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Anticipation and excitement are at an all time high as events are slowly returning and businesses are beginning to reopen. Yet after more than a year of uncertainty, you may be feeling lost in your creativity. You are not alone—many artists, crafters, and tradesmen are unsure of how to navigate “the new normal” our society is embracing. 

Instead of seeing this time of change and adaptation as limiting, see it as your opportunity to rediscover, reconnect, rebuild, and refocus as an artist.

Rediscover: Ignite Your Inspiration

Creating is what you do, so when you lack inspiration it can feel devastating. Even the best artists and crafters hit roadblocks in their creativity. Take a step back and look at the bigger picture of your business. Setting goals can often inspire you to start working toward them. You can also create a mood board for your business or an upcoming project. Gather images, color swatches, graphics, quotes, and more that inspire and speak to the bigger picture.

Making a change in your creative process can help you discover new ways to bring your vision to life. Try learning a different technique or working with a new medium. You may be surprised at where your creativity takes you when you are given a different set of tools to work with.

Inspiration and new perspective often comes from working with another person. Phone a friend and plan a time to collaborate on projects together. Come prepared with some ideas or projects you need help with. Share your goals for the piece and be open to any new ideas they may have.

Reconnect: Find a Show

With summer in full swing and the holiday season approaching, now is the time to start signing up for events. However, the way you operate may be slightly different than years past due to COVID-19. Fewer spots may be available to accommodate social distancing, products may be unavailable to sample, and contactless payment (no cash or check transactions) may be required. It is important to read all of the guidelines when signing up for an event, or double checking with the show managers. 

In order to attend an event, you will need to purchase artist insurance. Whether you are an artist, crafter, or tradesman, show managers will require a Certificate of Insurance before you can participate. Consider ACT Insurance, who offers top-rated coverage for both annual and show policy insurance for artists.

Annual Policy—$265

• General Liability Insurance
• Product Liability Insurance
• Business Personal Property Insurance (equipment, supplies, & inventory) 
• Personal & Advertising Injury

Show Policy—$49

• Coverage options including 1-3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or up to 90 days
• General Liability Insurance
  

Already purchased an Annual Policy? Be sure to renew your policy each year to ensure you stay eligible to attend events!

Some events may require you to have additional certification or permits, such as a sales tax license or a permit to sell in that particular area. These requirements most likely are listed on your application to register. If you are traveling to an event, make sure you are complying with local, county, and state laws. 

Another important part of event insurance is having additional insureds. Many event organizers will require they be added as an additional insured, meaning they are added to your policy. In the case of accidental bodily injury or property damage caused by you, your booth, products, or employees, both your business and the show organizers may be protected from claims.

Consider attending an event with another artist. This allows you to reach a new audience and make connections with other businesses in your area or field of expertise. It also gives you the chance to attend a distant event and cut down on travel costs. 

Rebuild: Try a New Look

If you feel like your business needs some refreshing, try a rebrand. This could be refreshing your logo, updating your branding color, or changing your packaging. Sometimes a small change can have a big impact on how your business is perceived.

Before attending an event, take a moment to reevaluate your booth display. Maybe you have new products to share or you want to guide a customer through in a certain way. How you set up a display influences how likely someone is to make a purchase. Do you have clear signage? Is your brand well-represented? Is there something enticing that draws a potential customer in? Try having a friend or family member look at your display and give you feedback.

Take a look at some of your favorite pieces or best selling items. They resonate with you and your customers for a reason! Try redesigning a popular product in a new way. This gives previous customers a reason to buy from you again, increasing your sales. Consider adapting a piece for a holiday, season, sports team, or major event.

Refocus: Make Your Business More Social

Is your business on social media? If not, there is a huge market and opportunity for you to do sales in a new way. Instagram is a great platform to start on because of the visual aspect. If you focus more on local sales, Facebook Marketplace is valuable in connecting you with your community. Both offer unique sellers tools available to allow individuals to communicate with and buy from you directly through the app. This could extend your reach to individuals before, during, and after your event.  

Growing your following on social media can sometimes be tricky. Just posting photos or links is not enough to engage most users online. Video content is growing in popularity and peaks interest in your brand. Try taking a behind the scenes video of your workspace or sharing a timelapse of your work process. Instagram Stories has engagement features that allow viewers to vote on polls, submit questions to you, and react to posts. These allow you to better connect with your audience and offer the chance to cross promote your work with other businesses. 

