I'm looking for some light weight artists' chairs.  They need to be foldable and not very wide after folding since we put everything in the back of our Forester when we travel.  A few years ago IKEA had just what I'm looking for.  I saw them at an art fair.  They have been discontinued! Anyone have any suggestions?  The chairs that I see that are made of wood are too wide when folded.  Thanks in advance for your help.

Well, it was my best art show, in Florida, for the last 41 years.  That is saying a lot.

This is a very hard show to jury in.  For example, I got in 1983 and 1984.  Thought I had it made.  Well, I got juried out the next 27 years. Got in in 2012 and finally got back in in 2020, then rolled over to this year.

That is a hell of a lot of rejections.  And, I always sent new work every year.

On the other hand, my esteemed and dearly-loved wife, Ellen Marshall, has been in over 10 times.  I guess they love beautiful blondes.  Just kidding.  She got in because she had dynamic pastel images that read well with the jury.

We should all take Jurying Seminar with Ellen.  Be sure to wear your best blonde wigs.

Now, on with the show.

This is a three day show.  Most setup in the park on Thursday. Street booths set up early Friday morn.  Show starts at nine.

When we heard the show was moved to midMay rather then March, we all felt, “Oh shit! We are screwed. Snowbirds gone, sweltering heat, we will be lucky to do half the usual.

Because of that exact feeling I rented a booth and wall panels from Tents4Events for $300.  Money well spent.  I showed up and hung my workin less than two hours. At teardown I was out in less than an hour.

Added bonus.  We had the coolest temps ever, for a May show.  Never went over 81 degrees.  I shivered in the morns but the crowds came in record numbers.

Friday started slowly, by 10 am crowds were steady with cooling breezes keeping us happy.

Fridays are always the slowest days for sales and this was no exception.

Patrons were well dressed and on the elderly side.

Most were enthused and just happy to be out at a social event.

The show gave us all generous ten foot spacing between booths.SIGNS WERE POSTED BY THE SHOW TELLING PATRONS AND ARTISTS TO BE MASKED when inside the booth(sorry for the all caps, fricking finger). Majority abided.  I had hand sanitizer there. Very few used it, but they did wear their masks.  I used the sanitizer every time I touched a credit card or handled fresh cash (Fresh cash,what a concept,I wonder which aisle would have it at the supermarket).

Not many people walked with freshly bought art in hand, maybe they had it all delivered to their homes, kinda like takeout pizza.

I was barely able to sell $500 for the day.  I was not alone.

The overall feeling of the artists was they were happy to be out there selling and seeing friends.  For many, this was their first show in a year.

We were all rolled-over artists from 2020. There were some empty spots which was strange.  I guess the show chose not to call any from the waitlist.  A little odd for a major show.

Saturday.

Cooling breezes and chilly temps greeted us that morn.  I loved it.

Crowds were out early at 9 am, people were buying right away.  Also, I was seeing the faces of younger, well dressed couples.

Winter Park is a wealthy suburb of Orlando. A lot of power brokers live here.

An architect friend of mine said he had just designed a set of condos just down the show on Park Avenue.  They were priced at $4.5 million and they flew off the shelves like baked bread.

Before the show started I walked around to get a feel from the artists about sales.I know a lotta artists just be being around the circuit for 41 years.

Their general reaction to me is something like this: “Jeez! You still around. Sally, hide the tequila.).  Then we smile and give each other a fist bump.

Every artist there is a star in their own right. 
At noon, on Saturday, I was not feeling the love.  I had not even sold one 16x20 framed photo at $175. I was sitting on less than $1200 for the whole show.

Then around 1pm things started happening.  I sold two metal photos for $1K each.

After that it was steady sales to the end.  I looked around and most of my neighbors were selling steadily.  It felt really good.

One thing about Winter Park, they have a lot of rules for artists.

I ran afoul of one of them unwittingly.

The rule says the committee reserves the right to make artists take down work if it is not in accordance with this being a family oriented show.

A Winter Park official came into my booth and told me to take down two photos that involved nudity.  (This is a family show, no nudity).

Later she came back and searched through my bins and yanked every matted photo with nudity.

Yikes! I have been censored.  Nothing I could do but comply.  Their rules.

I was one happy camper when Saturday dinner came around.

Sunday. 

Another cool morn with crowds circling early.

I circled the show early to get a feel for Saturday sales went.

Majority of artists were just happy to be out at a show, selling, and vibing with fellow artists.

The crowd started buying early and I had a repeat of Saturday sales, except they started buying earlier.

I saw one significant trend for me.  My metal photo sales made up a third of my total sales.

I only started getting photos printed on metal in December, most shows I sold two pieces.

This show I sold seven metal pieces starting at $500 and going up. I am glad I made that move.

I sold right up to end at 5pm.

I dollied out to my van and was out in one hour.  Tents4Events took care of the teardown. It was worth the $300 rental.

If Florida can hold art shows without artists getting sick, I do not see why other states can not too.

I live for shows like Winter Park, they keep me focused on improving and being a better artist.

I hope this info was helpful.  Feel free to weigh in with comments pro and con.

Later Gators.  Des Moines here I come.

Being an artist is a great life. Artists spend their careers creating and using what they create to help others see the world differently, change in positive ways, and infuse their own lives with creativity, but like any other job, being an artist comes with other worries like selling your wares, purchasing insurance, and creating an awesome online presence. Sometimes, it can be easy to forget why you wanted an artist’s life in the first place. Now more than ever, it's important to remember why you create.

HERE ARE 10 QUOTES TO REMIND YOU WHY CREATING ART IS WORTH ALL OF YOUR TIME AND DEDICATION:

1. Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time. -Thomas Merton
2. To create one’s world in any of the arts takes courage. -Georgia O’Keefe
3. Painting is a nail to which I fasten my ideas. -Georges Braque
4. What art offers is space--a certain breathing room for the spirit. -John Updike
5. Passion is one great force that unleashes creativity because if you’re passionate about something, then you’re more willing to take risks. -Yo-Yo Ma
6. Creativity takes courage. -Henri Matisse
7. If you are willing to do something that might not work, you are closer to being an artist. -Seth Godin
8. I don’t want life to imitate art. I want life to be art. -Ernst Fischer
9. I am interested in art as a means of living life; not as a means of making a living. -Robert Henri
10. The artist sees what others can only catch a glimpse of. -Leonardo Da Vinci

Why do you create?

Effective June 15, California has new “Mega Event” rules which may give us some clues of where covid restrictions are headed for art shows in California and other states as well.  According to the Orange County Register:

1. “Under the latest state guidelines, mega events that draw large crowds are broken into two categories — indoor events with more than 5,000 attendees or outdoor events with more than 10,000 people.”
2. “Outdoor mega events include theme parks, sporting events, concerts, music or food festivals, car shows, marathons and parades. Indoor mega events include sporting events, concerts, conventions and conferences.”
3. “Vaccine and negative COVID-19 test verifications are recommended for outdoor mega events and required for indoor mega events under the new Beyond the Blueprint restrictions. “
4. “Outdoor mega events are strongly recommended to verify that visitors have been fully vaccinated for coronavirus or received a recent negative COVID-19 test.”
5. “Indoor mega events are required to verify that visitors have been fully vaccinated or tested.”

Assuming that arts and crafts shows are included, these rules will apply to all large arts and crafts shows in California, and similar rules may be enacted in other states.  Which makes me wonder:

• Florida now prohibits the use of COVID-19 vaccine verification, so restricting arts and crafts fair attendees to only the vaccinated is illegal. Other states may have similar statutes or orders.  If Florida enacted California’s rules for Mega Events, the only attendees allowed into indoor shows would be those with recent negative test results.  I don’t think very many people will go to the trouble of getting a blood test in order to visit an art or crafts show.
• I wonder what “strongly recommended” means (see (4) above). Does it mean that government authorities will strongly object to shows that have no way of verifying that visitors have been fully vaccinated for coronavirus or received a recent negative COVID-19 test?  Will that include making permits difficult or impossible to obtain, or advising potential attendees to stay away?

I worry that Covid restrictions are not going away, they are just changing.  Although the new rules may make large arts and crafts shows possible without social distancing requirements, they may keep attendance so low as to not make them profitable.  That is why it would be so interesting to hear how well actual shows worked out from an artist’s perspective, such as Artisphere.

Running a business based on the art, craft, or trade you love is a big but rewarding task. Getting feedback from customers who love what you do and want to be able to purchase more is always a good sign and you’ll need to find ways to improve on the processes you follow. You’re likely hard at work creating new products, taking orders, sending them out, and doing your best to manage it all. If you have a website, when’s the last time you updated it?

ACT is here today to give you a few tips on how to best improve the website you’ve created and haven’t changed since. Plus, we’ll give you some information on how artist insurance can benefit you and your online sales through 2021.

TIP #1: UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE!

How long ago did you put up a website? Like most small business owners you may have used Wix, Weebly, Squarespace, or a similar host to get started. It’s helpful to be able to choose between various templates and feel like you’re putting a bit of your personality into the design.

Now, how long ago did you update it?

It’s okay if it’s been a while, the great thing about having a website is that you can change or customize things whenever you want.

You should make sure the template you have is still easy for visitors to navigate and find products and art you’re selling. Also you want it to look as appealing as possible. Maybe the color theme you had before doesn’t fit the vibe you're going for anymore, maybe the images of your art are too small for visitors to adequately view and consider, maybe there is a more clear way to display pricing or descriptions, or maybe your template is simply outdated and there’s a better option. Whichever the case, know that a simple redo may make a world of difference.

Now, your domain. As much as a website called “yoursmallbusiness.weebly.com” will get clicks, how much better does it look when it reads, “yoursmallbusiness.com?” Domains can be a pain, but these days they’re much easier to deal with. Each of the website hosts we listed has their own domain purchasing process which you can visit here:

• Square Domain Purchase
• Weebly Domain Purchase
• Wix Domain Purchase

You can make it easier for customers to find and remember your website by having your own domain. Plus it can show your professionalism and dedication to your business by investing in a vanity website name.

TIP #2: CREATE CONSISTENCY

If you’re not wanting to do an entire overhaul of the design on your website, we suggest you find smaller things to change in order to create better consistency as customers find your page and scroll through.

You could try:

• Formatting products similarly
• Ensuring all fonts fit together, complement each other, or are the same
• Removing old listings that no longer serve your customers
• Creating similar spacing on all pages

We know you’re not web designers, neither are we, but these are some of the easier tasks you can do to make sure things look inviting and appealing to your site’s visitors. If you want a beginner’s guide to design check out this beginner’s guide for more info.

Bonus Tip: Try to keep the number of fonts on your website to a minimum. You can play around with different weights and sizes within the same font family. But our friends at UX Planet suggest not using more than three fonts or it can make your website look unstructured or unprofessional.

All of these little items could either help or hurt your ability to sell your products or art on your website.

TIP #3: OFFER AN EMAIL LIST

If you have a website that is already doing pretty well (aka consistent visitors and sales), you like the design, you don’t really want to change anything, but are still wondering how you can improve things, consider creating an email list for your frequent customers or past customers that you hope to come back.

You’re constantly producing more art and want to showcase things to the world, with an email list you’ll be able to send out information regarding new pieces, print options, products, sales, or any other update. Maybe you’re partnering with another small business and doing a product collaboration or maybe you have surprise products that you want to hype people up for. Whatever it is, you’ll find it worthwhile to have the means to communicate with your audience.

TIP #4: CHECK OFTEN

How often are you checking your website? Are you the type of person who doesn’t look at things once you’ve put them together? As much as you can hope that you’ve set up your website to be successful, that’s not always the case. Sometimes links break, or uploaded photos don’t show up properly. You may even run into issues with your contact form no longer working properly.

We recommend you check your website yourself on a regular basis to ensure that everything is up to par with your goals. What is a regular basis? We don’t have a set rule on how often, but start small (especially if doing this isn’t in your current routine or isn’t something that you particularly like to do). You could set up a calendar reminder on your phone or computer for once a month, bi-weekly, or every quarter.

While scrolling through your website, we recommend you start with reviewing, addressing, and fixing the following items:

• Broken links
• Images that need to be updated
• Verify pricing and product descriptions
• Any formatting that has shifted

Through your website host, you’ll be able to make whatever adjustments are needed.

BONUS TIP: CARRY ARTIST INSURANCE

Did you know that as an artist, you still have some risk exposure when selling your handmade art online? And if you’re an artist who travels to shows, markets, and festivals, on a consistent basis, those risks could multiply.

With artist insurance from ACT Insurance, you provide yourself with a safety net that could provide assistance from financial fallout if you were to ever get sued. An annual insurance policy includes liability and product coverage (and other possible coverages) and is designed to protect you in the case of a third-party lawsuit that your handmade products or business operations caused someone harm.

When you’re at a show, risks can include slip-and-fall accidents in your booth that cause injury or loose material from your booth falling over and causing harm. As an online seller, you may not know that your products can also cause potential injury as you may have choking hazards you’re unaware of or sell items that cause people allergic reactions.

By carrying an artists’ insurance policy, you improve your credibility and professionalism as well as show your customers how committed you are to your business. You can buy an artist insurance policy completely online and in less than 10 minutes. ACT has simplified our application and made it easy to navigate on your own. However, if you run into any issues you can talk with our licensed agents over chat or by phone.

Don’t leave the “what ifs” to answer for themselves, put up a guard and purchase your artists insurance policy today.

Is everybody just folding up tent?

I recently posted two items that were meant to start a discussion and gather information on substantive issues we are all facing in the art fair business.  But I have not received a single comment on either post.  Perhaps you missed them as they were buried in a sea of “Tent for sale” posts that now dominate this board.

We used to have excellent discussions and reports on this board.  Why, at this moment in time when we are faced with more existential questions than ever, is there no interest in sharing information and discussing important changes and challenges?  Is it because everyone on this board is folding up tent and quitting the business? 

Or are some of us still trying to make it work?  If so, let’s talk.

Here are some existential topics begging for reports and discussion:

• Covid restrictions: Some fairs are restricting traffic, requiring face masks, requiring vaccination, spacing booths apart, not allowing more than two people to be in a booth at the same time, etc.  Are these rules keeping your customers away?  Did you know about them before you set up?  Were they enforced?  Can you make money under these rules?
• Is the art fair business copying the cruise industry in asking for up-front cash payments for events that may not take place or may be rescheduled, and for which you may or may not get your money back or get “future cruise credits” for instead? Are some art fairs in 2021 pretending to jury in new applicant while rolling over all 2020 invitees?  Which promoters are most likely to go under with our booth fees in their pockets?  How can we prevent that?  Escrow accounts?  Are promoters collecting booth fees for events that they do not yet have all of the permissions for?  Should they be required to tell us when that is the case?
• Are suburbanites still willing to go downtown for an art fair in this era of social strife and exploding urban murder rates? Any sign that art fairs could be targeted?  Is art fair security being compromised when there is a demonstration in another part of the same city?

You probably have more topics like this.  What would be most useful would be reports from people who have experiences with these topics that they can report on, rather than just opinions.

Well, the shoe has finally dropped! It is with great sadness I'm reporting that the 2021 Ann Arbor Art Fair has been canceled. I live in the Midwest and have been involved in the art fair business since 1978, and have attended it every year since 1976.

If your history is similar to mine you understand the importance of this event in even establishing the art fair business. It has been THE show to do for thousands of artists for many years. Many 100's of 1000's of people see it as a centerpiece of their summer. Chartered buses brought people from Cleveland to Indianapolis and Chicago to attend.  

• The rest of this story.
• and this link includes a live interview with Mo Riley, director of the Ann Arbor Street Festival: Ann Arbor Art Fair Cancelled Second Year in a Row

Whereas there is surprising news from the Three Rivers Art Festival in Pittsburgh, June 4-June 13. “We were so excited, and a little surprised, to hear that the mandates were going to be lifted as of Memorial Day,” said Sarah Aziz, director of the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival and director of festival management for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. Learn more.

The folks in Des Moines have been holding their collective breath to see if they would be hosting their extravagantly fine art festival at the end of June. Their "drop dead" date to cancel has past and the team and artists are looking forward to getting together June 25-27. So exciting! See what is brewing in DM.

Good news also from Kansas City where there will be 3 art fairs in a row in September, Art Westport, Brookside and the Plaza Art Fair. Learn more here, this link includes a video.

After over a year without art fairs, I'm planning to get back in the game this summer, but with a few significant changes. Less art fairs is one of them. I've got Muskegon, Michigan in June, Krasl in St. Joe in July, Naperville in September and Belleville in October... that's it. Easy Peasy...

But there is a more significant change that I'm making. The set-up. For years I've used a Trimline with Propanels... the closest to a bomb-proof art fair setup I could find. It's worked great for me, with no significant problems due to weather and wind. I love it... once it's set up. But it's the set up that kills me. It typically takes me five hours of brutal physical exertion to get it all up and running.

I'm 75 years old... and tired. Also, my trusted assistant (my wife, Marcia), has called it quits. She refuses to do another art fair with me. She has "retired." In the past I've done the occasional art fair without her and thinking about those art fairs makes me even more tired. After a year off, I can't imagine setting up that Trimline and Propanels all by myself again. I've hired helpers in the past to ease the heavy lifting, but I just don't feel that is a reliable alternative. And, I've toyed with renting a tent and Propanels, but that gets expensive.

Last year my Chiropractor son-in-law bought a top of the line EZ-up. The shipping from Amazon got screwed up and they had to send him another one. A wheel was missing on the one he finally got. He complained, and they sent him a replacement tent but told him to keep the damaged tent. Then, a week later the first tent he ordered was delivered. He wound up with three tents! He's giving me the one with the damaged wheel. I went to EZ-up and found a "wheel kit" for $16. So, now I have a EZ-up pop-up tent, and I plan to use it at the next art fair (weather permitting).

I'm also considering buying mesh panels for the EZ-up to eliminate another back-breaking task (Propanels). If anyone out there has a mesh panel set-up for an EZ-up they want to sell me, let me know.

I'll keep the Trimline and Propanels. I want to see how this lightweight alternative works for me. If the forecast looks threatening, I can revert to the Trimline (my aching back). If the weather looks good, I'll use the Pop-up. If pop-ups are banned (like Columbus) I may just rent a tent. I just want to get in a few more years of art fairs before I "retire," like my wife.   

How did Artisphere work out with its gated entries, reservation tickets, 2 1/2 hour visit limits, and two customers per booth restrictions?

Technology has made selling your work easier than ever but it comes with a variety of risks. Here's what you need to know about Cyber Insurance.

In 2020, the FBI reported 791,790 complaints of suspected internet crime—an increase of more than 300,000 complaints from 2019—and reported losses exceeding $4.2 billion. The top three crimes reported by victims in 2020 were phishing scams, non-payment/non-delivery scams, and extortion (fbi.gov).

Nearly 1 in 4 businesses have experienced a cybersecurity event. When you collect or store customer or business data, you need the right coverage in place to protect you against worst-case scenarios

How do you protect your online business?
The answer is Cyber Insurance.

ACT Insurance offers affordable Cyber Insurance solutions that will protect your online business from cyber crime.

A fun post.

John Ritter with his first wife Nancy Morgan and three month old son Jason Ritter. Taken in May 1980 at New York City Central Park South art show. I kept a small point and shoot camera with me in the event someone famous walked by. And yes, they bought those prints from me that Nancy is holding. I just came across this 41 year old slide that I thought I had lost.

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

Patty Gregory Becomes Belleville’s First Female Mayor, Unseating Longtime Incumbent

Gregory, 67, is a former teacher who established the Art on Square organization in Belleville and serves as its executive director. The art show will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2021 and previously has been ranked No. 1 nationally in terms of artwork sold. This was the first public office she has sought.

Gregory said a “a lot of hard work” from her supporters paid off in the election.

Learn all about this cool news right here: https://news.stlpublicradio.org/government-politics-issues/2021-04-...