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I first met Ernie (and his wife Cynthia, whom I wrote about yesterday) on the first day of setup, and was immediately in love with his hand crafted leather-and-embroidery furniture.  That’s too simplistic.  Let’s just say, I utterly regretted my Rooms to Go leather couch and loveseat purchase and am still trying to wrap my mind around a way to return them so I can have a set of Ernie’s craftsmanship.  

The most amazingly butter soft leather, in grape purple.  Totally cool, totally wow.

I never knew furniture could be so creative.  This is the first piece that captured me:

and its detail, in copper and turquoise, and yes, real python:

Check out his other creations at nwnative.com, here's another and Ernie himself, who I have to give a shout out to for his advice to me on shipping!

I also love the painting of him and Cynthia behind him, done by a friend of his.

Post 1/28  29/11

I am pleased as punch to report that I made a rather large sale the other day; however, this is where experience separates itself from just plain old dumb luck. Realize now, that I still am a fairly relative newby with less than three years art show experience under my tent.  So, when a wonderful patron asked me, “And how much is shipping to New Hampshire?”  I played coy and said I’d have to check my book and get them a quote.  Hell, I’ve shipped paintings to Germany!  How difficult could it be to ship a piece to Keene, NH?

Well.

I checked my little book, and recited the quote for the USPS for a piece 36” X 24” and up to 25 lbs to NY for $85.00.  Hey, how much more could a piece 52” X 24” be? A few bucks?  Oh no no no no.  At a certain dimension, the USPS turns its back on you.  At a certain weight, UPS and FedEx just hand you Vaseline and tell you to bend over.  There is a netherworld out there in shipping, where the actual size of a package is eclipsed by its estimated weight category.  This is the best way I have to describe it, and it’s better this way, because my tequila report is interwoven with it.  Apparently, according to one private shipping company (which may be the issue) dimensions and weight cease to matter and become a nebulous area where the length x width x girth is estimated to fall within an estimated weight range, and if your package doesn’t fall within these specifications, they hand you the extra large bottle of Vaseline.  Uh huh. 

“Three hundred thirty dollars.  Plus one hundred twenty nine to build the crate.”

“Two hundred sixty five dollars, and that’s only a thousand dollars insurance.”

“Well, air will insure any amount, if you can prove its value, but ground will only insure up to a thousand.”

Hang on.  I’m getting to the tequila report.

So, after a few hours of feeling like I bit off both ends of my burrito, so to speak, I began to ask other artists which shipper they use.

“Shipper?” many of them inquired with a politely raised eyebrow. “Why would I want to use one of those?”

For the first few days of the show, my booth was peppered with fliers from private shippers advertising “free packing”, “will pick up from show”, “insurance included”.  I began to feel like a college student shopping for car insurance.  I didn’t even know there was a difference between packing and crating.

“You make your own box.”  Upon viewing my completely obtuse expression, my peeps began to explain.

“You go to Home Depot.  You grab a refrigerator box.  They’re always throwing them out, they’re free and they’re heavy duty.  You cutta the box to size.  Now, if you gotta canvas, you gotta getchaself summa masonite and putta thata on the face of it...you builda your owna box...”

Ok, so maybe I’m overdoing the Godfather bit, but it was about as big a mystery to me as say, oh, cannoli cream, cappozella, and Casa Nostra.  So, taking me under their wings, these obliging artists initiated me into Packing Your Own Artwork 101.  “Screw the shippers,” went the first commandment, “they overcharge.”

As Framer Dude is collaterally involved with this adventure, he was adamant that I buy a box from someone: “I am NOT dumpster diving for cardboard!  We’ll go to the shippers and buy a box!”

So, we went to various packers.

“I can order that size for you, it’ll be here Wednesday.”

“A 65” x 30” x 6” is $70.  Yeah, just the cardboard box, lady.  We gotta pay to freight it here.”

“You need a crate for that size.  Mine are $129.”

