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It's only my second year. I am still trying to see which shows work well for me. Which markets value my creations. I am still learning. How to set up my booth. How to price my art. Learning that multiple price points work best.

I hope for profitable shows and I am expanding into other shows that are 300 miles away to test the waters. But I am still a newbie. And I have much to learn. But that is also exciting and and sometimes disappointing. But everything that I learn I hope to share with my fellow artists. 

So, if you are a fellow newbie, let me know. We can share our joys or commiserate together! And a have a show coming up this weekend... Booth 41 at the Crosby Festival of Arts at the Toledo Botanical Gardens in Ohio. My first three day show. And I have a four day show later in the season (that's a first too)...

Oh, and I always take my ham radio along just in case of the weather. So if you see the artist with the ham radio, that's me... But I am also just a newbie too!

The Lakefront Festival of the Arts in Milwaukee, WI, is one of those shows where participation is so highly coveted that artists tell me they always look two or three times at the acceptance to make sure it is true.

In all of our years doing shows there was never another one where we got rejected so many times but still kept trying. You know: times change, judges change, work changes, etc.

Perennial prizewinner, ceramicist William Kidd

Milwaukee is only a 5 hour drive from here in southern Michigan and I needed to see it again for myself. Arriving around 2 pm on Friday after having driven through very heavy rain and high winds which also had pelted the Milwaukee area, it was a pleasure to see the beautiful art museum and the big tents of the show still standing.

The show is held at the Milwaukee Art Museum on the western shore of Lake Michigan. It has often been the victim of bad weather with heavy rain, visitors slogging through straw and plywood flooring put down to get them through the show so that a committee got together awhile back and found massive tents that are erected across Museum Drive on the grounds. Artists booths are backed up to the sides leaving it wide open down the middle for easy load in and out and enabling prospective customers to navigate through the show in their dress up clothes regardless of weather. 

Why the show is hard to get into:

• it is held on a date where there isn't a lot of competition
• there are only 170 spaces and winners from previous years are reinvited. If you were a prize winner you get two years additional and if you receive honorable mention you are reinvited for one year. Each year this is 20 people. Do the math and in any year there are 30 reinvites. The show has artist advisors who help the show committee run the event - I think there are six of them. They are reinvited. So now there are fewer spaces, making this a very competitive jury
• The sales are good, thereby engendering even more competition

I had missed the Friday morning rush but heard from several people "big stuff" was walking out of the tent. The storm may have chased those people home with their cargo and when I got there the crowd was pretty good but not huge.

The show went until 10 pm on Friday night with attendance bolstered by corporate parties (Morgan Stanley, Kohl's and PNC Bank) sponsored in the Milwaukee Magazine Wine Garden and the new Blue Moon Beer Garden (imagine a beer garden in Milwaukee!) encouraging people to spend the evening at the show.

There is a lot of competition for the high end buyer with huge sculpture, fabulous furniture, finewoven clothing, keepsake jewelry, wall-sized paintings, etc. You get the idea. However, this is one of those shows where the "regular" folks like to shop also (it is the coolest event that happens all year in Milwaukee, imho) so if you have work that isn't so high end you may do fine also. 

You enter the grounds of the museum through a sculpture garden. These sculptures are by Richard Turner and Eric Carroll.

Then the huge tents that reminded me of being in an international airport terminal but which means the show will go on!
Most of the show is in the tent but part of it is in the Museum of Art itself. There were probably 20 exhibitors indoors. Indoor artists had made this choice and they were highly coveted. Many "wearables" were in this area.

The view from inside the museum:

There were lots of old and new friends to see, including Oscar Matos Linares who has made such good contributions to AFI, big beautifully printed and evocative photos, and potter/fiber artist Stephen Kostyshyn:

Poster artist was fiber artist Sandi Garris, here making a nice sale:

Here is her work on which the poster was based, a million pieces of hand dyed cottons comprising the modern equivalent of a quilt:

Nicario Jimenez with his retablos:

The most amazing work I saw was the weaving by
Susan Klebanoff who was participating in her first
art fair:

But how were the sales? Look at this laden down purchaser, reminds me of the "good old days"

It is always great to see old friends making nice sales. Photographer Jill Bedford's newest work went home with this buyer:

While we were having breakfast on Sunday morning woodworker Barry Newstat got an email from a "be back" who was back with her car to carry off his fine woodworking:

 Good crowd at the Artist Breakfast, including Don Ament, Susan Klebamoff, Scott Swezy, Larry and Donna Oliverson and George Raab.

