Blog

September 20 & 21
Adrian, Michigan
Downtown
Fri. 4pm-8pm; Sat. 10am-8pm
80 Exhibitors
Deadline: August 1

Art-A-Licious, a juried fine arts fair now in its seventh year is seeking new artists.

Art-A-Licious is a nonprofit art festival founded in 2007 and located in historic downtown Adrian, near the beautiful Croswell Opera House.  We offer reasonable booth fees and easy access for setup and teardown.  Our artists come primarily from southeast Michigan and northwest Ohio.

We have made a strong commitment to marketing this year:

• In addition to promoting overall growth in attendance
• we are intensifying our efforts to target likely art buyers.   
• We have committed a substantial portion of our budget to making sure our exhibiting artists have a successful weekend
• we will be advertising in the Toledo market as well as in southeast Michigan.

        Our approximately 80 artists are set up along Main and Maumee streets in the    center of downtown Adrian.  We welcome a wide variety of visual artists.  Media exhibited and sold at last year's festival included painting, photography, ceramics, sculpture, fiber arts, glass work, woodwork, printmaking, jewelry and metalsmithing.

To download an application, go to www.artalicious.org/application  

For more information, contact Nancy Weatherby at: 734-649-7054 or email: adrianartists@gmail.com

You can also follow us on Facebook at:

I have attended the Ann Arbor Art Fairs every year since 1976, 28 of those years exhibiting with my husband Norm Darwish in the State Street Area Art Fair (14 years) and the Guild show on Main Street (14 years).

Jody DePew McLeane explains her drawing techniques

After spending Thursday booth sitting with glassblower Andrew Shea on North University, where the work is very nice, the rest of the day I was with Elle Heiligenstein, mixed media, on State surrounded by some not great work, interspersed with good work, and it was HOT. I fell into bed that night and actually thought about just going home on Friday, but decided to renew my faith in the AA shows by seeking out the place where I would probably feel better about the future of this event. 

I go every year and take friends because whatever else it is (and we all have ideas about that) it is a kaleidoscope of everything that is good about the art fair business and everything that is bad.

THE GOOD:

On Friday, with my daughter, Farah Darwish, we headed into the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, the original. It was wonderful. You can see why people fly in to buy work at this event. Each booth was inviting and a prime example of why people love art fairs. The work was not "product", but art. This is the reason this show is so heralded by the public. It's the quality.

My friends Tina and Sandy meet up with Jim Parker

My intention with my sites is to bring people to art fairs to see the work and take it home with them. This is the kind of show that builds audiences of collectors. Is there excellent work in the other shows? Undoubtedly, but you have to walk many miles to find it, or pick your destination and not visit the other areas.

Let's say you've got money to spend and you don't have days and days to stay. The original show is the place to go. It took us six hours to view 200 booths. We did spend money here and part of it was the "Geri Wegner" factor. Geri has said many times on this site that she sometimes buy things just because of the "artist" and the interaction she has with that person.

My shout out goes to Elaine Unzicker, who works in chain maille, who was telling stories to the lone customer in her booth when we arrived and who proceeded to engage us and helped Farah try on her work. She was so interesting and so positive and making the best of the hot day that I had to carry away a piece of her jewelry. (Elaine's website is undergoing reconstruction but you can see an older YouTube video of her and her work here.)

For the future, there is good work on every street at Ann Arbor, but if you have limited time and want to see the best the original show is the place to go. You will soon realize why there are people who say, "I only go to the Original show."

This fair is "commercial free" - no vendors showing their wares.

The award winners and media:

• Christine Bartling, Park Ridge, IL

• Lisa Burge, Taos, NM, Painting/Printmaking

• William Kidd, Miramar, FL, Ceramics (in his booth at Lakefront)

• Natalia Margulis, Livingston, NJ, Fiber

• Jenny Pope, Ithaca, NY, Printmaking

• Eric Silva, Whittier, CA, Jewelry

• Heinrich Toh, Kansas City, MO, Printmaking

• Mark Traughber, Pittsburgh, PA, 2D Mixed Media

• Ann Tubbs, Ottawa Lake, MI, Ceramics

• Yamashita Takashi, Tokyo, Japan, Photography

THE BAD:

Way too much commercial buy/sell work all over the place. It is mind numbing. But the event got its start 54 years ago as a way for the merchants to attract people to their summer sidewalk sales and those sales remain. Intrusive for an art fair? You got to believe that. 

Do I buy from them? You have to believe that also. The original Borders bookstore was near our booth and it was a wonderful place to take a break from the heat and find good books. There was an upscale clothing store (Jacobson's) behind our booth where I used to buy my sons' back to school clothes at their summer sales. Summer shoes? Jackpot!

Did I like selling art in the "pants department?" No. Yet, the art work nearby was good and you really could see where the commercial work ended and the art show existed. 

As years went by and the shows expanded to their current size, the economy got bad, the shows had a harder time filling their spaces and now the quality of the work is not nearly as good in the "pants department." I saw work on Liberty Street that was part of the show, but you could hardly tell that it wasn't buy/sell. Really confusing and not good. 

I think this is the only show in the country where the merchants have gotten out of hand, selling anything that will bring in the dollars. This proliferates though only in two of the shows: South University and the State Street Area show.

The Guild show on State and Main do not have vendor booths interspersed throughout, as well as the Original show.