Looking to increase foot traffic at an upcoming event? Share that you will be there on your social media. This informs followers of the event and inspires them to attend. You can even have customers mention a social media post to receive a discount.

Take Time to Reflect

Even if your business never “closed,” this time of reopening allows you to reassess where your business is at. Will you take the opportunity to return to in-person business transactions? Or maybe you want to start taking your previously all online business to in-person events. Regardless of how you currently operate, riding the waves of change has likely impacted your business and the way you create. 

So go ahead and ask yourself, “How am I going to reopen?”

Planning on attending an upcoming event? ACT Insurance offers insurance for artists and crafters, as well as a wide variety of other trades. Find the right insurance for festivals today.

I have been invited to the Anna Marie Gardens Art Festival (which I have never done) and also to Neptune on the same weekend (which I have done) I am debating about doing the Anna Marie Gardens instead of Neptune, can anyone comment on this?  I make fine silver jewelry.

September 24 - 26
Ferndale, Michigan
Friday 3pm-7:30pm
Saturday 10am-7:30pm  
Sunday 11am-6pm
100 artists
Deadline: June 25

Application fee: $25; Booth fees start at $355

Best for non-traditional work in all mediums, under $750, jewelry and fiber. 

As an artist or crafter, you’ve put a lot of effort into making certain that you are prepared for the shows you attend. However, dealing with other vendors and even your potential customers can cause a lot of frustration once you're there. Make sure you're prepared mentally by checking out our list of five things at fairs that drive artists and crafters crazy:

1) OVERLY CHATTY NEIGHBORS

Fairs, shows, and festivals are intended to be a gathering place where you can meet new people, network, sell your goods, and just have fun. Often you see many of the same vendors from one fair to the next. With that being said, some vendors at fairs just don’t know how much talking is too much.

Most of the time you’ve gone through an application process and paid to be there, so you want to be sure you make the most of the opportunity. However, it’s frustrating when there is a “chatty kathy” who sells homemade honey at the booth next to you and she keeps distracting you. Trying to politely excuse yourself so you can engage a potential customer before they move past your booth can be a struggle.

2) CUSTOMERS WHO LIKE BARGAINING

This might be one of the worst things about selling at a fair. For some reason people think that just because you’re in a temporary location instead of a brick-and-mortar store that they should get a discount.

After putting in hours making a quality product, designing your booth, and getting ready for the show, it’s quite offensive when people come to your booth and expect you to drop your price. Odds are you’ve put a lot of thought into your pricing. You may think to yourself, “how would you like it if I asked you to lower your salary or pay for your job?”

3) THE PRICE EXCLAIMERS

You know this type of shopper like the back of your hand. They are the ones who come in and start to check the price tags on everything, or worse, bombard you with questions about how much things cost. They always seem to think that your competitively priced products are way too expensive, and they let you know it with a big sigh. Or they scoff, exclaiming that, “It costs what?! I could get it cheaper at Walmart.”

It makes you feel like saying: “No, my unique handmade items are higher quality and therefore a little more expensive than any mass produced “Walmart fall apart” product. Second, if you don’t like the price, feel free to move along.” It's no real loss to you since shoppers like these clearly don’t appreciate the time, effort, and quality materials that go into the making of your products.

4) UNRULY CHILDREN

When customers engage with your products, you get excited, but the same can’t be said when their children run rampant in your booth. A child has the uncanny ability to turn everything you’ve worked so hard to create into a pile of rubble.

Is it really too much to ask for a parent to monitor their children? If they are not up to the task of watching their child and shopping at the same time, perhaps it would be best for them to find a babysitter before the show or at least bring backup to help while they shop.

5) THE PICTURE TAKERS

While it’s true that there are many fascinating things that are created and brought to art shows and craft fairs, some people cross the line from appreciation to just plain rude. Many times this happens when someone brings a camera or pulls out their phone and just starts snapping photos.

Sure, you understand that sometimes people want input from their friends or family before they buy, but that’s not what these people are doing. These picture takers are the ones who are only there to take a massive amount of pictures and post of your work on social media or to copy your ideas for their own gain. Again, move along people.

