Blog

Okay, I just made it home from the Wyandotte Street Art Fair (Wyandotte, Michigan) and I had a pretty successful show. For the good, I had $1437 in sales over the four days. I wasn't expecting much from thus show, so this was a welcomed surprise! 

And my show piece ("Tender Embrace" #1/125), that won the third place photography ribbon at the Crosby Festival of Arts in Toledo sold! The couple who bought that work commented that their daughter really liked it the day before and they came and bought it as a wedding gift. Awe...

Well, now to the bad. The show hours were long... 10AM to 9PM each day. Which I could go for 10-9 on the first three days but packing up after nine really stinks. I am a one man show which means that I did not leave tonight until 11PM. Yes, it's pretty standard for me to take two hours to tear down the display and pack it all up. Let alone unloading the vehicle when I get home (I have not done that yet). So, I see why the Ann Arbor fairs end at 6PM on Saturday. And to really add salt to the wound, there were no sales in my booth after 6PM on Saturday (not many stops in the booth either). Just endless streams of nomads wondering aimlessly...

And here is the ugly part. Like I said, I am a one man show. I need a both sitter from time to time to take a restroom break. Um... getting a booth sitter was like pulling teeth. Good thing my bladder held out. Maybe if I do the show again I should get a package of Depends undergarments. I mean is it that difficult to know which one of your artists are there by them self? Make a note of it art fair promoters...

There you go. Wyandotte - the good, bad and ugly...

Went to this festival knowing full well that it was not the place to look for high quality art or crafts. Every once in a while you need to go to a festival like this. Not only do you appreciate what you see at other festivals but it was very educational. While I know there is a lot of grumbling about booth shots, go to a show where most of the artists have no idea how to display their work.  It was amazing how many booths just had tables with the work scattered all over.  

There were only three jewelry artists worth looking at and I bought things from two of them.  There were a couple of other booths that had decent work but that was about it.  There were fewer booths than I remember, the music was unobtrusive and I don't really remember any food booths other than popcorn and wine.  

This show is brought to you by the rightly maligned Chicago Special Events.  As mentioned, the quality was all over the place.  The crowd wasn't rowdy like it was at Wells Street when I was there so that was a good thing.  

So in addition to the great jewelry I got, I also got to eat at a new restaurant that had the best chicken/avocado sandwich I have ever had.   (priorities you know)

I can't recommend that anyone do this show but if you want to see the difference between a good show and a bad show, check this one out for the latter.

I figure now is a better time to post this than next week after I try it out. That way everyone can play with it at the show this week.

The Ann Arbor shows have a combined app in the itunes store. It's called the Ann Arbor Art Fairs, abbreviated to A2ArtFairs when it installs. It lists the artists from all the shows alphabetically by medium and shows one image of their artwork and links to their booth locations on a map.

Since I was going to spend two or three days walking the shows this week, I decided to try out the app. I've been contacted by a few artists who want a booth picture taken and added them to my favorites in the app.

Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100

August 10 & 11
Monroe, Michigan
Sat. 10am-7pm, Sun. 10am-6pm
around 90 artists
Deadline: July 17

Monroe is halfway between Toledo and Detroit, easily accessible for the many artists who live in this region.

The 10th Annual Downtown Monroe Fine Art Fair is located in the Historic District of Monroe, Michigan. Our art Fair corresponds with the River Raisin Jazz Festival. Enjoy a relaxing weekend in our downtown full of spectacular Fine Art juried in from around the country.

The Downtown Monroe Fine Art Fair has an elite number of artists. Jurying to select only fine Art has limited the attendance to around 90 artists, but gained in the quality of work. The true art lover will enjoy a sophisticated show and the Fine Artist will be in good company with others who share the same quality of work. Because neither the Downtown Monroe Fine Art Fair nor the River Raisin Jazz Festival charge an admission to the public, the shows are very popular with tens of thousands of people in attendance.

This in a non-profit show, all of the booth fees and donations go directly towards growing, improving and promoting the show across the Midwest. Monroe is in an optimal location for pulling in crowds we are a short drive from Detroit, Ann Arbor and Toledo.

The show is run by a group of volunteers who are friendly and willing to help everyone have a wonderful and successful weekend.

For more information and application: www.monroefineartfair.com
Christy LaRoy: www.christylaroy.com

• This is a national  show
• Juror: Marshall N. Price, Curator of Modern & Contemporary Art
• $3000 in Cash Awards
• July 8th early bird deadline
• July 22nd Final Deadline

• This is a regional show
• Juror: David McFadden, Chief Curator, Museums of Arts and Design
• $1500 in Cash Awards
• July 8th Early Bird deadline
• July 22nd Final Deadline

• This is an international show   
• Juror TBA from B & H
• $1500 in Cash Awards
• July 26th Early Bird Deadline
• August 16th Final Deadline

Read more and apply.

These exhibits sponsored by the BWAC, the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition. BWAC's 25,000 square foot gallery is in a Civil War-era warehouse on the Red Hook waterfront, with its trendy boutiques and restaurants and the city’s best view of the Statue of Liberty - across from the Fairway supermarket and down the block from IKEA.  It’s a perfect destination for a spring weekend, accessible by public transportation and biking is a breeze!

BWAC is a 501c3 organization, with two synergistic missions:

Okay. I had an issue tonight at the Wyandotte Street Art Fair. My iPhone would not connect to the Internet and thus, I lost a $35 sale for my square account could not connect. This is frustrating because I have been reaching for sales at this show and this one that walks away hurts more!

Has this happened to you? I called Verizon tonight and they said to power off your phone and restart. Does this work?

By the way, they said they would go to the ATM and get some cash. But I know and you know too, that once they leave your tent, they'll never come back. This indeed was the case this evening...

This was my first year at this show and is my 3rd full year doing shows. The show ran from Fri-Sun, June 13-16 with setup on Thursday June 12th. Edmonds is a northern suburb of Seattle, WA located on Puget sound. I was a bit apprehensive about this show since I hadn’t done well at the Belleveue Festival of the Arts in 2012 and I expected the demographic to be similar. Also, the weather is iffy in the Northwest in June. I always joke that summer doesn’t start until the 4th of July in the NW and that’s usually true. Fortunately this year the weather was flawless, not too hot, not too cold and mostly sunny! The booth fee for Edmonds is $150 plus 15% commission (more for corners and larger spaces.) Other artists I know said this was a good show so I applied.

The Nitty-gritty

The show sends booth location and set-up time around the end of May. I was on "the field" in the fine art section. I had a 12-2pm unloading time so I decided to drive up from Portland on set-up day. I arrived around 1:30 pm and waited about 40 mins in line to be let in to set up. I had planned to get there earlier, but it turned out just as well since I heard those that were there earlier had an over 2 hour wait in line. Set-up wasn’t as bad as I feared, maybe because I was there late. There weren’t many other vehicles in my row. I unloaded and parked the car across the street. On show days there was a shuttle lot a few blocks away (but with a steep hill.) The shuttles ran often. My biggest gripe was that there was no storage space or wiggle room. The spots were exactly 10x10. This gave you no place to put your stuff, other than in your booth, while setting up and one artist in my row had to be moved because there wasn’t quite enough room. Next time I will set up my canopy first, if possible, and then unload. As it was I had to work around a pile of artwork, etc while setting up the canopy. I must have been brain addled by the boring 3.5 hour drive up I-5 not to realize this. It probably added over an hour to my setup.

I took my time tearing down because I had heard it was hell and I had given up hope of driving back to Portland on Sunday night. That was a good decision since I didn’t get out of there until dark. On the plus side, by the time I was ready to load up, there were no lines to get my vehicle onto the field. So I can’t comment on how that went for those that were speedy other than I did see a number of people dollying out rather than waiting to get their vehicle on the field.

The show

The show ran from 10am-8pm Fri and Sat and 10-6 on Sunday with an artist dinner Sat night. For me, each day showed less in number but larger sales and total sales higher than the day before. I sold cards. LOTS of cards! More cards than I’ve ever sold at a show. I sold out of one of my boxed sets. I only sold one largish original (on Sun), but I sold so many small items that it made for a decent show and better than any show I did last year. In the end, they got a good commission out of me. Attendance was good and people seemed to be buying. All my neighbors seemed to be happy. The metal sculptor next to me almost sold out. He sold a lot of yard art but he also sold most of his larger pieces. There were times I was very busy, early, around lunchtime and again in the evening. At one point on Sunday I thought I was going to have a blockbuster show, with several people discussing sales of multiple paintings. Unfortunately this didn’t happen but I’m happy with my sales and I will reapply next year.

Cherry Creek is one of those legendary shows. Who gets in and then who gets to come back?

Here are this year's winners:

Best of Show:         Aaron Hequembourg/Mixed Media - learn more about Aaron & his work

Second Place:         Justin Teilhet/Ceramics

Third Place:  Amos Amit/Fiber

Merit Awards: Robert Farrell/Metalworks

                   James Nemnich/Mixed Media

                   Chris Dahlquist/Photography

                   Michael Bond/Graphics and Printmaking

                   Clifton Henri/Photography

Juror’s Award: Larry Fox/Sculpture

Juror’s Award: Donna Veverka/Jewelry

Juror’s Award: Carolina Cleere/Mixed Media

All award winners are invited to return for the 24^th annual Cherry Creek Arts Festival in July of 2014 exempt from the jury process.     

This year's West Shore Art Fair in Ludington, Michigan was a pleasant surprise. I did not know how the crowds would be since it was the Fourth of July weekend but a good number of people passed through my booth. I would credit this show to my second best ever (although my art fair participation is just halfway though my second year). I recorded sales of $457.50 on Saturday and another $457.50 on Sunday giving me a grand total of $915.

The booth fee was just $125 - so my sales were seven times the booth fee. But the show hours were short. Just 10AM - 5PM on Saturday and 10AM - 4PM on Sunday. I was fortunate to get a booth at the corner of Ludington and Gaylord which made setup and teardown easy. For artists more inside the park, they would have to cart their art, tent, walls and displays to their booth location.

But because of the early closing each day I was able to take this shot of the Ludington North Breakwater Lighthouse...

I did overhear one of the volunteers saying that this year it was primarily focused on fine arts and some fine crafts too; but they want to bring this fair back to it's original form as a fine art fair. And the local restaurant House of Flavors sent servers to your booth if you wanted to order lunch. The volunteers were pleasant and helpful. The weather was beautiful and such a nice weekend to be in west Michigan!

If you too were at West Shore, tell us how you did at the fair. We would like to know!

Drop the temperature 20 degrees from a year ago, add better quality artists and you have an improved art festival.  

We got to the festival at 10:30 and had to park in the second set of lots near the entrance to the festival.  When we got inside, the increased crowds were noticeable.  This isn't a large art festival and it is located right by the entrance so even those there for the garden had to pass by, a smart idea.

Got to see some new artists which is always enjoyable.  The most crowded booth was a fabric artist with very stylish loosely woven ponchos and other pieces.  They were relatively well priced compared to most clothing at art festivals.  The only reason I didn't get one is my fear of snagging it.  I wear too much jewelry that would catch on it.

The candle people were there and I just don't understand it.  They are better suited to flea markets, farmer's markets or entry level craft festivals.  This is not work that takes much imagination or dare I say talent.  

I did see people carrying things and I hope all those people attending translated into sales.

We left around 12:30 and there was a line of cars almost a mile long waiting to get into the festival.  Members get in for free and non-members paid $20/car to get into the garden.

Let's reward the people who wrote the best content on ArtFairInsiders.com in June.

Deadline July 16, 6 pm

1. Brian Berkun, June 2 - Musings from Mulvane...in Topeka KS
2. Elle Heiligenstein, June 3, Show Review: Art in the Park, Columbia, MO
3. Erica Wagner, June 10, A rough weekend in the Burbs
4. AmyRenee Cornelius, June 20, My Three Rivers Art Festival Experience!!!

Also, many people keep this site helpful and the rewards are few. Let's reward some of the people who give so generously of their time. Who has been especially helpful to you this month? They will receive a fabulous Red Dot on their profile picture.

Choose 2:

1. Maryllis Wolfgang
2. Mark V. Turner
3. Bill McLauchlan
4. Kay Cummings
5. Pat Falk
6. Carrie Jacobson
7. John Smith
8. Brian Billings
9. Chris Pawlik

Many thanks to them specifically and to all the rest of you who make this site useful to so many.

It is WAY quick and easy -- share your appreciation for their time by voting now.

Click here to take survey

August 17 & 18

First Congregational Church of Huntley
Sat. 10am-5pm; Sun. 10am-4pm
setup: begins 9am August 16
75+ Artists
Deadline: August 3

Huntley Artfest is a community event sponsored by the First Congregational Church of Huntley, drawing 8,000 art lovers-viewing the Fine Arts of participating artists, a full stage of entertainment  and a vast array of delicious food from our Food Vendors. 

This is a Juried Show ($25 non-refundable jury fee - if accepted jurying for that Artist is good for the current year and the two following consecutive years).  We ask that Artist send in 3 photos (or digital files) of their work and 1 photo (or digital file) of their display.
 
All work must be that of a Fine Art nature and fall into the following mediums:      
Ceramics, drawing, fiber non-functional, fiber wearable, paper non-functional, glass, jewelry, acrylic, oil, watercolor, pastel, sculpture, wood sculpture, mixed media, photography, printmaking, creative writing, furniture (designed and crafted by artist).

REPRODUCTIONS ARE NOT ALLOWED unless they are a series of an artist's original art work.

The following will not be accepted - Knitting or sewing from kits, resale items, non-original pieces.
Booth Fees:    $150 [10' x 10'] - $245 [10' x 20']
 
Learn more and apply: http://www.huntleyartfest.org/page9.php

Huntley Artfest is free admission to the public with free parking; we also provide free parking (and overnight parking for all Artists as well as accommodations for RV's-overnight grounds security is provided on Friday and Saturday nights.

For more info: www.huntleyartfest.org
Contact is :  registration@huntleyartfest.org
Chairperson: Tom Heling
P.O. Box 98Huntley, IL 60142

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

Find more shows looking for artists: www.CallsforArtists.com

June 29 & 30, presented by the Toledo Botanical Garden

This art fair debuted in this lovely 40 acre garden in 1975. The approximately 200 artists booths amble through wooded glens and meticulously groomed perennial beds. Just about everyone has a shady space as this last weekend in July can be pretty hot. It may be the prettiest place to do an art fair. There is ample food, ample elbow room and if you are shopping and bring a friend who loves gardens also it can be a wonderful day.

There has been a lot of rain in northern Ohio this year so I dressed carefully, rubber knee boots? rubber gardening shoes? Crocs? But in the end I knew the crew at TBG has been doing this show for a long time and would be ready for the weather. A very heavy rain had shut down the Friday night preview party (2 inches?) and my assumptions were correct. The organizers had relaid paths, yellow-caution-taped off swampy areas, and had plenty of straw on hand to keep the visitors to the show comfortable, many who ride a shuttle bus from a nearby area to the park.

There was a nice balance of media, including these watercolors by Peggy Furlin.

I was there for four hours on Saturday. The parking lots nearby were full and there was a steady stream of shoppers. Upon arrival I saw people exiting with their hands full.

I must have known half the show by name! Starting at the front gate with Ken and Rachel Connor, Berry Davis and Annette Fortin, Sandy Atkins-Moran, Angelo Fico and Karen Naylor. Great to see so many old friends, including Andrew Wender, Kelly Hewitt, Mark Lewanski, (how did I miss Paula Shoulders?), Al Sievers, Mark Sudduth, Herb Thomas, Chuck Wimmer, Don David, Dianna Dinka, Cynthia Mann, Annette Morrin and Chris Maher, Kristin Perkins, Sharon and Bob Spry, Bonnie Eastwood, Scott Pakulski, Steve and Lynn Cebula and Richard McCollum.

I knew so many people and met artists who said they were regular readers on this site that I was sure someone would do a review. Where are you, folks? Only you know the inside of this show.

What you need to know:

1. Easy drive up to your booth. Vehicles are parked some ways away so you have to plan not to have it near during the show. I believe they run shuttles to artist parking.

2. Beautiful venue and the best show in the Toledo area. These folks also love art fairs and are found in large numbers at Ann Arbor in July, so no hayseeds here.

3. Well run, prize money (I know Scott Pakulski won a prize but I don't have the winners list. Can anyone provide it?), reliable, experienced staff

Show director Judy Bowles passes out the ribbons

4. Steady attendance and loyal attendees

5. Reasonable booth fee: $250 (I believe)

Learn more about the show: http://www.toledogarden.org

Glass artist Al Sievers (left)

Ed King, PopArt (right)

I had a chance to meet Peggy and Bruce Furlin. Peggy "invented" our signature "Red Dot" bumper sticker.

Here is member Kim Sutherland

Who said there are no young people in the art fairs? Meet woodworkers Kyle and Jennifer Hawke.

Loved Lisa Gastelum's jewelry, meticulous bead weaving in great colors

Jeweler Cynthia Mann

Glass blower Mark Sudduth wins again!

As you all know, Connie had a pledge drive and those that donated were put in a drawing for various gifts, generously donated by other members.  I won this beautiful! borosilicate glass cuff from Leslie Huston of St. Petersburg, FL.  Wanted to post so you could see how wonderful this is and being a glass artist myself, it will go so nicely with me at my shows.  So here's my shout out to Leslie.  Thanks so much again!   Here is the link to the picture I took.  %21cid_C1C932DA-34A4-41DE-88B4-0B9266DCA876%20%282%29.jpg

Thank you Connie, and Thank you Richard and Joanna from American Art Marketing..for the free booth I won for donating to AFI. I think it was an amazing gift andI am most grateful I had the dates open for this show. HOWEVER. 

It was outrageously H O T the whole show, which was held July 4-6, (2013) Thursday Friday and Saturday, 4th of July was extremely quiet, and for that matter so was friday, it picked up some on saturday, and I know there were a few folks who did extremely well at this show, I was not one of them, ( but since I had no booth fee, everything I made I kept, which is a wonderful thing! ) Most of the people I spoke with at the show thought as I did, DEAD.. was it the heat? the economy? the fact that they added a second show the following weekend? Did it split the crowd in two as many suspected? Is there a way to answer this question? I am sorry it was not better, I was thinking I would pay the fee for the second weekend, but the first was too brutal.. I make/sell clothing and most of the hot sweaty bodies of the customers were not inclined to try on white linen dresses....

Amdur Productions has been running the Gold Coast Art Fair in Chicago for quite a while now. Not to get into the politics and reasons for why it is no longer in the River North area of that city, but a few years ago it moved to Grant Park, on the lakefront, a popular destination for all kinds of festivals.

There is no doubt that there are lots of logistics to figure out in this location (security, traffic, city permits, insurance, health department, etc.), but the location is pretty terrific for attracting attention and if Amdur can get all of this to work well (not for the faint of heart) it has solid potential.

What a great way to get your show noticed in such a large city.

This year seems to have marked a turning point, as evidenced by word-of-mouth and the reviews at ArtShowReviews.com.

Here is a link to photos from the event that tell the story: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/kxl3c1ltvy32zoz/Pjrrb4uNqc

Held June 22-23, 2013, this used to be in my top 3 art festivals.  This show has been disappointing the last few years and this year was no exception.  It used to be a wonderful show, always some new, really fun artists with really great pieces that you had to have.  

There are good artists here, it is a solid show but it is just another art show.  I guess I am damning this show with faint praise but that is what it is, another show.  With the excessive number of shows located in the northern suburbs of Chicago, having them all look the same is definitely not a good thing.  This once unique show has been Amdurized.  

In addition to too few new artists, out of 121 booths, 49 were jewelers.  By my calculations, that is 40% of the show taken over by one medium.  That isn't fair to anyone, patron,  jeweler or other artists.  From the patron's point of view it is an overwhelming number to have to decide from.  If you are a jeweler, the pieces of the pie can be very small and if you are an artist of a different medium, all of the potential customer's money may have been spent on jewelry before they even see your work.

Before i wrote this review, I read the ones I wrote the last two years.  Ironically, the thing I kept commenting about at the show this year was something I had mentioned previously------

This show has the best looking dogs of any show I go to.  The dogs were more interesting than a lot of the art (remember, I have seen most of the artists, it wasn't that the artists weren't good).  I realized I wasn't enjoying the show as much as I may have liked when I commented on the dogs for the 3rd of 4th time.  

I don't know why The Art Center, the original producers gave up control of the show, probably not enough time or volunteers, but I sure miss the originality of the old show.

Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100