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This is my favorite show of the year because it is in my neighborhood, it is run by local artists as a non-profit event, locals get an extra jury point and it defies the usual logic of "if it has music and dance and kid stuff I ain't going near it".  Buffalonians adore this show. We also do Allentown (the "biggie") and by an enormous margin, Elmwood is the show of choice. There is something about the atmosphere that makes people happy and happy people buy stuff.

I took a picture at set up so you can see the neighborhood

The show is on one street, 180 exhibitors, culturals on side streets or set up in front of driveways where artists can't set up.They take those booths down at night.

The show ends with a children's parade (don't scoff, it is great) and that sort of keeps shoppers from leaving early because everyone wants to see it

Most of the people I talked to had a good show, as did I. If you can take one more ramble about trinkets. I'll tell you about the cards. Last week, in discussion with a couple of other exhibitors and with the encouragement of some members here,  I decided to try reproducing my collage on cards to see how they would sell. I am not a photographer, but I have a decent camera and a nodding acquaintance with photoshop. So,  some came out well, others defied my attempts to try to make them copy like they were meant to look. But I figured this was sort of a focus group experiment to see if they were even a possibility.I sold them at $4 each, 3 for $10. I made $300 on them. Well, alrighty then! And I don't hate making them. That seems to be the secret. For me, at least. Bulk up the bottom line with "trinkets" that don't require a lot o time or that tie you to the work bench making things that sap your creative energy. The word "eureka" comes to mind although that smacks of hyperbole. 

The Craft Hut is back in storage, the rest of the year is indoors and I have nothing except a visit to the West Coast and family before the next one in November. 

I may read a book today.

We have just returned from an art show in Lincoln, IL. The weekend is an event of Art and Balloon's  (Hot Air Balloons). And is produced by the Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce. On our arrival at 7:00 Saturday morning as we were approaching Lincoln on the Interstate Hwy, we were greeted by  no less than 24 balloons in the air. It was a great welcome to the weekend. I wish I could have gotten a pix, but driving seemed a little more important at the time.

The art show is in the downtown area in a 1 square block area. Some booths are around the parameter of the park, with others on the sidewalk in the park. Most, if not all booths are able to accommodate driving your car right up to your booth for loading and unloading. A very important feature for us, these days.

The show started out a little slow on Saturday morning. There were people viewing the art, but not really buying. This was a change from last year, where buying started early. But as the weekend progressed, the buying kicked in and most artists were happy. We ended up selling our largest piece. Lincoln 2012 is now our 10th best show of all times (in 7 years) Yeah! And it is a 21% increase from last year, which was a decent year also.

We did have some weather challenges. The winds kicked up on Saturday afternoon. There were some very high gusts. To the point that our tent frame has now taking on a new shape. :) Sunday brought some minor rain in the morning (much needed). Most of the day was cloudy, but dry. At about 3:00 on Sunday afternoon, they came through the show and told us that a storm was coming and it was ok to pack up early.

The staff and volunteers are very friendly and helpful. They understand the challenges that an artists goes through at a show and are great to work with, at the show. Thank you! We will be returning to Lincoln in 2013!

In their review,, Sunshine Artist, in their September issue, makes the following statement when talking about the five different sections that make up the St. James show:

"Each event targets different audiences by focusing on a specific style of art, from high-end art to fine craft, providing something for everyone".

Can anyone shed any light on which section focuses more on high-end art and which on fine craft?  Or which ones may lean in one direction or the other?

I probably should have asked this question prior to submitting an application but, I failed to do so.  Now that I've been accepted, I'm following up to see if I applied to the right section or should have done something different.

So, it now becomes an academic question but, I can't help but wonder.  But, should I do poorly, perhaps I can blame it on the fact that I was in the wrong section.  And, if I'm in the right section and still do poorly, I may just have to blame it on my work.  Heaven forbid that that could ever be the issue!

November 10-15
St. Joseph, Michigan
Artisan Market 2012
(formerly known as the HollyMarket)
Krasl Art Center
Hours: 10:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Presented by the Krasl Art Center
100 exhibitors
Deadline: Tuesday, September 4

This juried indoor fine art & craft fair is a unique venue with a long standing history and many dedicated and loyal customers.  Art work is displayed in the Krasl Art Center's three museums galleries.  A special team of artists transform the galleries into a beautiful and tempting artist market. 