6) FAKE CUSTOMERS

If you’re like most artists and crafters, you probably showcase your work and engage with your customers on social media. While this has the potential to drive your business and increase sales, it has also created the “craft/art show groupie.”

This is a tricky group of people. They act like (and sometimes even make you think that) they are real customers. They explain how they are your most loyal of followers on your social media or website and that they are excited to see you there. They may even engage you in the sales process by asking you about the items in your booth and telling you how great each item is. But, in the end, they lose interest and never purchase.

SHARE WITH US YOUR STORIES!

It is true that art and craft fairs and festivals should be enjoyed. However, as an artist or crafter who vends at these events, it would be nice if you could just focus your attention on those who are genuinely interested in it and serious about buying. What are some of the biggest pet peeves you've experienced while selling at a festival? Share them with us in the comments!

Can you come up with a better headline? Or perhaps we can use mine as the entire bottom line on the recent A.B. Dow Museum Summer Art Fair 2021 in Midland, Mich. It wasn’t a pleasant experience, at least for me. It was my second-worst art fair in seven years of doing shows. Here’s my short summary: The good, the bad, and the yucky.

The Good: Relatively low booth fee. Relatively easy load-in/load-out. Plenty of free water which was great when the temps were 90+. Some artists told me they had ok sales (though I didn’t see a lot of art being carried out). Traffic was decent on Saturday but seemed down by at least half on Sunday. The local newspaper described the crowd as "in the hundreds."

The Bad: It was billed as a “premiere fine art and fine craft fair.” It was not. There were some good artists there, to be sure. A fantastic ceramic tile artist and very nice pottery. Some great painters and paper artists. But the organizers also allowed in very questionable vendors and didn’t follow their own guidelines. One vendor was selling dog bandanas, for example. Another selling baby clothes. There was one booth selling bird houses with prefabricated plastic solar-panel tops and the bottoms looking like they had been dragged through a bedazzle factory. And the kicker? Stuck between a drift-wood artist and acrylic spin artist was an entire booth simply selling catnip. Catnip is not art. Keep in mind this was a juried show with a $40 fee. 

I’m not sure which art category catnip falls into. I was in Mixed Media. Perhaps catnip is Mixed Greens? The guidelines clearly say no prefab parts but on my quick survey walk, there were multiple vendors using obvious prefab mass production pieces and some blatant buy/resale. One vendor took two pieces of prefab, drilled a hole in one, and simply glued them together. Those are show killers for artists.

I’ve done this fair in the past and done ok, sometimes better than ok. It’s close to home so there are no extra expenses. And I love the arts and theater the Museum brings to the community throughout the year. It's a tremendous asset for a small city. But even with that, I’m staying away until they come up with a show that supports artists better. It’s hard enough to get buyers to pay for art in the hundreds of dollars. But when the show’s price point is eroded by $15 and $20 items (did I mention the booth selling deer antler chews for dogs?), it makes for a miserable weekend and a miserable way to support artists. It appears they let in everyone who applied – and that’s never a good sign on a show’s trajectory. Some shows improve over time; some slip. This one has slipped over the edge into the category of “I wouldn’t do again even if it were free.” I know the pandemic has made it difficult for some organizers to restart their shows, but this one sacrificed on quality which is the death knell of any serious art fair. They used to have more than 100 vendors, they struggled to get 80 this year (and far fewer on the art side of the ledger). 

Oh, almost forgot The Yucky: To put the "icing" on a really bad, hot, no-sale weekend, a seagull pooped on my hat just as I finished breaking down. It was THE most fitting ending to an art fair I’ve ever had.

How about you? What were you doing this weekend? 

September 24 - 26
Ferndale, Michigan
Downtown Ferndale
Friday 3pm-7:30pm
Saturday 10am-7:30pm 
Sunday 11am-6pm
100 artists
Deadline: June 25

Application fee: $25; Booth fees start at $355

Best for non-traditional work in all mediums, under $750, jewelry and fiber. 

Attending shows, festivals, markets, fairs, and other events throughout the year to sell your work means exposing your business to liabilities multiple times a year. As an artist, crafter, or tradesmen, you need to have the necessary coverage in place to protect against third-party liability claims that may come your way.

At ACT, we’re well-versed in the most common claims that occur at art events and want to talk about those along with something you’ll likely need to do to extend a layer of protection to your show promoter--listing an additional insured (AI).