Hats off to the great LFOA Committee and the
hundreds
of volunteers that make this special event really special including the fabulous Artist Liaison Dionne Wachowiak and  Festival Director, Krista Renfrew. I appreciated your tickets, kindnesses and feeding ;) Hope you get a day off soon.

Here is the person I was happiest to see. It was great to spend time with our old friend Ted Gall once again. I know you were trying to look scary, Ted, but you can't scare me.

There's more! Here's the video with more info and photos of people you know:

This was a show I declined last year. In retrospect, I should have declined it again.

For some artists, this show worked out well for them, as by the end of the show I heard reports of one painter doing $5K, a potter doing about $2500, and some others doing between $1,500 and $2,500. There were also several who zeroed out, including one painter who had beautiful panoramic landscape paintings in a light impressionistic style. At least one photographer, one who does wildlife, was reported to have done quite well. The impression I had was that these were the exceptions, and the telling point on this was hearing that on Sunday morning 5 artists had pulled out overnight and two more were observed packing up to leave on early Sunday morning. Seven out of a hundred seems like a high percentage of disgruntled artists. I had thought about throwing in the towel briefly, but decided to stick around as the hotel was already paid for, and I'm sometimes too optimistic about the "Sundays are always good". Horsecrap. I think I would have rather zeroed out as a badge of "honor". As it were, I sold two pieces on Saturday for a whopping total of $55. Yeah, no s**t, $55.

Part of the blame is on me for not having everything updated and restocked as I should, and had planned to do some of that on site. Holy crap, the weather was beastly and sapped all the energy out of you. That will be the last time I try that type Plan B. Get it done at home before you go.

Okay, doke, let's take a look at the show itself and how it unfolded. The show was a Huff-Burch production, and is according to their literature the only show they do. I was told they had sold their old operation and retained only this one. For starters, their check-in directions were vague as hell (Check-in is in front of the Barnes & Noble). Which side; east or west, in the street or literally in front? The shopping area, Easton Town Center, is one of the most confusing pieces of crap layout I've ever seen, with streets that don't go through, one way streets that take you off into Zululand. The layout looks like a big-boy version of Candyland. A simple line graphic map would have worked wonders. All I know is the GPS app on my phone starting putting out smoke with all the constant recalculating.

Eventually I got to the right place somewhat late, and starting unloading. The plan was unload, move the van, come back, and finish setting up. I was at the far end of a side street and that should have set off the alarms right there. More on that later. The official parking place was on the opposite side of the shopping area. I was told by another artist it was about 3/4 mile away. To hell with that; my right knee is missing half of the meniscus and is arthritic as hell. After setting up, I moved the van to the other side of B&N and parked there, which I continued to do so for the weekend. The promoters must think all the artists are under 30 and in training for a marathon. Uh, guys, take note of the gray hair and the limps that a bunch of us have.

The main part of the show was right in the middle of an extremely high traffic area from major restaurants and retail stores. My section was between the Cheesecake Factory and B&N. The only problem was there were no entrances to either store on the entire street which is really an exit/entrance road. The causal shopper would have no reason to walk down there unless they were curious enough to see the artists down there. As an aside on this, the artists around me started a personal poll of the visitors and asked if they were there because of the advertising or just saw us there. The answer was unanimous, they saw us there and had not seen any advertising.

Friday was worthless, as most Friday show days are. Most of us didn't sell much, and the "rush", if a few meager folks wandering about can be called that, lasted about an hour. The weather was hot, and didn't get much better until after 6:00 when the shade from the buildings blocked the sun. The patrons walking the show, and again this was down at the far end end of the show away from the water fountains and so on at the other end, were looking listless and bored. By 8:30 it obvious nothing was going to happen, although at shutdown at 9:00 a few folks tried to get a last look in.