Artists, who are accepted, may either ship or drop off their art work at the Krasl Art Center for display.  The artists are not present for the show, making the Artisan Market extremely easy to participate in; apply, ship/deliver and relax.  The Krasl Art Center takes a 30% commission on all items sold at the Artisan Market. 

To bring people to the Art Center during this event we also feature a "Soup's On" lunch each weekday offering homemade soup, bread and dessert to our shoppers for a minimal cost. 

We have made some changes for 2012 with the goal of  expanding our artist base in order to offer new and fresh art to our loyal patrons:

• It is our experience that jewelry and fine crafts have been more successful than fine art. The best selling items tend to be in the $10.00 to $50.00 price range.  
• We have additionally changed name of the event from HollyMarket to Artisan Market 2012 as a reflection of the breadth of art available.
• The Artisan Market opens on the evening of Friday, November 9, 2012 with an event premiere which includes, shopping, wonderful appetizers, wine from local wineries and live music.  Party tickets are available to the public for $25.00 per person.  Artists are invited to attend at no charge as our guests of honor.

        Please apply today through our web site http://www.krasl.org/fall_art_event.php the application process is managed through EntryThingy.  The application fee is $6.00.  There is no booth fee.

We invite you to "like" our Krasl Art Center Facebook page.

For further information please contact:
Sara Shambarger, Director of Art Fairs
Krasl Art Center, 707 Lake Blvd., St. Joseph, MI. 49085
www.krasl.org, sshambarger@krasl.org, 269-983-0271

Collingswood was the worst show I ever attended that was booked as a craft show.  Most was b/s.  Flea Market would have been a better title.

I have done 3 shows with this promoter and I will never do them again.  More and more b/s with each show.  

Surprisingly, the 3 art jewelers I saw said they did well.  Heck, they had no competition. 

I live just outside of the Philadelphia area.  I have done Rittenhouse Square in Philly and am doing Gracie Square Art show in NYC in September.  I'm currently looking for a show for the winter/spring to close the gap between mow and June.  Does anybody know of a indoor/outdoor show around the northeast worthwhile other than Art Expo?  Preferably one that does not carry crafts, only fine art.

Anyone out there use a Ipod Touchscreen with The Square?  I know it needs WiFi so I was wondering if it was good to use at an art fair?  I'm thinking not because of that but would like to know if anyone does use an Ipod with it and what they thought about it.

Well, you all can blame Connie for this blog.

She has been at me relentlessly, to show my surgical scar.  So here it is.

I am 32 pounds lighter than when i went in for the procedure, and a better person for it.  Before, I was a walking time bomb, I could have keeled over at any minute and found myself for eternity locked into Purgatory with Rosie O'Donnell.

Anybody that tells you these kind of operations are a piece of cake, has obviously never been thru one.

You learn to take it one day at a time, it is a steady battle towards recovery.  You claim little victories like being able to bend over and put both legs thru your openings in your shorts.

You learn to juggle taking about nine varieties of pills, some twice a day, some are huge like my potassium pill, it could almost choke a horse.

You revel with little victories like now I can climb in and out of my van without using the little footstool.

Every extra minute you can claw out of a long walk is a victory for you.  On August 10, ten days after surgery I was able to walk for  ten minutes.  Yesterday, 13 days later and 23 days since surgery, I walked 28 minutes.  I hope to do 30 minutes today.  It is going up near the nineties today, so humidity is no friend of mine.  So Ellen and I are going to Sams Club and while I shop for some food I am going to walk up and down each aisle and all around the store til I hit the 30-minute mark.  It will be in A/C rather than humidity--how's that for a good plan.

The hardest part about this recovery is getting a full nite's sleep.  So far that is an elusive beast.  Other "Zipper Club" members I have talked to say it is a common problem for most.  Eventually you get back to normal, whenever that will be.

I feel stronger each day and can't wait to get back to doing a show. I will be exhibiting at Arts,Eats and Beats on Labor Day weekend, booth 42.