WHAT IS AN ADDITIONAL INSURED?

In an insurance policy, an additional insured is anyone other than the policyholder who is covered by the insurance policy. Coverage may be limited to a single event or it could last for the policy's lifetime. Who you list as an additional insured on your art fair insurance policy will depend on whether or not the event promoter requires you to list them. By listing them as an AI, you extend your policy’s coverage to them in the case of a liability claim.

WHY DO I NEED TO LIST AN AI?

The main reason you’d be asked to list an additional insured on your art festival insurance policy would be to meet contract requirements. Event hosts and promoters often require their vendors to be insured because it ensures protection for their vendors and gives them peace of mind to continue running the show. In a lawsuit, the claimant will sometimes try to reach into deeper pockets by naming everyone they can think as being at fault. By listing an additional insured, the listed entity is also covered by your policy.

When an accident occurs that results in property damage or bodily injury, there is always room for a lawsuit. Check out some of our recent claims to get an idea of how things could affect you and your AI:

• During an art show, an insured had high winds pick up their tent and hit and scratch a trailer. The trailer owner decided to sue the tent renter and the event promoter to pay for the damage.
• Another insured’s tent blew over into a neighboring tent causing thousands of dollars in damage to their product. They list you and the event host as liable for the damage.
• An insured’s inventory tipped over and caused damage to a passing truck during their art fair setup. The truck owner sues you, the neighboring tents and your additional insured to pay for damages.

Without having your event promoter or host listed an additional insured, you leave them open to risk. The same goes for promoters who don’t require insured vendors—they leave themselves open risk. With art fair insurance, you and your additional insured could be protected against similar claims and not have to worry about paying for your legal fees on your own.

HOW MANY ADDITIONAL INSUREDS CAN I LIST?

ACT allows unlimited additional insureds on your policy. This means that if you travel from one market to another where the event promoters require you list them as an AI, then you can add each additional insured as needed.

DOES IT COST TO LIST ADDITIONAL INSUREDS?

No. You only need to pay for your policy premium. ACT currently offers an event-based policy for 1-90 days of consecutive coverage and an annual policy for those looking for more long-term coverage. Additional insureds do not cost extra.

Well, in this year of surprises the OTHER shoe has dropped! There will be an Ann Arbor Art Fair this summer. Surprised? Well, so am I. It seems COVID is actually waning and we've learned that being outdoors is a safe place to be. Yesterday the directors of the the collective of three events that comprise the Ann Arbor Art Fair announced "welcome to Ann Arbor". Learn more here, and here. We thank you Governor Whitmer. 

And even more good news about Ann Arbor is there are some changes:

1. There will not be 4 art fairs running concurrently, there will be 3. This was announced earlier. The South University Art Fair went out of business. The Guild of Artists and Artisans has picked up some of their real estate on East University, but the huge sprawl is over.

2. The show will be 3 days long, not 4! Instead of Thursday-Saturday (which it was for many years), instead of (in more recent years) from Friday-Sunday it will be held on Thursday-Saturday, this year on July 15-17. 

Why is this good? Buyers will not be exhausted by the expanse and maybe will be able to see all of it (?), the quality will be higher because there will no longer be 1200 artists, and for artists the high overhead for being present will be diminished -- which we're hoping means better profits. Right?

What else this week? Another shocker:

Sausalito Art Festival canceled over relocation of homeless camp. Yep! You read that correctly. Here's the rest of the story: https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/sausalito-art-festival-2021-canceled

Wyandotte (MI) officials reverse decision and will host their 60th annual art fair. Most artists and crafters attend both shows, so one show impacts the other. The Ann Arbor fair organizers recently changed course, and when that ... learn more

It was with great trepidation that the Winter Park Sidewalk Arts Festival, usually held in mid-March, delayed its event to hold it in mid May this year. May, all the snowbirds are gone and it is hot, hot, hot and may I say a little steamy also? Yuck! Who would come?

Drum roll please .... they came!! and they bought!! Click here for photographer Nels Johnson on what to his wondering eyes appeared. 

Just one of the reasons artists love Winter Park is the multitude of prizes and the size them. The artists compete for a total of 63 awards with prize money totaling $74,500 and, the best prize of all, an invitation to the 2022 festival.

My informant Alice Moulton, long time PR Chair for the festival reported to me: