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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:

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.