Saturday rolled around bright and clear, and by 7:30 I was already sweating profusely. I put up a rear awning with my back tarp and extended that puppy back to the limit and got a 7 foot awning out of it. It helped some, but those plastic tarps don't block enough IR radiation. This was one of those shows where you really need to be cognizant of staying hydrated. I drank over a gallon of fluid with water, tea, and some diet ginger ale. I only had to hit the restroom once. My shirt had salt stains, and even my socks were salt stained. As Britt Hallowell commented, "Even my sweat is sweating". The heat was no more than 91 officially, but it's much hotter on asphalt streets. It was brutal during the day, and it sapped the energy from the artists and patrons alike. The stub street we were on never should have had artists down there, but most of the ones who pulled out that night weren't down there. The two sales I made were on Saturday.

Sunday was more of the same; hotter than hell, and the only thing that was a saving grace was the near constant wind. There were times when I would get up to move around I would get light headed. The potter at the very end of the row did okay, but I feel she would have done better closer in. There was an empty place between us, and I would observe people reaching my tent, glancing inward and dismissing my work, then they would give her booth a quick glance from my location, then they would turn around and head back toward the center of the show. This was not an art buying crowd, although some of us did do okay the impression I had was that most didn't. They were there for the restaurants and the American Doll convention. We were a pleasant side attraction.

Just as a side note to the heat coming through the plastic tarps, on Sunday I placed the awning section on top of the back flap, and placed another full tarp on top also. That finally reduced the heat coming through to a more decent level. I may look for a space blanket where they have a reflective side, and if I can find one large enough that may be my new awning in the back.

The layout could have been better, as the A section seemed to be stuck out in the middle of nowhere and lacked the foot traffic of the central section. Talking with one of the organizers, they didn't utilize Facebook promotions, and the visitors didn't seem to be aware of any advertising efforts although it was done. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be effective. 

The short and not so sweet end of this is that I lost about $600 doing this show. I won't be back.

is there a way to publish a post -- either blog or discussion - and remain anonymous?  if not, can that be made part of the website.

there are often repercussions when making comments ... that can back to haunt ... or that someone else comments on your comment.

thanks ...

Here are a few thoughts on the show, while they are fresh in my mind:

Manayunk, June 22, 23, 2013.

Large street show, variety of work, good quality and some ok work.

Nice area, nice atmosphere.

Interspersed in between booths- commercial booths- 5 Hour Energy, Geiceo, etc.

Also gave out tons of free yogurt near me- tons, so people were carrying entire BOXES of cold yougurt, hands full, and I would say no longer shopping as they just received some free food that had to go home and be refrigerated.

Load in is not easy,tight, but everyone seemed to be ok with it. A trailer , which is what I have, no use trying to get anywhere, we had to walk far and dolly but it went ok.

Crowd- plenty of people, people who looked like they could and would perhaps purchase a few items. Lots of younger people, ages 25-40 I'd say was the majority of the crowd.

Weather-very hot.

Hours- My setup arrival time was 5:30 am, others were 5 am, and 6 am.

I left my booth up overnight, it was safe.

Sales- here's the problem, at least for me and my area of artists. Those that I spoke to were not happy and said they could not afford to do it again.

One artist in my area was very happy with sales, 2D.

I saw people in booths, primarily the jewelry.

My sales were not good. I won hon mention, which they called 2nd place in my category, glass and clay, I also had one of my pots featured on their webpage AND in the arts fest tv commercial, so I was well received.

So I have been analyzing this.

I usually check last year's exhibitor list before I apply to a new show, and I did for this one, and that is where I took my chance. I did not recognize any names, and there were not many potters, which is normally a bad sign for me.

So, lots of people, looked like a younger, educated, middle class crowd, not much buying, at least not in my area.   ????????

I should have been able to do better than I did, so that disturbs me.

I KNOW for a fact that people still buy lots of pottery, and normally like my work, and it is affordable.

So????

August 24 & 25 
Lake Orion, Michigan
Co-produced by Orion Art Center & Integrity Shows
11 am to 5 pm
Deadline: July 7

A new event in a beautiful location.

Where is Lake Orion? Click here.

