s an easy load-in/out with a fairly short dolly across the town green to almost any booth spot.  The volunteers were great and the Chamber put on a Friday night BBQ  (we didn’t attend because we have family in the area and were visiting with them.  The reports we heard were that the food was great.)

The show layout was confusing.   All spots were 15Wx10D so there was tons of room to set up almost any way you wanted.  The rows didn’t seem particularly straight though.

The aisles were very narrow and when coupled with the usual jerks who set up their director chairs and huge beach umbrellas in the middle of the aisle, traffic became congested and booth visibility impaired.  Come on guys – stay in your tents!

Exhibitors were all over the lot.  There was fine art but there was also buy/sell and several show veterans complained that it’s getting worse each year.  Also, I have never seen so much sea glass!  There were three sea glass booths within a four tent radius!

We did end up selling 4 nice canvas mounted pieces, a small framed piece, and a few reproductions so it wasn’t a disaster but it sure wasn’t what we were hoping for.

One highlight – I got to meet/talk to AFIer Carrie Jacobson.  Her contemporary landscapes are stunning.  If we didn’t live on a boat, I’d want one hanging on our walls.  I’ll let her chime in but I think she would agree that the body of work to be successful here needs to be quite different that what we both were exhibiting.

I am new to the Art Fair Blog but finding good information already. I have lifting issues (neck problems) but like the look of pro panels. I have the Light Dome tent with mesh walls and love them but need a nicer display for indoor shows this winter. Does anyone know where I can look for these other than ebay and craigs list?

We only did one summer show this year.  It was Northville's Art in the Sun.  The weather on the first day about took out the tents and unfortunately about 30% of the artists packed up and left.  Too bad for them because the rest of the weekend was beautiful.  Two tents over from me was a woman who was selling all sorts of boxes and trinkets obviously buy and sell.  And people were buying from her because her prices were understandably premade tiles.  Even though the organizers knew these people were hurting the sales of real artists, they did not ask them to leave.  The more I think about it the more I feel the rest of us are owed a refund on our jury fees. I won't do this show next year even though the people in charge were helpful and very nice.  I felt cheated the whole time I was watching this woman rake in a profit and cutting into the sales of legitimate artists around her. 

It is my feeling that if you are caught doing buy/sell that you should be removed from the show immediately.  It usually states this in the contract.  How do you feel about that?  Should we insist on jury fee refunds if a buy/sell participant is not removed from the show? 

The 21st annual Art on the Mall took place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, July 28, on the main campus of the University of Toledo.

UT's Centennial Mall is beautiful in the summer, and makes a great setting for an art show. The event is organized by the UT Alumni Association and is the association's biggest fundraiser, according to The Blade. Many of the artists were wearing ribbons identifying them as UT alumni.

I saw a wide variety of price points, from $6 notecards to a handful of pieces marked at over $1,000. A little over 100 artists were listed.  Mostly Toledo-area, but some came from further away -- the furthest I saw was Florida.

I was just a visitor, so maybe an artist who exhibited can chime in with that perspective in the comments.

October 5 & 6  
Portage, Indiana

The spectacular fall colors, the lapping water of Lake Michigan, the hum of an active, vibrant community all beckon the artist and the art lover to Portage, IN, 30 minutes from downtown Chicago, South Bend and Michigan.  

Just the words, "Fall Festival" conjure up warm memories of the good offerings of our farm heritage....wine, cheese, chocolate....combined with a celebration of the creations of many skilled, talented and selected artists and artisans from throughout the region. Come join us for a sampling of all this and more.

Portage is proud to offer a wonderful weekend venue of juried art showings, a wine, cheese and chocolate tasting, live entertainment, all indoors. The Harvest Festival is open to art in all media. Much as the city itself is a melting pot and crossroads, we wish our show to reflect that milieu. Portage is 30 minutes from Chicagoland, South Bend and Michiana!

This is an indoor art fair with an easy set up and take down for artists.

Please put this event, the Portage Harvest Festival, October  

5th and 6th at the top of your fall calendar. Come, relax, and enjoy the talent, creativity and virtuosity of art as you've not experienced it before.

Important Dates:

August 22nd: Entry Deadline

August 30th:  Notification Date

September 6th: Booth Fee Due

Artists Amenities:

• A secure building/police monitored alarm system
• Booth sitters
• Set up on Friday 10am-6pm or Sat. at 6am
• Advertised in NW Indiana, Chicagoland, Michiana areas
• Coffee, doughnuts and refreshments on Sat. & Sun.
• Lunch on Saturday

For more info:

Pam Passera

Recreation Program Coordinator

      219-841-5361 x-303, 219-841-9017 fax

Learn more and download the application:

Find more shows for your 2013 season at CallsforArtists.com 

      This is the only thing I'll miss about Ann Arbor.  You never knew what you'd find in that alley.

Well, I thought I'd post my first art fair review, despite the fact that it was my first juried art fair and I don't feel super qualified to do an art review.  And despite the fact that I didn't do well at all at this art fair.

I had heard good things about Thunderbird Artists, so when I learned they were doing a new show in my hometown, it seemed like the perfect incentive for me to try to get into a juried art fair.  It was very convenient for me that this show was in the town where I live, since it took a lot of pressure off me in case I forgot something. And I could sleep in my own bed at night, too. :)

Load in was pretty decent. They had a whole parking lot next to the soccer fields at the Surprise recreation area, and the row right next to the sidewalk wasn't too busy to get unloaded.  They also had City of Surprise Recreation staff there with golf carts to help people get to their booth spots.  I ended up dollying in my stuff because I didn't feel like waiting.