I have Ellen as my driver, I have help in setting up and tearing down the booth.  Me, I just gotta sit there in my chair and ask for the money, and believe me, I know how to do it.

I wonder if someone can suggest an indoor art show mid-Nov through 1st weekend in Dec. that might still be taking applications.  If you know of outdoor shows I'll consider that but the weather can be so unpredictable - and that always affects sales.

I live just outside of Austin and have been traveling to Houston / Dallas and surrounding Austin area.  I'm open to other cities - and would like some ideas.  A great show somewhere in Central Texas would be fabulous too.

The shows that I have been doing on those weekends no longer seem to generate my type of client traffic.  My client is more of a fashion client (yup I do original clothing designs in jackets, shirts, scarves, etc.).    I sell to a mix of women from their late 20's to older women - had a lady in her 70's buy from me earlier this Spring.   Usually I do well in a more 'fine art show' that also allows fine 'craft'.

Thanks for your ideas,

Sue Foss

sue@fossions.com

fossions.com

This was our 3^rd year in a row participating in this festival and probably our last.   Results varied greatly for artists, other AFI’ers that were there included David Forster who had a good show, Lisa Foster who didn’t have a good show and we were somewhere in between.  Temperatures for the weekend were above average, making the booths very toasty inside.  There are not many spots in this show that receive much shade, certainly very few that would have shade for the entire day.

So why were we here?  You would think after 2 years we would have decided if the show was worth it for us or not.  2 years ago this was a surprise show for us, with $185 booth fee, 2 days with really short hours (10-6 and 10-4) and much higher than expected sales results, one of our best 2 day shows ever, it was a “no brainer” to return in 2011.  However, 2011 was a weird year for this show, the S&P had just downgraded US Debt, Wall Street went on a roller coaster the week before this show and I think we saw the impact of that.  Most of our buyers at this show are either tourists or the people who own vacation homes in the area.  In 2011 with the Wall Street roller coaster, they weren’t buying.   We left Sandpoint with a profit, but not much of a profit by the time you factor in an extra week of staying in Idaho at a local campground and the extra camping fees with the show not providing free camping for RVs.  We did receive one custom order after the show for a large necklace so that made it into a “barely mediocre” show for 2011.  So, we decided to try one more time and see which year was really the anomaly, 2010 or 2011??

The result?  Average. Yep, 2 days broiling in the booth and we hit the exact average (within $30) of the previous 2 years.  So, will we do this one again? Probably not, unless we decide to combine it with a family visit and that will be a conscious decision knowing that the end results for sales and profit are likely to be less than what we determine to be satisfactory.  My aunt and uncle retired to this area and I have cousins and their kids in the area now so it makes it really easy to combine a family visit with a show. However, it’s not really worth an extra week on the road for us at this time.

Quality at this show is all over the board, good artists, buy and sell that somehow gets in, and some very "crafty" items that don't seem like they really belong.  A lot of booths with a theme that is appropriate for furnishing mountain or lake homes.  We were next to a booth selling bonsai with lots of "hand crafted" garden decor items, I'm sure I've seen some of those same decor items in the local stores.   Of course she had fantastic sales and ended the show with a 2K wholesale order.   Sometimes it makes us think we're in the wrong business!

A few more details: 

Load in/Load out:  This is one of the most grueling load in / load outs we have.  Booth assignments are not sent in advance so you don’t know where to park in the Marina parking lot.  Load in on Friday is 4-6PM, the hottest time of the afternoon.  You have to hand dolly everything to your booth spot. After 2 years of hand trucking everything across the park, we lucked out this year with one of the booth assignments that borders the parking area.  The lot was full when we arrived, so we went to MickDuff’s Brewery for an early dinner, a cold beverage and by the time we returned at 6:15 we were able to back into a parking spot 2 spots away from our booth. Easiest load in we’ve ever had at this show, but yeah, it was still hot.  Load out, same issue, starts at 4 PM when it’s really hot.  We were about 75% done with our tear down when I noticed that the car parked immediately behind our booth was leaving.  I stood in the parking spot while my husband brought the truck around and we ended up with a relatively easy load out with the truck 10 feet behind the booth.  So, it was a much easier load out than usual, not having to haul everything over what can be a very bumpy ground.

Artist Ammenities:

Coffee and muffins in the morning, if you got there early enough, as they seemed to run out really early on Sunday.  Booth sitters were available.

This was our 4^th time in 6 years participating in this show in Coeur d’Alene ID.  The show is the first weekend of August and can be very warm and this year Sunday seemed especially hot as the temperatures came close to the triple digit mark.  I reviewed this show last year, not a lot has changed other than our results.   I really can’t explain why, but by the end of this show we had our highest ever numbers at Art on the Green.  Maybe it was because we skipped the shows in Spokane this year and it was the first time we’ve been to this area in a year. 

http://www.artfairinsiders.com/profiles/blogs/coeur-d-alene-art-on-the-green

Load in and load out really didn’t change from last year’s write up.  I didn’t see as many volunteers this year, but maybe that’s just because we were busier than last year so I might not have noticed any of them checking to see if we needed a booth sitter.  I also know I didn’t spend much time wandering this year, another sign that we were busier.

Sales on Friday started a little slow but we had a very steady afternoon and by Friday night had covered booth plus expenses which for us is just gas and meals since we tow a travel trailer and they offer free onsite camping.  Saturday sales started early and were fast and furious the first 4 hours of the show then slowed down as the temperatures climbed.  We had a small rush of sales early evening and ended the day with our single best sales day we’ve ever had at Art on the Green.  Sunday was HOT!  Not sure what the official temperature was, but our thermometer in the booth  was showing 97. Crowd was small, sales were slow and ended as our slowest sales day of the show.  Overall, we were still pleased with the results and most likely will be back to this show.

It was also fun to see AFI’ers David Forster and Dennis Brady.  We’re seeing David at several shows this year and it’s always fun to hear Dennis’ perspective on shows in this area as it is his home base. 

Word of caution for those of you considering the other shows in town this weekend (the show in the park or the Street Fair), all weekend we were hearing very negative reports from artists at both shows and know a few artists who have done the show in the park for a few years and have sworn they won’t return as they’ve continued to see the other 2 shows go downhill.  This town really cannot support 3 shows in one weekend and think that all the artists are going to have a reasonable rate of return.

Thanksgiving Weekend, November 24 - 25

Wilmington, North Carolina

Wilmington Convention Center 

Saturday & Sunday, 10 am - 5 pm

presented by Holiday Art Shows

100 exhibitors

Deadline - September 7   

Barry Bernstein Makes the Sale

Please join us for the Wilmington Art & Craft Show,

Thanksgiving weekend in Wilmington NC. This is a carefully juried, fine art and fine craft celebration of the arts.

100  talented artists and craftsmen in varying mediums such as fiber arts,  jewelry, glass, mixed media, painting, pottery, photography, sculpture,  and wood will be invited to become exhibitors. 

We  are excited to offer you this premier event which takes place in the  heart of downtown Wilmington during the festive holiday season. 

Show Highlights:

• Reasonable booth fees
• Overnight security
• Easy drive up load and unload
• Free artist parking nearby
• Extensive marketing campaign 
• Artist friendly, knowledgeable staff
• Free postcards for your customers
• Friday set-up 
• By artists for artists  

Holiday  Art Shows offers three options for submitting your application; please  choose whichever is most convenient and comfortable for you. 

1. Holiday Art Shows Online Application - http://www.holidayartshows.com/online-application.html  
2. Zapplication.org - https://www.zapplication.org/index.php 
3. Print and mail application - http://www.holidayartshows.com/support-
   files/application.pdf 

Media  campaign includes: television, cable, regional newspapers and specialty  publications, billboards, NPR radio, posters, flyers, banners,  postcards and social networking.  

Sponsored by: 

WECT- TV, Encore Magazine, The Penguin - 98.3 fm

We look forward to receiving your application!  

www.WilmingtonArtShow.com

www.HolidayArtShows.com/application.pdf

Lynn Wettach, Show Director

lynn@holidayartshows.com

Phone: (904) 794-0084

Subtitle:  Don’t rely just on the word of other artists

I will start out by letting you know that I am on a bit of a rant right now due to feeling grumpy after another artist, who called to ask advice on shows, also “chewed me out” for recommending a show last year that for us was great, for her this year, not so great.   A lot of the new artists I meet are unaware of the various websites that post show info.  Some of them seem to rely entirely on other artists or ZAPP for new show ideas for future months or future years.  Over the past year  I’ve seen several newbies at shows I would not have expected to see them at and they seem surprised when their results are less than what they expected or they tell me about a particular show and complain about how bad it was.  I even got asked by one artist why I didn’t warn her about a particular show.  Well, she didn’t ask about the shows I thought were bad, she only asked about shows  I thought she should consider.   

As has been stated on this site numerous times, as people are asking advice on shows, each artist needs to do their homework including:

• Searching AFI, both the discussions and the blogs
• Searching Art Show reviews
• Searching AFSB if you have a subscription
• Searching the Sunshine Artist Forum
• Reviewing any other art / craft subscriptions you have
• Talking to other artists
• Searching other Internet sites for any input, even if it’s just the local paper giving some idea of attendance, events, parking, etc.
• Review the demographics of the area, number of expected attendees
• See if there are other “big events” scheduled for the same weekend – example: does the show clash with the annual cross state football game, etc.
• Look at previous artists if they are listed on the events website – does your work fit?

Once you make a decision, own your decision. I understand, it sometimes feels like a roll of  the dice, a lot of factors are out of our control such as weather, Wall Street, etc.    Shows also change over the years.  We all know what it’s like to do a show that didn’t meet expectations.  Whatever you do, if you haven’t done your homework, don’t pass the blame to the artist who told you about the show.  

Any other “homework” ideas?  I’m sure I’ve missed something, but I’m about ready to email the list to this other artist and ask her to please do her own homework!  I don’t mind sharing info but I don’t need a rude call that managed to distract me from important stuff, like taxes.  LOL, usually I enjoy a distraction from taxes but today’s distraction was most unwelcome.

Some of my earliest summer memories are of the time I spent with my family in Rehoboth Beach, DE, so I was happy to finally have a chance to do the 39th Annual Rehoboth Art League Members' Outdoor Show.  It's one that many of my Northern customers have been urging me to do for several years now.

It's a one-or two-weekend show (your choice), and although all Art League members can apply, you do have to be juried in.  (It's your choice whether to exhibit at one weekend or both.  If you're juried in, your choice in honored.)  Even cooler, those who choose to show both weekends can leave their tents up for the entire time.  Convenient!  You can't ask for a prettier setting (the RAL buildings are listed in the National Historic Register, and the terrain is surprisingly hilly and tastefully landscaped).

The locals are a mix of year-round residents (mostly retirees), seasonal visitors who live in surrounding Rehoboth Beach, Lewes, and other Delaware seashore communities, and short-term visitors from Pennsylvania, DC, and Maryland.  This isn't a day-tripper crowd; it's a sophisticated art show crowd that knows what they're viewing, come to buy, and are anxious to engage with the artists.  Many of them come year after year to visit and purchase at this show.  A well-organized shuttle runs patrons back and forth from the K-mart on busy Ocean Highway to the art show grounds, where they pay a $5 admission for the weekend. 

The show quality is outstanding, and leans heavily toward 2-D artists, although a few fine jewelers and other fine craftspersons exhibited, too.  Nary a buy-sell booth on the grounds, as near as I could tell. 

Setup was a Friday event, for the most part, although as a concession (one supposes) to locals who like to walk their dogs before and after work without a lot of hubbub, you couldn't arrive before 8:30 a.m. and you had to be off the grounds by 4:30.  You couldn't beat the artists' amenities:  Free coffee, fruit and pastries each morning, a tasty lunch delivered to your booth on schedule if you ordered it, and an artist dinner each Saturday night hosted by a local homeowner. Local residents volunteered their extra parking spaces (and several large lots) for artist parking. 

This isn't an inexpensive show to do, if you were selling. The RAL handles all transactions (flawlessly) and takes 25% off the top for their trouble.  Each artist gets a triplicate-form sales book.  When a purchase is made, the artist fills out the sales information and the buyers' name/address/email, their name and booth number, and then hands all three slips to the customer, who pays at their choice of several cashier locations, then returns with paid receipts in hand to pick up their artwork.  The League delivered Week 1 commission checks to each artist on Saturday of Week 2 if you were still around; otherwise they were mailed speedily.   Although I had never done a commission show before and had some trepidation going in, their system worked perfectly, and I enjoyed being freed up from having to handle sales transactions for a change. 

How were sales?  One of the best shows I've ever had:  Fourteen large Gallery Wraps sold over two weekends, and well over $6500 in revenue.  That'll pay for a couple of plane tickets to Florida, for sure.  And after a bleak-to-middling string of shows since I killed 'em at Mainsail in April, it was good to see lots of packages heading out the door. Best of all, I had a great time plugging into the local art scene and getting to know the local artists.  Good karma abounded:  I struck up a conversation with an illustrator across the green from me, and discovered that she was living in the same house (near Reading, PA) that I'd lived in when I was a 5-year-old.  (My old playroom is now her studio space.)  The odds on THAT ever happening are beyond what I know how to calculate!  She has promised me a house tour next month when I'm in that area again.  And I enjoyed a long reunion with my old photography partner, Kathleen Buckalew, with whom I teamed up 30 years ago for a photo tour of Ireland and Wales and a number of gallery exhibits thereafter.  We hadn't seen each other since 1987 when I moved to Denver!

As for this weekend: On to Seawall in Portsmouth, VA--another first-time show for me.  Let's hope the run of good karma continues.

It's amazing how many times new AFI members come online to ask the most basic questions….
So here I've tried to summarize many of the repetitive questions that are asked on this forum with the best answers that apply to each.

Question 1)  Which tent should I buy?  
Answer)  One that will keep you and your product safe and dry. (Anything more specific requires knowledge of your medium, products, need for ease of setups/takedown, type of walls you have/will purchase, your physical abilities/disabilities, life expectancy of the tent, and most of all "your budget".)

Question  2)  How much cash should I bring for change?  
Answer)  Enough so you have gas money to get home

Question 3) How many prints of each image should I bring to a show?  
Answer) The amount you will sell, according to your crystal ball.  No one in the universe of art shows can predict what product "they" can sell themselves, much less "you" at  a given show, much less on that particular weekend.

Question 4) Has anyone done the xxx show and what are the expected revenues?
Answer) If you have to ask this question, be sure to read question number 2.

Question 5) Why don't more artists not share their revenue information?
Answer) Because it nobody's business.

Question 6) Why can't you believe Sunshine Artist show rankings?
Answer) Because it has no worthwhile information.  It's content is only used to sell magazines.

Anyone want to add to the list or offer alternative answers?

September 7-9 Zapplication is sponsoring an arts festival conference and they kindly gave me a pass to run for a contest. We asked people to leave comments on why they wanted to attend and received some wonderful stories. Thanks to all who participated.

Then we asked you to vote for the winner. The winner is John Stillmunks of W. Des Moines, Iowa. Congratulations, Munks! You convinced our voters you should be there and I look forward to seeing you in Chicago.

See Munks' winning entry and the others also: http://www.artfairinsiders.com/profiles/blogs/win-a-free-conference-pass-to-the-zapplication-conference-in-chic

Here is the agenda for anyone else interested in attending: http://www.regonline.com/builder/site/tab2.aspx?EventID=1106955

Today I took the time to read the Advocacy document from NAIA (I just joined on Monday) and it is FABULOUS!  I feel like I just took a crash course in Art Fair Producing! I love the idea of having an Artist Advisory Committee as outlined in the document.  We currently have artists on our Board of Directors, but they are not ones who are currently showing at art fairs.  I feel like all who commented on my first blog post have become my Advisory committee, but I have sent the document to my entire Board, today, and have asked them to read it in order to improve our Faire for our Artists!

If you have not taken the time to read it, it is so valuable for Art Fair Producers and Artists alike.  You can find it at https://naia-artists.org/advocacy.php. 

Hope you all have a great Art Fair to go to this weekend and best wishes for selling lots of ART!

To all jewelry artists, I need your opinion.  I create seaglass jewelry which for the most part I set in sterling

silver.  I make my own bezels, cuffs, bails, etc.  Those are my high end items.  They run from $75.00 to $495.00.