The Lakeside Living Art Fair is a more relaxed fine art show suiting the pace of life in Michigan's Near North.  The show includes juried artists exhibiting most every medium from Painting to sculpture, decorative, functional and wearable.

We are looking for high quality artwork that fits in to this setting.  Work that feels more relaxing.  All mediums are acceptable.  While Oakland County Michigan is one of the most affluent in the country, we find that patrons in this area are more interested in work under $500.

Certainly you will have the traditional images of lighthouses, yard sculpture and the like.  Additionally we plan to feature surprises from some amazing artists whose work reflects a community like Lake Orion, where residents make a life, not just a living.

• The show is adjacent to the popular Dragon on the Lake festival which draws extensively from throughout the region.
• It is co-produced with the Orion Art Center
• Affordable booth fee of $165
• Presented by Mark Loeb who organizes multiple events in Southeast Michigan including the Royal Oak Clay, Glass & Metal Show and Funky Ferndale

We support a three year jury rotation system.  Once accepted you are assured of three years of participation as long as you confirm your interest by deadline.  We believe that artists do better when they can plan their schedules and develop collectors.

Hi Friends...Here is my review of this show.

This is a one day show with no Friday set-up.  I arrived at 6am on Saturday morning and checked in with friendly and helpful staff.  The show is arranged with booths on the lawn of the courthouse square and then two rows facing each other on a street running across from the courhouse.  My booth was on the street and I was given a parking pass allowing 20 minutes to unload the van and then move it to a parking garage.  Unloading wasn't a problem, I work alone and got it done, I think in time, and then parked in the free garage about a block and a half away.  I returned to set up and got the whole rig set up and polished with about an hour to spare before opening of the show.  I grabbed some coffee and donuts that the show provided and waited for customers.

I woud like to address the staff at this point in the review.  Each and every staff person I encountered, including the director was very nice, very helpful and very available for whatever anyone needed.  I feel that the show was well organized, well planned and done very professionally.  I have nothing but good things to report on this show's level of professionalism and overall operation.

The show opened at 10am and was to close at 5pm.  Opening crowds were very light and thready.  An orchestra set up on the lawn of the courthouse and played for about an hour, it was beautiful and ideal for an art show.  By noon, crowds were still extremely light and I was finding myself bored with no sales. 

In early afternoon, I sold a few pieces to one couple and a couple more pieces to someone else and that was the end of it for me.  I did not sell enough to cover costs.  I ended up abput $100 shy of breaking even.  My neighbors were in the same boat as me, with unimpressive sales.  Crowds never picked up and I felt this was a poorly attended show with more lookers than anything.  I got the sense that a lot of the people there had no intention in the first place of buying anything.  Maybe some of you can relate to what I am saying:  I noticed women with no purses, grandparents with the grandkids barely keeping up, fast walkers and that vibe you can sense. 

About 3pm, the clouds rolled in and the sky got dark.  Then, around 3:30pm the rain started!  It started with a vengence!!!!  A tent across from me with no weights immediately buckled and went down.  Everyone started tearing down, including me.  At that point the show had had such light crowds we all knew it was over.  I packed the rig up and loaded it in the van in record time and a very soaked artist, (me) got on the road and went home.  And that was the end of it!

Due to the fact that I lost money, I will not do this show again nor recommend it to anyone else who is trying to support themselves by selling their art. 

I will be at Spring Green, WI next week for that show and will review it here.  Thanks for reading!!!!!   

Well I finally have had time to create something that moves the tent and tent "bones" Easily and some what cheaply. I say some what cheaply because I did have to buy a two wheel hand truck at Sam's for about $90.00. This idea is by no means MIT engineering, but after finishing the build I loaded the cart and pushed it all over the hills and dales of my property... Yes I have some dales, and it seemed to work just fine. At least I hope nothing out there will be as daunting as sideways on the pitch of my leach field. I have pics and if I can figure out how to post them it should save that thousand words thing. Well I realize it must be right in front of me but I can't seem to find something that says add photos so until someone leads me by the hand there will be no pics

So am entering all my sales into FreshBooks. It is a slow a tedious process. What accounting software does everybody use and the pros and cons of each? Or should I be disciplined enough to enter may sales into FreshBooks at the show? It is a cloud program after all... 