I know the organizations count on each space being filled to meet their financial obligations but as I stood on State Street in the midst of the show it was truly disheartening to see all of the "art" that was clearly "product."

I'm talking about in the show, not the merchants buy/sell areas. Booths full of "stuff." Please shows, can you resist the need to fill each space with anything you can get your hands on?

Even the City of Detroit was out to get us. The Emergency Manager Kevin Orr picked art fair week to announce the Detroit bankruptcy. How about a little more depressing news for this region?

A story on local artists responding to that.

Yes, the heat. What are you going to do? A story from AnnArbor.com:

Before we get too carried away I must say that many of us in this business owe our careers to this big summer celebration. The AA fairs have set the stage for what is good and bad about shows across the country. Many artists built their business on the lessons learned in Ann Arbor.

The Alpine Art Affair was held in Winter Park, CO July 20-21 in a small city park. This was the 40^th year for the show.  Show hours were 9-5 on Saturday and 9-4 on Sunday.  Winter Park is primarily a ski resort about an hour and a half west of Denver.  During the summer, mountain biking along with fishing, hiking and camping are popular activities.  A jazz festival is held the same weekend as the art show and this brings a lot of people into town.  The drive to Winter Park is pretty easy on I-70 and US 24. The latter is a typical mountain highway with switchbacks and steep grades to the summit of Berthoud Pass and down the Fraser River side. The uphill sides have passing lanes.  Going down the Fraser Valley are the towns of Winter Park, Fraser, Tabernash and Granby. Granby is at the south edge of Rocky Mountain National Park.

SET UP AND TAKE DOWN.  Set up starts at 7:00am on Friday. We were unloaded and had the truck off site by 7:30. The park has a single lane around the trees so it is best to get in and get out avoiding congestion that will occur later in the day.  Takedown was equally easy. Most were dolling to parking lots on both sides of the park or knocking down before bringing in a vehicle to load.  

WEATHER.  We got into a real mountain down pour around 3:00pm on Thursday as soon as we got off I-70.  It was fun driving up the grades in the rain.  It continued to rain most of the evening.  Friday was pleasant and in the mid-80s, and there was brief shower Friday evening.  Saturday and Sunday were clear and warm in the 80s.

THE SHOW.  This is a well-organized and managed show!  The crowds were good but not exceptionally larger.  I estimate around 5000, and there were buyers among them. The quality of the work was high and there was no buy\sell.  There was also a good mix of art without a dominance of jewelry.  Hawk Quest, a couple nonprofits, and a kid’s art experience were included.  Food vendors (4) were at opposite ends of the show.  The Lions had an all you can eat pancake breakfast for $6, and complimentary coffee for artists.  

This was the third consecutive year I have done this show and all three years I have had sales in the $2.5-$3K range.  I am a little concerned that the sales have decreased progressively by about $150 each year.  More analysis and comparison to comparable shows will tell me if I should begin to alternate this show with another.  I had several repeat clients who bought more stuff but others just looked.  Belts were the best seller with a good mix of gun leathers and personal leather goods.   As usual, I had lots of leads for special order work which may or may not develop over the winter.

The only complaint I heard was that people watching the Hawk Quest demos blocked access to a couple artist’s booths.  Management might consider moving the nonprofits down there. Nuts and bolts of the show are in the review on www.artshowreviews.com.

OTHER STUFF.   Besides Steve Appel (Bolt People), I met AFIs Weldon Lee (wildlife photography) and Fred Lunger (sculptor).  When we got home from Vail-Edwards show on Monday my allergies started bothering me. They got worse all week and I had a miserable sinus infection over the weekend. I can only remember one other show in twenty plus years when I was sick.  I lost my voice by mid-day Saturday. Got a doctor’s appointment Monday shortly after getting home and am doing better with antibiotics now.

Friday night Steve Appel came to the condo to enjoy the hot tub and meet my family, wife Jean, daughter and husband, and three grand kids. We had a barbeque in the commons area at the hot tub. I think it would be fun to get a bunch of AFIs together down the road.   I found a neat Precambrian rock in the glacial till around the parking lot while waiting for Steve. It will go in the rock garden.

Winter Park has trains. The west portal of the 6.2 long Moffat Tunnel was about 150 yards from our balcony. The tunnel through the mountains was completed in 1927.  We went through it on AMTRAK a couple years ago.  Freight and coal unit trains of the BNSF go through around the clock.  I found it neat to hear the train whistles way down in the Fraser Valley and then hear them get closer until they entered the tunnel.  Also neat to have silence then the roar of diesel engines as the west bound come out of the tunnel.  

One of my clients now retired, had a ranch in the Fraser Valley. He told the story of how he went up St. Louis Creek to check his irrigation locks but was stopped by the Secret Service.  President Eisenhower was fly fishing upstream. I remember as a kid reading about how Ike would go fly fishing in Fraser, Colorado.

Ana Petercic (Fiber art), Connie Mettler, Elle Heiligenstein (3D Mixed Media) and photographer Larry Berman

"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds," motto of the U.S. Postal Service Creed.

Do you ever feel in the same boat? When I see my postal service worker at my mailbox on beautiful days I give thanks in her behalf just as when I wake up on a beautiful day and say to my husband, "a beautiful day for an art fair." Right? I'm sure you know what I mean.