All those items are in cases.  I also have lower end items which are mainly drilled seaglass that I incorporate with sterling silver findings.  I have items that run from $5.00 to $69.00.  Those items are displayed on velvet covered tables in dishes of rice or shells.  People like to touch, so those items are accessible to the customers.  I have often wondered if I am hurting myself as an artist to be carrying the smaller, less expensive items, does anyone have an opinion on this.  Also, what are people's thoughts on having everything except a few items in cases?  I would appreciate other artists opinions on this.  Many thanks,

Ron

Each year subscribers to Sunshine Artist send in ballots from the magazine ranking their 10 top-selling shows. On these ballots they indicate their gross income for each of the shows. No other influence is used to determine the winning shows. The staff simply applies the math to determine each event's score. This year nearly 1000 shows received votes and the top 200 with the highest scores were ranked.

This is entirely a subscriber based ranking. So, if you're not a subscriber you had no input. The results of every poll, no matter what the subject matter, are open to discussion and questioning, nonetheless you can't argue with the facts:

• subscribers only vote

• gross income only is used for the rankings

Congratulations to these Top 20 shows:

1. St. James Court Art Show, Louisville, KY
2. Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, State College, PA
3. Art on the Square, Belleville, IL
4. Cherry Creek Arts Festival, Denver, CO
5. Port Clinton Arts Festival, Highland Park, IL
6. Bayou City Arts Festival Memorial Park, Houston, TX
7. Coconut Grove Arts Festival, Coconut Grove, FL
8. One of a Kind Show and Sale, Chicago, IL
9. Naples National Art Festival, Naples, FL
10. La Quinta Arts Festival, La Quinta, FL
11. Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair, Ann Arbor, MI
12. Art in the Glen, Glenview, IL
13. Downtown Festival & Art Show, Gainesville, FL
14. Bayou City Art Festival Downtown, Houston, TX
15. Rio Grande Arts & Crafts Festival Balloon Fiesta Show, Albuquerque, NM
16. Sausalito Art Festival, Sausalito, CA
17. Plaza Art Fair, Kansas City, MO
18. Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival, Winter Park, FL
19. Allentown Art Festival, Buffalo, NY
20. Krasl Art Fair on the Bluff, St. Joseph, MI

A disappointing show is not enough to make me re-think my trinket philosophy, but a discussion with a fellow AFI-er may have come up with a compromise.

First, the show. Arts in the Gardens, Canandaigua, NY. (Finger Lakes region). There is no shortage of shows in this area and they run the gamut from stick art to fine art and everything in between. The settings are usually lovely which has little to do with sales. This is one of the better ones, with an awesome organization, amenities, etc. But there are drawbacks. A substantial gate fee and the secluded setting come to mind, so the attendance is affected, but this show is well-juried (is that a real term?) and the attendees are serious. Or one would think.

My sales were below average, even with the sales of my entire rack of journals to one person. (I hope this keeps happening to me.) Some folks had a really good day, many were disappointed. The artist dinner with the bottomless wine glasses helped a bit.

So, Sunday morning a member of this group stopped by to say Hi and talk about my "no more trinkets" post. I don't like to use names without permission. She is a wonderful jeweler with distinctive designs. And somehow, in our talks, the idea of putting scans or photos of my collage on cards came up. Selling them as reproductions of original work just might be a money maker.

Eureka. I paced the show looking at the different ways other artists did this.

My collage all use quotes on them, so they translate perfectly to cards. And once I get the image looking good and choose the right settings to print them, they looked pretty nice. Well, good enough to try them out this weekend. If they sell, I'll figure out a way to do it better. Right now I'm printing them on heavy mixed media paper, using our home photo printer, but we do have a professional grade printer in house and my guy has a camera that would have paid our mortgage for several months. I may put him to work. I used spray mount to attach them to card stock.

They will reflect the work I really like to do and will not be the time-consuming operation of creating teeny collages for 5 bucks.

And if I sell even 25 of them I'll have some gas money for our upcoming vacation. Enough to get me from Buffalo to, say, South Buffalo. Maybe enough for one night at a Motel 6.

I'll report back Monday. I really hope this works. I hate sleeping in rest areas.