I would like to hear how many of the artists have a Facebook Page in addition to a Website? I have just recently put together a Facebook Page for my Photo business, but have not received much traffic. 

Please review my page at R2Q Photography and let me know what I might do to increase traffic.

We've pulled out the big guns to congratulate John Smith on winning May Post of the Month for his solid analysis: "Top 10 Lessons Learned at our First Art Fair or Learning How to Swim by Jumping into the Pool." Helpful info for all newcomers and some of oldies who still haven't learned these lessons.

Hope you're impressed with our connections John!

My apologies to John -- I seem to have lost my tech touch and can't get this video or several others to work here. Here's the link: http://www.jibjab.com/view/vs-AZZyQQhOnkf00WbT_Yw?utm_campaign=URL+Copy&utm_content=hall_of_presidents_congratulations&utm_medium=Share&utm_source=JibJab&cmpid=jj_url

New members inducted into the honorary society of the Red Dot are Bill McLauchlan for all

his reviews, his stalwart searching for honor and truth all along the East Coast and Carrie Jacobson for her daring to ask the question, "how old are you?" and her helpful and encouraging comments and reporting back. Congrats.

Hi - does anyone have any information regarding the Howard Events Aspen show in July - from previous experience.

Any information would be appreciated!

Thanks all!

JS

WOW - What a great first major art festival show! Now I am a Pittsburgher, born & raise in the area so I was honored to getting into the show. 

Communications were clear and easy to understand. They gave detailed maps of where to go and what was what. All the volunteers were nice and happy and helpful! They even had people to help unload and carry your stuffs to your spot. That was a nice touch. Now I had 5 friends that were there to help me unload so I did not need to use the volunteers.

I was in the Point State Park area and I got a lot of walking in during the show which was good exercise. I headed to my spot which was located on the curve of the North Walk way and started to set-up. Now this is the only negative thing I had to deal with during the show, my neighbor. Due to this curve and a slight mis-measurement and her issue with where her booth was to go, cause an issue that my booth and my other neighbor be 'off' the well marked path. I had my tent, tables and weights up and she tells me I had to move. So the next hour was filled with waiting for her to get her metal stand booth up so I could move my tent. And of course it was raining during this time!! LOL I could go on and on about the problems she created but it just not worth it. I just felt bad for my helpers having to be there an extra hour and half because of all this. 

Now I have to say that I loved where I was in the park. When I first received my booth #, I was not too sure about it since I was on the music stage side. But being the second booth in the row and very near the underpass to head to the fountain, well it worked for me! 

The first day of the show was an awesome start with the re-opening of the Point State Park Fountain that was under repairs for 4 years. There was a special ribbon cutting at 4 pm which a lot of business folks were their to see. Later that night the band drew in a crowd that I was not ready for!!! Now the artists hours are 12-8 but really if you want to get every dollar you need to be 11 - 9:30pm! There no way I was leaving until the band was done. So every night, I stayed until 930pm. Yes the day is long but it beats working in the mall like I used to do!

Now a little about the parking. I used a $15 parking garage Friday since I just wanted to get there and get started. And on the weekend, I had a drop off service thanks to my husband. The rest of the days I parked at the Heniz Stadium on the Northside for $6 and took the "T" (our subway system) to downtown. This part of the subway is free and takes only 10 mins! I even had my wheely cart with me so I did not have carry everything! 

They have booth sitters available when you need to use the bathroom or get food. That is a nice feature. The volunteers come around and check on you as well from time to time. Everybody is happy! Speaking of food, there was a lot of choices to be had. Not all of it was great but most of it was. 

There was the private bathroom the artists could use so there was not a wait line for it. I just had to walk a bit to get there since I was in the park. On the way back, I always stopped in the artist lounge to get either coffee or tea and a snack or two. That was a great touch having that available. Sunday was very hot and muggy so going to the lounge and sitting in the a/c was great. 

I attended the awards on Sunday morning for my group. This is where I was able to meet Melissa, the new director of TRAF, and have so more free coffee and bagels. Also I mingled with a few artists and made some friends. 

I just have to say I loved being in the show, being there period, enjoying the music, and just had a great time. It did not feel like work to me!! I was there for seven days and had great sales. It seemed everybody had a good show as well. And  before I forget, I was impressed at the weather texts that I received during the show. They also stopped at each the tents the day before the "big bad wind/tornado' thing coming our way to inform us what was happening and what to do. They even used the artist lounge as a storage room for any breakables for the artists that was not staying in the hotel since the storm was going to happen over night. And thanks for everything that I read on this forum about tents and weather, I survived that terror! Also, I lowered my tent and added more weight since I could not tie down to anything where I was. Great learning experience! 

Here is a picture of my booth and I photoshopped a bit since I needed a booth shot for an app last week! Any comments are welcome. 

Thank you 

AmyRenee

BOOTHshot-small.jpg

My wife and I participated in Art Market in Estes Park over the Memorial Day weekend. Unsure of where to post a review, I clicked on Art Show Reviews (what a unique concept) only to find Art Market not listed among the Colorado shows. No problem, I'll just submit data about the show and get it listed under Colorado shows. Then I can post my review. After all, I am on the Board and chair the Marketing Committee for the Art Center of Estes Park, which hosts Art Market. Silly me. That was a couple of weeks ago and Art Market is still not listed under Colorado art fairs. So, I'll post my review on this blog post.

Art Market ran May 25, 26, & 27, with set-up from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on the 24th, and again from 7:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. on the 25th. Those that came in early on the 24th, as did Lori and I, were able to drive up to their space and unload. Likewise, those that exhibited patience were able to drive up to their space and load up once the show was over.

Saturday crowds were awesome. There were times when potential clients were "4 deep" in our booth. Sunday morning, as you would expect, was slow, but picked up once church let out. Nevertheless, we sold one of my high-end framed canvas photographs before the show even opened. Monday crowds were like a roller coaster - up and down.

The booth directly across from ours did well selling their home-made soap bars. A metal arts booth diagonally across from us seemed to be doing well with a steady stream of people carry off their creations. A friend and fellow photographer bombed the first two days, but had lots of traffic and a hard time keeping up with sales on Monday.

Monday morning saw, what some called a micro burst come through. Back home, we call 'em dust devils. It completely destroyed two tents and sent two ladies to the hospital . . . one requiring a few stitches. Fortunately, no other tents were affected. Otherwise, the weather was perfect with only occasional minor winds.

Let me close by saying that I am a wildlife photographer and sell to a limited market. Having said that, we more than doubled the sales during our three previous shows. Also, our sales mainly consisted of 20x30 limited edition, framed canvas prints in the $400 price range. Although we had an offering of smaller framed images, along with a selection of matted photographs for the price conscience buyer, non of them sold. The only low end items sold were travel mugs and coasters featuring my wildlife photo art, along with some of my books. Next year, my prices and the size of my offerings will increase. Although most of our clients were from Colorado, one came all the way from New Jersey.

A few months back, I made a post on ArtFairInsiders asking for input regarding slow image sales. The response was overwhelming. Much of our current success, I owe to those of you who took the time to respond. To you, my friends, I am deeply indebted.

At that time, I posted a photo of what our booth looked like. This is how it now appears . . .

All of you guys who have been sharing stories from the Eastern shows, thank you! We've always had solid coverage on the Midwest and Florida shows (and down there in the Southwest and Pacific Coast group lots of info about Western shows).

We've learned about Lincoln Center, Rose Squared Shows, Three Rivers in Pittsburgh, Boardwalk, Ocean City, Jersey Shore, Washington Square, Taubman Center, Frederick, Reston -- many of these shows reviewed for the first time this year. Wow!

Many thanks to all of you, especially:

Alison Thomas, a valuable member here forever for her continued reporting on her shows and her befriending of other members. Her neighbor last weekend at the Boardwalk, Carrie Jacobson (who was on this week's podcast) couldn't say enough good things about her.