Last Thursday evening, July 18, some stalwart artists showed up at Sava's Restaurant in Ann Arbor, despite it being 9:30 pm, they'd been up since 8 am meeting and greeting visitors to their booths through the heat of the long day. It was such a pleasure to stop for a few minutes and meet them. Here are some of the people who showed up. Some of us looking the worse for wear after the long day and others looking fabulous!

Jeweler Roger Rimer, his wife Alison (fiber), Connie, glassblowers Richard Ryan and Andrew Shea

My friend and often art fair companion Sandy Dunstone, Michael and Victoria Terra (ceramics), Elle, (standing Connie & photographer Scott Pakulski), glassblower Henry Levine, photographer John Bell, Farah Darwish

This is my first show review, and I just completed my first outdoor show at the Kohler Center in Sheboygan, WI. I have had some indoor show experience previously.

My medium:  Photography. I am a retired teacher, and among my duties was teaching photography for 34 years.

Dates/hours: July 20-21--Registration and setup begins on Friday at noon and goes until late into the evening if one needs the time.  Security guards patrolling on site Fri. and Sat. nights.

First: What a beautiful facility and art center! Although this was my first outdoor show, after talking to many of the other artists, the consensus was that many artists return to this show year after year due to the way artists are treated. Most I talked to said that they were having at least average to good sales. This is a major arts event in this Lake Michigan community and the number of people involved as volunteers is tremendous. And, yes, it's true. The restroom decor is and "art" exhibition unto its own.(Think Kohler Art Center of Sheboygan--then Kohler Plumbing Co. nearby in Kohler, WI.-- Paisely print urinals anyone?)

Booth sitters willing and present on request. Lunch options and delivery to artists at booths excellent.

Snack and water/beverage carts make the rounds all day.

The layout is on streets and grounds surrounding the large city block space taken up by the center and adjoining grassy areas. (I understand that this was different this year in that in other years, artists were located mostly on grass areas around the center).

Setup was easy (except for the 90+ temps and humidity on Friday---Great googaly moogaly--"So you wanna do outdoor art shows, eh, old man?"). I will consider a booth location request next year of the north side of the center where the streets do have shade trees and shady grounds. I was on the north side in the sun on the street and it was hot hot hot for setup. Did I say it was hot?

Sat. and Sunday were beautiful days, though, and at least for my experience, patrons were looking to buy. And those in attendance seem to look forward to this big annual event (40+ years).

Artists dinner on Saturday night (buffet and free beer, drinks) excellent, and cash awards were presented to artists.

Very, very good crowds came out as the weather on the weekend was a welcome relief in the area after a week or more of nasty hot weather. I didn't have much time to even take a break on both days.

I was very pleased and excited with my sales for a first outdoor effort, and hope to be juried in again next year.

Dale (Yak) Yakaites

Central Wisconsin.

If I had a $1 for every compliment or every business card I passed out at this festival I’d be one happy artist! This was my second year at the Gig Harbor Summer Art Festival. Last year I sold one original and not much else, this year I sold a number of smaller items and only one very small original. In both cases my total sales and the outcome was the same. I broke even, give or take a little. I really like this show. The town of Gig Harbor, WA is beautiful, the show is well organized, easy to do and the booth fee is reasonable. However, unless I get some follow-up orders, it doesn’t make financial sense. In talking to other artists at the show I got, "just OK" to not so good. Since the show I’ve heard reports of good sales.

I had some good moments at the show, like the one woman that really wanted to buy some original work, but couldn’t afford much. She ended up purchasing  a little 5x7 and a box of note cards. She was so happy it warmed my heart. And then there was another local artist, not participating in the show, that introduced herself  by saying that she had liked my facebook business page and how much she loved my art. She was just starting to do shows and was looking at doing this show next year. We talked and she bought a couple of boxes of cards... and there were others. The bad moment came near the end of the show when a woman was trying to get even more off a framed metal print I had. I had already discounted it quite a bit because it was a size I decided not to carry. I was happy to get it out of inventory. But she wanted to pay cash and skip the sales tax. I told her I wanted to stay above board. In the end I took another $5 off. It left a bad taste to what was an otherwise pleasurable show (even though I wished for higher sales.)

About the show... Gig Harbor is a nice little upscale town outside of Tacoma, WA, just west of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. As the name suggests it’s a harbor. The show has easy set-up and tear down, They give you a set-up time for Friday evening depending on which side of the street you are on, drive to your spot and unload. Spaces are EXACTLY 10 ft. wide but there is storage behind the booths. Fortunately it all worked out and everyone fit. They provide coffee and doughnuts on both days and a number to call for booth sitting. I had some pot holes in my space which I was mostly able to cover with my table and I filled the rest with sand. The art was variable in quality and type. There was soap and oils mixed in with the fine art. There was also some amazing work there. To me the mix seemed a little heavy on pottery and landscape photography. The attendance seemed down on Saturday from last year but picked up on Sunday.

I have learned from this show... it’s probably not the right fit for me, maybe I need to tweak my artwork, which I’m already in the process of doing, I need to work on my sales technique which I’m also doing and I need to learn to not let customers get to me. I’ll give this one a rest for a couple of years and re-evaluate. On to the next show...

Hot, hot, hot – a major sweat builder … that’s how I would describe this show.  The day started out with an 80+ mile drive from our cabin in Northern Minnesota to Brainerd.  Normally, I love this drive but we had rain all day on Saturday and the fog made the driving treacherous.  The show was to start at 10:00 AM, which means that you better be ready to sell at 9:00 AM.  We arrived at the park at 7:30 AM and found that we couldn’t get into the park with our vehicle as so many were already there.  We pulled up as close as possible and my husband started moving tent, grid walls and boxes of glass from the car to our spot in the park.  My husband was an unfortunate volunteer at this event, normally my son comes and helps me or I do the show alone, but I had major back surgery last January and I still have a weight limit requirement – the tent alone was double that limitation! 

Off we went, setting up, draping tables, working like banshees to get everything done.  The weather kept getting hotter (89 degrees) and more humid. I put up a couple of stained glass panels and turned around, they were gone … nope, not stolen, a couple (return customers from last year) had walked up and took them off the walls to hold them up to the sun.  By 8:30 AM, I had sold two panels … I was thinking, “This will be a great day!”  By 10:30 AM my booth fee was covered.  By 2:00 PM, I finally got a spot of lunch and started talking to other artists … the heat was on, literally and figuratively.  In talking with other artists, they weren’t selling … I felt embarrassed, because I was, but most of the sales were in the $50 and under category.  I’ve done this show many times and had learned that you better have those $50 and under items because the people purchasing at this show are mostly cabin owners … they like to buy, but they like the smaller items, lots and lots of smaller items!

I was lucky this time … this year I worked on small stuff because doing the large stuff was too hard to do after back surgery … and what I did sold.  One of my neighbor artists didn’t sell anything (I’ve been there before) and another discounted all his artwork to ensure that he sold enough to cover his booth fee, not something that I recommend. 

However, my best, and most thought provoking, sale of the day was an $18 sale … a young teenager in a wheelchair came by, being pushed by his mother, and accompanied by his two sisters.  His mother explained that he loved color and insisted that he come into the booth (he was using sign language and you could see how adamant he was to visit my booth).  His mother was discouraging him as he had muscle tremors and this was a booth full of glass.  I encouraged the family to bring him in and started talking to him, with his mother translating.  He kept grabbing for a sun catcher, the piece consists of seven stars cascading downward.  I held the piece up for him and he pointed at colors and tried to verbalize the color out loud.  I got into the mix with the family, “So what color is this?”  “RED”, “And this one?” “GREEN,” And this one, “LOVE.”  Love?  His mother translated his next words; he LOVED the piece and wanted it.  No, Mom was not going to purchase it but he had enough money in his pocket if he wanted to buy it … he did.  I carefully bubble wrapped his purchase and put it into the bag and turned back to the young man and thanked him.  His response?  Through sign language, with his mother translating, he said:  “Thank you for treating me like a human, I am trapped in this body, but it doesn’t mean that I am not smart.”  I walked around the counter and gave him a hug and told him, he had made my day … I didn’t care if I sold another item; I had received my blessing for the day.  Thank you to my young friend for reminding me that customers come in all shapes, colors and bodies!  I cannot wait to see him again next year and promised to have another “Love” piece just for him. 

So now I guess I better start designing the piece because I really do mean to give him a piece that says, “LOVE”, in many colors! 

The Zero Show:

Ouch.  I knew better.

But the old adage says ‘hope springs eternal’.

I did the show last year.  Got a really nice commission job in the last ½ hour of the show………..

I was originally invited to participate last year by a really nice, diligent woman who touted her show as ‘a fine show, only the best’.  She wasn’t wrong.  The quality of the exhibitors was wonderful.  What she couldn’t control was the heavy spring heat, the ‘riverbugs’ and a supposed ‘down’ economy.  I went to the patron preview party on Friday night and met some seemingly interested people.  I watched the shuffling small herd with gasping dogs, walkers and a smattering of small kids go by all weekend in the heat.  I laid out water for the dogs, talked to a handful of people who noticed me in the corner of the lot.  Sold a small selection of prints and watched my neighbors sell nothing at all.  And then, there they were:  The commission job people.  They came late on Sunday.  I hear stories about ‘Sunday shows’ but really; that had not been my world until that day.  It was a beautiful piece I made for them.  Delivered on time & they loved it.

So, when invited to participate again after going through the jury process without a fee, I went back to the show.  I had watched/know of others in the show who had received ‘purchase awards’.  People had pledged money to spend.  I didn’t receive any of those patron bucks in 2012 but thought “why not me”?  I sell my work……….I am not an amateur.    How can I make this show work for me this year?  I convinced myself that the heat of 2012 would not be around for 2013.  Couldn’t happen two years in a row right? 

I brought a bit more ‘conservative’ body of work.  Watched as the weather forecast was not in the ‘searing heat’ category.  I had asked for a different spot in the show.  A better spot so I thought.  I got to the show to check in on a beautiful day.  There was someone else in my spot.  The beautiful corner I had anticipated had another artist in it.  To make a long story short there was a ‘mix-up’ of sorts.  Well, another artist decided that the corner spot was ‘more suitable’ for them.  Hmmm.  And, it was marked wrong on the map but not the packet info.  Hmmm.  There was no chance of moving to the other side of the show (which is where I would have preferred at that moment) so I gave in and backed away.  The booths were spread apart to give my sidewalls some visibility.  I tried to stay positive and not let the incident rattle me too much.  I enjoyed the very beautiful day.  I thought about great sales to come for the weekend.  Went to the patron preview party that night with my ‘show-stopper’ piece.  Again, met people I thought were interested.  Enthralled.  Asking questions about my work.  Went to the show that next day with high hopes of a big weekend.

Then it happened:  or should I say nothing happened.  After 2 days of standing around in my booth I had a solid zero.  The fair volunteers kept asking me if anything was happening sales wise.  I didn’t lie.  I told them the truth.  Nothing was happening.  I could not even sell a 25.00 print.  It was in a word: pathetic.  I wasn’t begging or pleading patrons.  I wasn’t praying but continuing to try and do my job.  At some point though later on Sunday I started coming apart.  I have bills to pay like everyone else.  Asking myself what I had done wrong.  Wondering what I was doing there.  Analyzing every aspect of the weekend.  Questioning my body of work.  Very late on Sunday another artist came by who I think was a jeweler…..praising my ‘beautiful work’ and asking about how my show was.  That brought the tears.  “This was not the weekend to be losing money” I said.  Bills to pay.  I hate to cry.  It gives me a headache.  She probably thought I was crazy and I still don’t know who she was.  Soon, it was over.  5 p.m. had passed.  Time to pack up and go home and still, nothing to report.  There was nothing on the plate. 

After a two hour pack up, I drove home the 3 ½ hours without getting out of the car.  No extra food or drink.  Didn’t need gas in the truck.  I got home with my family asleep but was greeted by two happy dogs and proceed to sit curled up with them on the couch at 11 pm and downed a big glass of wine.  I thought about the funny ‘Art Fair Neighbor’ YouTube video of the potter who was ‘now questioning his entire existence’.  You know, it is really difficult to have a ‘zero’ show.  It was not my first.  It was my second.  The first was worse.  That was a huge lesson learned but that is not why I am sharing right now.  I thought I had done everything right this time from the initial decision to go back. 

I remember telling one of the organizers at the show that I realized I was not in my market.  This was an older crowd.  I heard one too many times that “our walls are full”.  This crowd had already owned the big house but was looking to ‘downsize’.  Bought the wall art years ago, splurged on the furnished second home and now were looking for something else to spend their money on.  I heard rumors of big sales:  expensive jewelry or five-figure bronze sculptures.  I didn’t have the right stuff.  I could tell but didn’t want to believe it.  See:  I knew better.  I wanted to believe I had a chance for a better show this year.

Epilogue:  I moved on.  Like everyone else who does this crazy job full time there is little time to morn.  You have to get back on that bike and ride again.  On to the next show the next weekend and pull it together.  I didn’t even change the body of work.  Truck was already packed.  Ready to go.  Still held out hope that there may be a ‘follow-up commission job’.  By show end day three and no emails or calls I gave that up too.  What happened next do you ask?  I did what I do well:  I sold work at the next show.  Plenty of it; in all different price points.  A combination of small, medium, large and a commission thrown in made the next show the reason I keep going.  (Besides a talent for painting and my love of art of course). 

So you see:  I knew better.  Listen to your gut.  I wanted to believe that I was doing the right thing.  It is so easy to blame the organizers of a show.  Or, the volunteers, weather, economy, and the fact that the guy next to you stole your booth space or whatever it is beside you.  I knew enough that I should not have tried the show again.  Another artist that I highly respect shared with me some great philosophy last year: “If you have multiple shows with no sales you really need to take a hard look at your work and understand what is wrong with your art”.  

If you only have one really bad show it was just not your weekend or show whatever the reason is.  We as artists are gamblers anyway in some sort of fashion.  We play the odds over and over.  I’ve heard that in about 1995 every show was good and people were spending money like crazy.  I wouldn’t know what that was like.  I came to this business just a year before recession became the word of the moment.  I don’t know much of anything else and have built a business in trying times.  While I don’t have 35 years under my belt I do have eight years of art fairs behind me and like to think I have at least some knowledge of the business and a formula of what works.  I have tried shows that were not great and built clientele by being diligent.  I have chased leads, commissions and corporate work.  Taken huge chances that have paid off wonderfully.  Perfected a body of work and learned marketing and studied what I needed to do to be successful.

Well, I thought I knew what worked until that ‘zero’.  I like to think that ‘zero’ will never happen again but obviously I am still thinking about it so I want to make sure I don’t forget at the very least: the lesson.  And, on a more positive note:  I would like to not forget the good feeling of ‘moving on’.  J

P.P.S.... I showed this article to Connie while I was at the South University Show in AA...the first day I was there a big order for a commission piece came through finally as a direct result of the above mentioned show (although I had met them elsewhere).  This time though, I am still of the opinion that I will not got back. 

September 21-22

The Catalina Art Association presents the 55th Annual Catalina Festival of Art, this September, one of the longest running and most acclaimed art festivals in California. Join us for this World Class Art Event featuring more than 100 juried artists, several reception events, a Kids Art Show and Annual Charity Art Auction.

What you need to know to participate:

• Catalina is an island so it does require planning to participate in our show. 
• 10x10 popup tents and grid-wall systems are all provided as well as bench seating in most booths. 
• Booths are set up along side the main walking street next to the ocean, which provides amazing views and tranquil breezes. Storage is free and secure. 

Local and mainland press cover the show as well as many travel publications. Awards, ribbons and Cash prizes are given by a respected panel of judges as well as giving thousands of dollars in art supplies to kids! 

Catalina Island's resort setting attracts high end buyers, here on holiday or visiting by cruise ship. For 55 years, this show has been what most exhibitors call a "Working Holiday Show". The locals are extremely helpful, the show organizers are very professional and the show visitors come here to Shop!  

What's not to like about packing your work and heading out on the ferry to spend a few days on an island meeting people on vacation who are eager to meet you? Plus, no tent to set up.

Learn more and apply: http://www.catalinaartassociation.org

You'd think the heat would take the stuffing out of even the most stalwart artists, but not so, folks. Here are some people we all know well with tips on how they get through the long hot days and what is good about art fairs:

I attended on Thursday and Friday with our daughter, Farah Darwish, and it was such a pleasure to see old friends and see wonderful new work.

The video includes: Andrew Shea, David Curles, Sharon Johnston, Joachim Knill, Janice Ho, Aaron Hequembourg, Sandra Wampler and Elaine Unzicker ... then my battery died!  7 min. 37 sec.

I met a very nice potter from Indiana, whose name escapes me, that showed me where to park on the street where there were no meters.  With his help, I found a spot for the first day. 

The second day of the show (Thursday) is where the fun began.  I went to the area that I had parked in on Wednesday and there were no spots left.  I had heard there was a parking garage near the area of the show that I was in, so I plugged that into the GPS and found it.  I parked and paid $12.00 for the whole day, a far cry from the Boy Scout shark that wanted $100 a day. 

I left the garage in search of my booth, thinking I was going the right direction and quickly realized I was very wrong.  Now, keep in mind it is wicked hot, even at 9am.  It is hot, I am carrying a heavy cooler, purse,, coffee and repair kit.  I am exhausted from the heat within about 15 minutes.  I kept wandering, thinking I would find my area any minute.  After about 30 minutes of being in a complete corn maze of white tents, I began to panic.  I stopped and asked an artist where I was and she was super nice an helpful.  She helped me orientate and told me where to go.  I still had a long way to go, but she told me if I kept going until I hit State Street, I would be in The Guild's area.  After another 15 minutes I finally recognized familiar territory.  I arrived at my booth to find a concerned staff member wondering if I was ok, as it was 10:30am.  The show opened at 10.  I was lost for an hour and a half.  I always give myself an hour to get ready for the day, so I had left the garage at 9am.  I was exhausted, soaked through with sweat, tired and in tears when I finally got to my booth.  My neighbors were all super nice and caring and helped me get open and cool down and calm down. 

The Guild sent over a nice lady later in the day to help me with a map and exact directions on how to get from my garage to the show area.  She was very nice and helpful.  As it turned out, I was only 3 blocks away.  Had I started off in the opposite direction, I would have been at my area of the show within minutes.  I have to say I now know what it must be like to have Alzheimers.  I was absolutely lost and totally terrified.  When people say Ann Arbor is big, they aren't kidding.  I saw 75% of the show that morning, not by choice.  It was literally like being in a corn maze full of white tents.

Now on to the nitty gritty....  For those of you unfamiliar with how AA came to be, it was all started by the merchants of downtown.  Years ago, they all got together and decided to invite artists to sell their works during their sidewalk sales in the summer.  What a nice compliment, huh!  Well, over the years AA evolved and evolved and co-existed with the sidewalk clearance sales and artists made money, lots of money.  The economy was good, the art was great and there weren't 1100 artists competing for the dollars that were available.  My how things have changed.  In 2013, the economy is not so great, there are 1100 artists, scabs everywhere, tons and tons of buy/sell garbage, and mountains of crap for sale like you cannot even imagine unless you have been there. 

What was once a serious money maker for many artists is an average sales show at best.  I was told by a highly respected artist and name in the business that 9 out of 10 artists he had talked to said sales were way down.  Now, the oppressive heat probably kept a lot of people away, but those that were there were not buying much more than low end items from artists.  Now, on the other hand, what I did see was plenty of the crap walking by like:  barbecue sauce, last year's shoes, last year's sunglasses, last year's winter coats and what art patron wouldn't feel blessed by some clearance deodorant and shaving cream from Mexico.  Yes, they were buying that s**t like it was going out of style.  What was not selling was:  beautiful hand made jewelry, original photography, beautiful clothing, sculpture, glass, original paintings, leather and so on.  You get the idea here. 

In this sea of crap, scabs, clearance junk, abortion protestors, hari krishnas and everything else you could image were the serious art patrons, God bless them. They were like shining bits of gold in the sands of a river bank.  They came and they bought what they could.  They blessed artists like me with enough sales to make a paycheck profit.  I am very grateful for the sales I had and the profit I made.  The people I talked to were very nice, glad we were there and these patrons made a point of wading through this monstrosity each year to support the arts.  For them, I will go back.  It is worth it, to me to be available to these patrons who tolerate so much to support the artists. 

It is a feat unto itself that an artist can compete for sales with 1100 others and God knows how many scabs and non-art selling vendors and still come out of this show with a profit.  It says a lot about those of us that do this show and the patrons that support us. 

I did not make a ton of money, I think for 4 days I should have made at least twice what I did, but I am grateful nonetheless.  I will do it again and hope for cooler weather and more sales and a start to a client base.  Some did not come out of this in the black and while I purchased art from 3 who were having bad shows in a effort to support them, I don't think they left happy.  It is a shame. 

In closing, I would like to say The Guild could not have been better.  Everyone from staff to volunteers was exceptionally helpful, nice and understanding.  I will continue to support The Guild's shows whenever I can.  I think The Guild has definitely got art fairs down to a science and I have full confidence in them.

I am waitlisted for a show this coming weekend, if I am called I will review it next week.  Otherwise, I will be doing Uptown Art Fair in Minneapolis, MN in two weeks.  I will review that show here!  Thanks for reading!!!      

Hi Friends....Here is my review of Ann Arbor 2013!

First, let me say that this was an experience like no other I have had before.  I will summarize first by saying that I will do it again, it was profitable, it was grueling and it is not for the faint of heart!  If there is a proving ground for art fair artists, Ann Arbor would be it.  I am going to review the show like I always do and this time I am going to throw in some musings I had along the way.  Keep in mind that I and 1100 other artists sat in the oppressive heat for 41 hours over 4 days doing this show!  Read on.....

I arrived on Tuesday afternoon about 30 minutes prior to my assigned load in time.  I was prepared to wait, but there was space open for my van, so they let me pull in and set up.  Staff from The Guild was very helpful and very nice.  Set up was typical and I was hustling to get it done as it was very, very hot on the street.  I had it all up in about 2 hours. 

The show opened at 10am Wednesday morning and ran to 9pm, as it did for Thursday and Friday as well.  The show ends at 6pm on Saturday for a total of 41 show hours.  Wednesday crowds were light and they weren't buying what I had.  After 11 hours in the serious heat, I had $80.00.  Not cool! 

Thursday was better, much better!  I had good sales minutes after opening (story on that later on).  Thursday's sales were very good all day!  I ended up covering costs by the end of the day on Thursday.  The hi light of the show, for me, also happened Thursday afternoon.  Connie Mettler, Farah Darwish and their fried Sandy spent the afternoon and evening with me in my booth!  We had a great time talking and people watching and I took a walk with Farah and it was fun and hilarious.  If you see this Farah, yes, it is, oh it most certainly is!  :-) 

Thursday evening after the show, Scott Pakulski, who had been to my booth a couple of times and had nice conversations with me as well as Michael and Vitoria Terra, Anna whose last name I can't remember, Larry Berman and several others all met up at Sava, a nice restaurant for drinks!  We had a nice time chatting and meeting one another in person.  I had a lovely dinner with Michael and Victoria and Henry inside the restaurant and had the best Cuban sandwich of my life.  It was great visiting with all of them too!  Nice, good, fun people.             

Friday was a bit slow to get going, but good nevertheless.  Sales were good and by this third day of being at the show for 11 hours in the heat, I was ready to get to the hotel.  I immediately went to bed Friday night. 

Saturday, the short day (8 hours) was more like a Sunday.  It was the coolest day of the show and was quite comfortable considering what we had been through.  I had my fan on low! Woo Hoo!

Sales were slow until the last two hours of the show and all of a sudden, the be backs came back and I had a very good 2 hours of sales. 

The Guild requires that artists be completely torn down and then get a load out slip to bring the vehicles in to load up.  Smart policy for a show of this size.  I tore it all down and got a slip and went to get the van.  This was the fastest tear down and set up for me, ever.  Very efficient and was on the road home an hour and 10 minutes after the show closed. 

I am home now, with Ann Arbor under my belt and as I said before, I will do it again. 

Now for the analysis and the musings.....If you don't like my sense of wit or some pleasantly sarcastic observations, go find something else to read.  Otherwise, this is what I observed.....

First of all, find out where you are going to park before you get to the show.  Parking is abundantly available if you know what you are doing.  There are also parking sharks everywhere, so beware.  Day one, I was so overwhelmed with the sheer size of the show, I didn't have a clue of where to park.  I arrived downtown and saw a sign for parking that benefited the Boy Scouts near the show entrance where my booth was.  I pulled in and was asked if I was a "vendor", my how I hate being referred to as a "vendor."  I said I was an artist and was told that it would be $100 per day!  Yes, per day!  Talk about a total ripoff!  I said hell no and found a meter and parked the van.  I emptied out my coin purse and had about 2 hours available.  25 cents buys you 10 minutes, insane!  Fortunately for me, on the short walk to the show entrance     

Not much to say this weekend since I was not participating in any event... But I did attend as a little patron the Ann Arbor art fairs both Wednesday evening and Thursday evening. I did purchase a small etching and auqatint from Martha Hayden. I do have a number of her etching and aquatints in my house. I have been collecting her work since 1998.

But I also visited booths during the fairs. Seeing Kim Ensch's work of beautiful paper collé pieces at South U. We met at the Ella Sharp Art & Wine Festival last year and found out we booth work in some capacity for the Detroit Institute Arts. Kim is an instructor in the studio and I have been a volunteer there for 16 years...

Then visited Elle Heiligenstein's booth in the Guild show and was mesmerized by a transistor radio character and the squirrel character. And also visiting my friend Cesar Nogueira at the State Street show. We were neighbors at the Crosby Festival of the Arts. He does magnificent bird sculptures out of natural gemstones.

And then there was the Art Fair Insiders get together at Savas. I had a lengthy discussion with Larry Berman and him giving me some pointers on my booth. Mainly, that my images are still too small. But Larry, can you share with us the sites for frames and mats? Thank you!

So, not participating this weekend, but learned a lot...

November 23 
Panama City, Florida
Bay County Fairgrounds
9 am to 4 pm
100+ exhibitors
Deadline: August 1

        You are invited to apply to the 9th annual juried arts and crafts fair featuring artists and crafters from around the Southeast. The show features handmade quality arts and crafts and originality where the customers line up to buy that "special" one- of- a- kind gift for their family and friends for the Christmas holiday.

Media plans:  TV, Radio, Newspaper, local print publications, Internet, Cable and outdoor advertising, direct mail, and electronic "traffic" signs directing the public to the 1-day event.

Artist amenities:  Free coffee and donuts the morning of the event - lunch orders taken and delivered to each vendor.  Assistance with set-up and break-down.  Several hotels available in the immediate area.

Local economy:  Very stable economy anchored by two huge military bases and Tourism.

 Attendance: 5000

Learn more & apply: www.christmasatthefair.com


Presented by Christmas at the Fair Committee to benefit Pathways Christian Recovery Ministries

Hi everyone.  Can someone please tell me what color tent I should purchase?  I see most people have white, but I found a great deal on a blue one at Wal-Mart and I think it would help be stand out against a sea of white tents.

Could you please tell me the best shows to do also?

Thank you!

Oh, and what kind of weight should I use to hold down my tent?  Hope I have posted this on the right forum!

Can you guys give me which booth looks better for Zapp and if the front wall will bug as a customer.

So, I had this idea percolating though my head recently; and, since it is the time of the Ann Arbor fairs, seems like this place does exist?

After taking to artists at various art fairs, they often mention a magical fairy place called ten times the booth fee. Where is this place? I know I am still fairly new to the art fair scene but the best I've done is maybe 7.5 times booth fee (West Shore Art Fair, Ludington, MI). 

I know I have issues form getting there. My inventory is always too low. I've spent most of my available funds on the tent and the Flourish mesh panel walls. Which does not leave enough funds to stock up on inventory. Will I hit this magical place next year (when I don't have to focus on a tent or display walls) and really look at the off season on replenishing my inventory to much greater levels than this year?

October 17-19    
Bella Vista, Arkansas
8am-5pm
325 Artists
Deadline: July 15 or till filled

The Bella Vista Arts & Crafts Festival is known for the highest quality, fully juried, art and craft work.  Since 1969 the Bella Vista Arts & Crafts festival has been steadily growing in size and reputation! 

So many members here will be attending or participating in the Ann Arbor Art Fairs, July 17-20, and we need to meet!

My Plan: On Thursday (assisting artists Andrew Shea in his space on North University through the morning and Elle Heiligenstein in C133 on State later in the day--they won this as a prize in our recent Pledge Drive). Friday go shopping!

(happy days shopping AA with Mary Strope)

Two things I need to know from you:

• Will you be there? If so, please let us know before and include which show you'll be in and what your booth # is and I'll try to find you. Put this in the comments below so everyone can meet you.
• On Thursday evening ArtFairInsiders.com invites you to meet your fellow artists at Sava's Restaurant, 216 State Street for a happy hour after the show closes at 9 pm. Planning on joining us there? Please RSVP in the comments below.

If you are a member download the attached PDF for a free drink on our bill.

DrinkCoupon.pdf

A  nice stretch of North University in Ann Arbor

July 17-20

Ann Arbor, Michigan

   The Ann Arbor Art Fairs

    Wed. -  Friday, 10 am to 9 pm; Saturday - 10 am to 5 pm

    never on  Sunday

This enticing extravaganza of art is officially divided into four  events. In addition to this, every square foot of outdoor  space in this area has been sold to people who did not jury into these  four events.

If there is something you have been hankering for, you can find it in  Ann Arbor in July. People come from around the country and some shop  all four days. Customers here for the first time are awed by the  quantity, the quality and the creativity and vow to return next year.  Come to add to your art collection, come to see the best in contemporary  art, come to start your collection, you will not be disappointed.

1.   Ann Arbor Street Art Fair - the original!
      200 artists around the Burton Memorial Tower and Ingalls
      Mall on the central campus
This is the art fair that started the whole event.  Established in 1959, it is highly juried - over 1000 applicants apply  for the 190 spaces. The most avant garde work will be exhibited here, as  well as many artists who rarely exhibit their work outdoors.
For more info: www.artfair.org

Shop at your leisure at the "original" show on the UM campus

2.  South University Art Fair        
     175 Artists in the South  University shopping district
Held in the area where the Street Fair  was originally, this event organized by the local merchants has very  high standards and some outstanding artwork.

3.  State Street Area Art Fair
     320 Artists 

This fair,  coordinated by the State Street Area merchants, has been around since  l963. It is located on Liberty, Thompson and surrounding areas. Often  you will find newcomers to the world of art fairs exhibiting here...the  stars of tomorrow!

4.  Summer Art Fair
     Two locations:
         200 Artists on Main Street and Liberty
         175 Artists on State Street across from the Diag

Organized by the The Guild, an artists organization, this show has  the widest range of price levels of any of the Ann Arbor events. Uneven  quality, it has some of the best in the show and some of the worst. It  is easy to shop on Main Street with nearby parking and a plethora of  restaurants. For more info: www.theguild.org

Off to the Fair!

Read more of the story from MLive.com and download the official art fair map here: A2artfairmap2013.pdf