As for the art fair itself, the City of Surprise isn't known for art collectors, more for families with kids and a lot of retirees.  So I wasn't sure, going in, how I would do in sales, especially with it being my first art fair and being new to it all myself.

Crowds were pretty slow. I would say Friday we had a lot of retirees, Saturday a mixture of folks but mostly families, and Sunday was off & on rain, and a lot slower.  The slowness did allow for me to meet a lot of fellow artists and kind of pick their brains about everything and just to talk and hear about their experiences.  I also had some critiques of my art and advice on selling techniques.  I did sell one small piece the first day, making back only 1/4 of my booth fee.

I mostly saw lots of lookers.  I saw small bags in people's hands, I think mostly food from the food vendors and some prints.  And of course wine glasses, since this was a Fine Art & Wine Festival.  The man across from me was selling copper discs he had bought somewhere in bulk (much to the dismay of my copper artist neighbor) that he had used a blow torch to make colorful patterns on, and he was quite the salesman!  He and his wife could hardly keep the walls covered with them, they were flying off the walls so fast.

The woman next to me had done a number of art fairs and didn't do very well.  I think she made her booth fee.  And the copper artist next to me (not the disk guy) didn't do well, sales-wise, and said he wasn't coming back.  He has been in the art fair world for over 20 years.

As for me, I have applied and gotten into two Thunderbird Artists' art fairs for this fall in more established parts of the Phoenix art fair scene.  I still haven't applied for the Surprise one for 2014 and haven't for sure decided one way or another.  I just think there are more families here looking for something fun to do, and not so many looking to buy art.

September 14 & 15
La Grange, Illinois
Intersection of Burlington & Brainard Ave.
Sat. 10am-5pm; Sun. 10am-4pm
90 max. artist

Celebrating its 18th year, the West End Art Festival is a La Grange tradition whose purpose is to bring a quality, fine art event to the Village of La Grange and surrounding communities and highlight the west end business district.  Artists from across the country participate in La Grange's late summer festival that attracts art admirers and patrons each year.

Presented by the La Grange business Association and held in cooperation with the Village of La Grange, the festival is held in the shadow of the landmark Stone Avenue Station along Burlington Avenue between Brainart and Spring Avenues.  The charming and historic West End area of La Grange provides a picture-perfect setting to showcase art.  Other highlights include live music, food from local La Grange restaurants and children's art activities for an event to be enjoyed by all ages.

This show is one of a series of Chicago area art fairs managed by Erin Melloy of EM Events. EM Events are held in partnership with local business organizations bring close interaction between each community and its' local art fair and ensuring you loyal patrons. 

Learn more and apply: http://emevents.com 

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I thought I would wait a little bit.  Sort of bide my time before I put my two cents in.  Here it goes.

I have done this show for 25 years.

First the State Street show in the 80's and early 90's.

Then, finally after waiting ten years, on the wait list, the Guild finally called me up.  That was norm back then, you could join the Guild, start with a waitlist number that could be in the high six hundreds and then wait for it to slowly come down.

In those times, Ann Abor was the show to do in the summer.  

Michigan economy was super.  Everybody waited for the A2 shows and then they turned out and bought like crazy.  It was win-win proposition.

Then something unique happened.  About the time the Michigan economy started going south, the A2 shows raised their booth fees from $450 to where they are now--$750.00.

Ironically, his was when our grosses went down, and the booth fees went up.

This is the White Elephant that sits in the room and nobody wants to talk about it.

Nary a person who has blogged about the A2 shows has mentioned that $750 booth fee.

Well folks, I am discussing it, and I will tell you what.  It is a blatant ripoff.

The A2 shows are worth about $450 and should be a three-day show at best.

For ninety percent of the exhibitors who show there, they are making $2.5K-$5K at best.  The other ten percent are doing better.

Trouble is, when you add up that booth fee along with auto expenses, along with parking, along with hotel and along with food--you are up to $1.5K-$2K for that show.

Add in the long hours, the always extreme heat and the dwindling number of "good shoes buyers" who attend--you end up with a poor business number for a return on your investment.

Oh, and we did not mention cgs or time invested.

For most, it is a bad gamble, a bad investment.  And, it will only get worse.

That is why, for after doing this show for 25 years I am giving it up.  

It finally went under a set number, for sales, that is unacceptable for me.

The good customers that attend are very slimmer.

 It will only get worse, each successive year, as more of the quality exhibitors drop out.

The shows will gladly take your money and fill the slots.

Trouble is, the majority of newbies who get the spots will not be up to snuff like the ones who left.

Increasingly, more good buyers will come, and the sales will tail towards the low-end.

It is a downward death spiral.

I mentioned this in my 2011 post on the A2 shows.

Did not do A2 last year, because of heart problems.

Came back this year with fresh new work at reasonable price points  and saw it be blissfully ignored by most of the crowds.

It was reminiscent of the  Arts,Eats and Beats crowd.  Most of them were going to the county fair.  Very few were looking for art.

Why most of you are willing to accept, and pay, $750 for this show--and then be happy if you pull $2.5K-$4.5K eludes me.

Your time and money is not getting a fair return.

You are better off going to Petoskey, Sheboygan or anywhere else.

I think it would make a great bumper sticker--  ANYWHERE BUT ANN ARBOR.

Oh well, you pays your money and you takes your chances.

But the game is rigged at Ann Arbor.

That is all I am saying.  It is a mouthful.

But somebody ought to shoot that White Elephant dead in the room, he is bad for our business.

Congratulations to the Olympic champion of art fair reporting - Elle Heiligenstein, whose review of Art in the Park in Columbia, MO, was chosen as "post of the month" by our members.

Also, congratulations to Carrie Jacobson and Margaret Luttrell who were chosen Community Leaders for their generous sharing of information on the site.

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