Marge Luttrell who has been adding show reports both here and on ArtShowReviews.com on a wide variety of different events and adding valuable info to other's reports. Her Lincoln Center review answered lots of questions about this once illustrious event and it brought out new names for comments including Wanda Bellamy, Andy Kearney, Linda Schwartz, Dale Norley, Sam Whitehead, Susan Thornton, David Addario and Jeanne Steck (who I haven't seen around here for awhile). Liza Norman added her review at ASR also.

Bill McLauchlan who has reported up and down the East Coast and keeps things lively and the folks who joined in on his Frederick post, Carrie Jacobson (with a great photo) and Sandhi Schimmel Gold. 

Erin-Lynn McAleer introduced us to NYC, followed this last weekend by extensive reporting on Lincoln Center. Great to hear about these NYC shows, surely one of the most difficult areas to negotiate logistically. 

Loving John Smith's "outsider" reporting on his shows and the people he is meeting along the way. Hey, John, next time you see Leo Charette, tell him hello. I miss him hanging out here.

It sounds like a bunch of AFI members were at Bill Kinney's Jersey Shore show. Next time let me know and I'll join you ;) Thanks Britt Hallowell (long time member) for this well balanced report and for the litany of other folks who joined in with comments, dry at last, Evan Reinheimer, Alison, Marge and Bill. 

Thanks to everyone who joined in on my Boardwalk post, land of the flying tents! Alison's photo told the rest of the story.

Evan Reinheimer shared lots of good info about the Rose Squared folks and their tireless work on their New Jersey events. One person's good show is another show's dog! and vice versa. Thanks for all the discussion on this one from Kevan Breitanger, Jill Stern and Dale Norley.

Mark Turner really knows how to give "added value" to his reports. Impressive. Kudos to

the Ocean City Art League judges for having the good sense to choose him for an award.

Yikes! Almost forgot the commentary/analysis on the Reston show from Elle Heiligenstein (thanks, Elle) with comments from Vicki Munn.

Three Rivers -- don't think we've ever had a report on this one, many thanks to Laurie Leonard for getting the ball rolling on this to fill out the picture - also the comments from Annette Piper, Larry Berman, Sandhi Gold, John Smith, Patty McPhillips, Suzanne Ens, etc!

THANK YOU, everyone. I am so pleased to see all these East Coast reports and the comments. Many new names showed up in these threads and I welcome you all. If any of you don't already have our Red Dot bumper sticker email me your mailing address and I'll send it out to you.

June 21-23
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 

Since its beginning in 1963, LFOA has evolved to become one of the top ten juried art festivals in the country, featuring work by more than 175 artists, including jewelry, painting, sculpture, photography, and more. A variety of family-friendly programs and activities are scheduled throughout the weekend as well. 

All of the artwork is in a massive 60,000-square foot tent and in the Art Museum itself, to stay safe and dry should the elements have their say.  

Stay all day to also enjoy:

• Live music and entertainment, gourmet foods and beverages at the outdoor stage. Friday night rocks until 10 pm. 
• Milwaukee Magazine Wine Garden - Relax beneath the Art Museum's world-famous Calatrava-designed "wings" and enjoy a glass of wine while overlooking the festival grounds and the stunning Lake Michigan shore
• Blue Moon Beer Garden
• Children's interactive activities including performances and hands-on art projects

Plenty of nearby parking and free shuttles are available to bring you to the festival.

Don't forget to meet Rebecca Hungerford our featured artist in booth #174.

View artists images find directions and all other details for your visit:  

The Rose's run very good shows in the parks in Essex County, New Jersey. They really are passionate about their shows and their quality. I remember Janet Rose telling me at one of the shows last year that my table coverings were too wrinkled, and how it affects the 'feel' of the whole show. It didn't feel good to receive that comment at the time, however, I quickly realized that I wouldn't want anything less from a show organizer. In fact, that is the reason I believe the show is well liked and attended. Rose's put a lot of effort in marketing the shows as well.

Brookdale Park show this year seemed very well attended. My guess is that there were more people compared to the same show last year. I spoke with some of my neighbors and some did well and some did not... just like any other show. Personally I did about the same as I did last year, which I am very happy with. First half of first day, I thought customers were measuring a lot more than they did last year. I think economy is still a big issue. (Same was true with an art show that I did in Virginia earlier this year.) Things got much better in the afternoon. More people paid with cash though, which tells me customers are not spending what they don't have. What saved me this year was repeat customers and all of my new items. Folks in that area are very friendly and loyal. They will come by and say hi even if they don't buy anything. It is nice because receiving feedback is priceless when it comes to designing new collections. Interestingly majority of my sales was from my brand new items that had higher price points then my lower priced flagship collections. Usually repeat customers come in and ask "what's new?" first.

All in all, I have faith in the dedicated Rose's and friendly Essex County folks, and plan to continue doing the shows.

Here are some tips for artists coming to Colorado for summer art shows which I hope will make your trip more enjoyable.

1. Altitude Sickness.  Coming from the flatlands to 5000-9000 feet elevation can affect your body with severe headache and flu-like symptoms.  The best remedy is to come a day or two early and take it easy until you have adjusted.
2. Driving Mountain Roads.  Stop at the Visitor Centers when you enter Colorado and read the information boards.  There are traffic laws about obstructing traffic flow with slow moving vehicles on mountain roads and you don’t want to get ticketed.   Also check CDOT (Colorado Department of Transportation, www.cotrip.org).   Rock slides, construction, accidents on mountain roads can lead to some serious delays or detours.  Carry a road atlas and know how to read a map.  Cell phones, iPads,  and computers do not always receive a signal the mountains.  Stop to enjoy the scenery, don’t be gawking while driving.
3.  Weather.  A common saying out here is that “the mountains make their own weather”.  Thunderstorms can produce tornados along the Front Range (mountains facing east).   On the Western Slope (mountains facing west) it can be as hot as any western desert in the summer.   In the mountains, afternoon thunderstorms are a fact of life.  Temperatures can drop 20-30 degrees in a short time and snow in July is not unknown.   When returning from a mid-May show in Grand Junction this year, there was lots of snow in the mountains but it was warming up.  Jean commented: “summer mountain wear is shorts and a hooded fleece”.   There can be lots of pea to marble size hail, so be prepared to push this stuff off of your tent.  Lightning can be spectacular with horrendous thunder making the afternoon exciting.  Don’t pack up and leave a show because of a thunderstorm.  These usually last from 20 minutes to an hour.  Most folks duck into an artist’s tent or shop to wait it out, and then continue shopping.   If lightning frightens you, duck into a building or your car.   Strong downdrafts and microbursts can accompany thunderstorms so be prepared to hold your tent down until they pass.  In towns, keep the gutter clear behind your tent so the water from a thunderstorm can drain off.    In a park, the worst you can expect is a temporary creek running through your tent for a short time.   Find a website that provides local weather information and check it often.   Don’t rely on a Denver news forecast for what’s happening in Pagosa Springs.    
4. Wildlife. Bears, elk, deer, moose, mountain lions and smaller critters live around the mountain towns.   Do not leave food in your tent or car.  The latest on this is a young bear in Steamboat Springs has learned how to open sliding windows on pickups and campers in town.   Notices about wildlife are posted in town and campgrounds.   Read and follow their directions.   Stay safe and do not approach wildlife. 
5. Wildfires. The summer fire season is upon us and we are still in a drought.    Large areas of beetle killed trees are in the mountains that make the fires very dangerous.  If a fire is near your show, follow the local news and advisories on line.   If there is an evacuation order, don’t second guess it GET OUT.    The other problem with wildfires near an art show is the smoke and ash.   We did a show in Ft. Collins that was 15 miles from the High Park Fire in 2012.  The smoke was so thick that you could not see the color of a traffic light half a block away.  Overnight, ash had settled on flat surfaces inside our tent which was zipped up.   If a fire is nearby, take whatever precautions are necessary to protect your art work from smoke and ash that can drift in.   I had to air out my leather goods after the Ft. Collins show and I would imagine other fiber people had to do the same.   Don’t assume that the smoke will continue drifting away from your show overnight.
6. I can’t think of anything else now, but feel free to add from your experiences.  Use common sense and you will have a great time in Colorado.   Stay a couple extra days to enjoy what the state has to offer.   Shows have been pretty good for me and others.