Uh huh.  When a shipper charges more for a box than I paid for a painting to go to Gemany, I start to get the idea that maybe I’m being played and taken for the rube I am.   I don’t like that feeling.  I retreated into my wounded manic artist persona in the truck home, feeling about as stable as nitroglycerin.  Seriously, one decent sale and I shoot myself in the foot and eat my profits with the shipping? There’s got to be a better way.  Maybe I don’t have all the money in the world, but if I bought a painting for say, 2 grand and then was told I’d have to pay 500 in shipping, I’d balk on principle and rent my own damn uhaul and driver for less!

Framer Dude suddenly changed his tune when another boothbuddy pointed out all our frigging tools.

“Can he build a crate?  I mean, it’s kinda like building a frame...I got a painting I have to ship next week, and I’d pay you to make it rather than one of these vulture shippers.”

 MacGuyver Dude pipes up.

“I can build a crate.”  

Today I saw the covert looks towards him with visual vocalizations of “Crates” along with fingers pointing.  He may be leaving hot dog heaven soon.

So, having been deflowered by the packing and shipping companies, one of the veteran artists who has taken me under his wing, gently tugged at my sleeve at Happy Hour yesterday and offered me a consolation/congratulation: homemade tequila by a compadre of his from Mexico.  A bit of law and trivia (are the two even mutually exclusive?): if you make your own tequila in Sonoran County, you are not allowed to call it ‘tequila’; this was called Baccanora, or something like that.  I took French and Latin in high school, what was I thinking?

“You’ll get the hang of it,” he assured me as he expertly daubed finishing touches on a commissioned painting.  What, the shipping?   “...don’t take it like a shot, just sip it.” Oh. Oops.

Sippin’ tequila.  This stuff had a smoky cactusy burn to it, complex and oaky and flowery, that would have made it a venal sin to mix it with anything.  Well, after a water glass of this pure cactus heaven, I stumbled back to my RV, only to find Framer Dude and another peep engaging in another consciousness-altering substance.

Feeling suitably invincible now, I acquiesced to this peep’s generous offer as well.  Which is why this blog post was not published last night, as originally intended.  Beware of artists bearing gifts.

40 Questions Blog Series Question #38 – How can customers find me?

   Do you find yourself saying... I apply and sell at art fairs. I have a website. I have a Facebook page, use Twitter and even have my own blog. Perhaps you're just starting to do your own podcast ... Your name is out there, but how are people able to find you? What's the secret? The answer might surprise you!

    Question #38 How can customers find me?

   The answer is so basic and so simple that people miss it all the time. The answer is you must find them, NOT wait for them to find you. Not only that, you have to make that active choice to WANT to find customers. So, how can one do this? First, start small and know your customer base. By this I mean, look at what you do and who will most likely buy what you make and target those groups of people. Find all you can about who, in your area, works in your medium, contact your friends and family members (both close and distant ones) and let them know what you've been up to. Don't sell to them (they may not want to buy right off the bat), but share a bit about yourself to open the door for communication. This can be as simple as striking up a conversation at a check out line in a grocery store or with a barista at a coffee shop (complimenting a person on their earrings say if you are a jewelry maker). Find and contact old and distant friends and relatives via facebook, for example. Don't just click the invite button, but engage them by adding a small note saying how you are happy to find them and WANT to learn more about them and catch up. You will constantly find friends from high school, college, doctor's office assistance, teachers, places where you worked, friends of the family, old neighbors, childhood friends and pen-pals... see where I am going? There is a reason why the newest norm to stay in touch with people is via social networks – I do recommend Facebook and Twitter – is because it is easy, instant and millions upon millions use both social network formats.

   Now, fast forward a few days or weeks and start looking up organizations, places of businesses, etc. and think outside the box. Think about where you buy your supplies, join t.v. shows groups that your typical customers would watch, mommy or retiree groups, chamber of commerce or SBA groups, local fiber art, photography, or other guilds, museums, boutique shops or galleries you would like to get your work in (learn about their customers and what their hot sellers helps too), art festival Facebook pages, county or even state wide organizations too... Note: don't just join or follow these people and organizations and forget about them - participate in them and often. Start with 5 and like or share people's posts, comment on a topic posted and give your expert opinion on the topics, invite new followers to be fans of other interests you have too. Don't forget to add good quality content from time to time too like a video you like on YouTube that pertains to your medium. Utilize monthly newsletters or weekly email blasts, send out daily tweets or facebook postings on anything and everything new that is related to your business.   For example, when I take a new product photo I announce it on every social network I use and ask followers to see that photo via my website. Another idea is doing a count down each day leading up to your up and coming art fair each time providing an interesting fact about that show. There are plenty of social network help sites offering more info if you are seeking other ideas.

  While social networking is big, you really can't forget the people you see face to face like with church members, co-workers, PTA members, neighbors, hair salon specialists, waiters, parties, seminars (like that in the picture of a social evening at the 2009 CODA conference in AK) ... Simply having a business card with at least 3 ways people can contact and find you is another way to reach out to people that you physically come in contact on a daily business. This can drive traffic to your website, capture info for newsletters, or even drive folks to your social network outlets. To get these ideas to work, YOU have to actually implement them. No one else can nor will do it for your, but you. The best news of all is once you start doing it – it is FUN and FREE! Connecting with just a few people will ignite a spark and introduce you to even more people to want to not just get to know, but they in turn will want to get to know you too. My challenge to you... What, right now, is working for you to attract new customers or fans to your craft business or art? Share it via this blog by using the comment button Thanks in advance to all and be sure to tune in to the last 2 questions of this blog series coming up in February! Michelle Sholund – www.quickcraftartisttips.blogspot.com, www.bythebaybotanicals.weebly.com,

April 2 & 3
Crestwood, Missouri
Deadline: February 21
Arts Abloom in Crestwood Court
Sat: 10am-6pm
Sun: 11am-4pm

Start off your spring art fair schedule with Arts Abloom.

Building on the success of the ARTstravanganza! In November, the Regional Arts Commission and the artists of ArtSpace at Crestwood Court are proud to invite you to apply for the Arts Abloom Fine Art Fair.  Our patrons have been asking for the return of a fine art fair. 

What to expect:
 
    •    Juried show
    •    No more than 50 artists
    •    Indoors, easy load in and load out
    •    Volunteer Booth sitters
    •    Strong marketing budget
    •    Reasonable fees: $20 jury/$200 booth includes electric
    •    Patrons who are asking for another show!
    •    Application deadline is February 21

                                                   Download Arts Abloom Call for Art

For more info contact:  jeane@vogelpix.com

Organized and promoted by artist Jeane Vogel who has taken an unused mall space and transformed it into a center for the arts that includes gallery space, studio space and art classes. Now, isn't this a great date to start off your season...indoors?

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I've decided that I'm going to post one artist a day while here at the Fine Art Expo here in Scottsdale.  My photography is lousy, my writing is amateur, but I'd like to honor all my peeps who devote ten weeks of their lives to exhibit at this wonderful show, and have extended a helping hand to me with my endless questions.  Today, for my first victim, I chose Cynthia Downs-Apodaca, who was the first artist I met here last Monday during setup.  She is the first woman I have ever met who is more of a rock geek than I am, and once you see her jewelry, you can see why.  What first caught my eye were the opals, since opals are my favorite gemstone and I can spot one at a hundred yards across an art show.  The silver wire braiding that she does is so intricate, I don't think my photos can even come close to doing it justice:

She also has these fabulous pieces she calls Tidal Pools, and in this one, the bottom stone- an Australian boulder opal- actually has a teeny beach scene in it!  Talk about the intricacy in nature! 

I'm also impressed whenever I see a woman firing up an acetylene torch and power tools, as she was hard at work one evening, after the show had closed.  Look for her wearable minerals at cynthiadowns.com. 

Cynthia, sans goggles and mask:

I can truly say she rocks!

May 21 & 22
Riverside, Illinois
Central Business District, Downtown
Saturday 10 to 5 Sunday 10 to 4
80 artists
Deadline:  February 1

Currently in its fifth year, the Riverside Arts Fair is sure to please artists and patrons alike. Join us as we celebrate two days of art in downtown Riverside, Illinois. This fine art fair has quickly become a community highlight. It complements and confirms the appreciation for high quality design and materials that Riverside residents and our neighbors find in this quaint community. 

Hosted by the Economic Development Commission, supported by the Village of Riverside and the Riverside Chamber of Commerce, the festival is held in the central business district of historic Riverside. A multitude of fine art patrons, music, children's art activities and more await those who choose to join us for this spectacular event.

The Riverside Arts Fair is organized by Erin Melloy of EM Events, a well established promoter of art shows in Chicagoland. EM Events are held in partnership with local business organizations bringing close interaction between each community and its' local art fair and ensuring you loyal patrons.

Learn more and apply: www.emevents.com

For additional information please contact: Erin Melloy - 630.536.8416 or emelloy@emevents.com

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Looking for more 2011 art fairs? Visit: www.CallsforArtists.com

My photoshop guilt is gone-- or at least subsided-- thanks to finding a display of late 19th Century photographers called "pictoralists."

the Phillips Collection museum in Washingtron DC recently had an exhibit on their work. As more amateurs were using cameras, these high-level photographers wanted to move away from plebian reality into what they saw as something more artistic. They used a variety of techniques to create "photographs that were more like paintings and drawings than the work of commercial portraitists or hobbyists."

They even added and subtracted segments to their "originals."  Gasp. Way beyond simply using different papers and chemicals. This was roughly 1850- 1940.  These pictoralists were supported and joined by luminaires such as Steinglitz, but eventually were overtaken by "Modernists" who primary goals were acuity and accuracy. (Steinglitz later switched sides.) I guess this is what produced the common belief that a photograph represents reality.

I still use photoshop quite sparingly, as I want to keep faith with the "original"  but feel better about the whole thang now. And it's handy for shrugging off folks who say in an accusing manner "That was photoshopped!"

Thanks old timers. 

(to whose for whom this is all old hat, I apologize for my late arrival.)

January 21-22-23, 2011

Merchandise Mart, Denver, Colorado

http://www.indianmarket.net/P1alt.html

What? Do an art show in the dead of a Colorado Winter, even if it's inside? Desperate crazy artists anyway...

www.rakubyshekinahclay.com

We've done this show for about 7 years, it's one of our most enjoyable, and better dependable producers. Winter weather is the big bugaboo, while we had 3 show days of sun, the travel day before was fraught with blowing snow storms around the region. Our trusty 4WD Toyota Tundra pulled our 6 x12 show trailer over the continental divide on snow & ice covered roads with ease, but it was still a nail biter half the time. Other artist coming from the other three directions got smacked by snowstorms too.

Down to the nitty gritty, sales results. We did an ok+, still not like the "great" years, but a bit better than just "ok." Other artists did dismal to super, sounds like most folks were happy with results. With our new direction in 2011 of doing fewer shows and increasing our web and wholesale sales, we started the year well with delivering 2 wholesale orders while at this show, and were approached by several others on the Front Range interested in carrying our work. Once again came really close to selling our large $4400 piece. Sales ranged from our small $20 pots to a $365 wall piece. Most sales were smaller and medium items.

Pricey booth cost of 10x10 starting at $570. But Promoter Randy, a former show person himself, is very artist friendly and advertises the heck out of the show. It occurs on the same weekend the 6 week Denver Stock Show was ending. Load up and out and setup are a breeze, large free parking area (also for customers), 2 huge semi-sized doors. We again stayed in the attached hotel, lower rate for artists, dynamite free breakfast, and most of all not having to drive the busy Winter Denver traffic.

Saturday is the big day, they were at capacity (4400) for part of the afternoon, counting folks leaving and letting in that number. Fri. & Sun. were good attendance. Sunny weather helped a lot. Entrance at $12 per person didn't seem to deter folks. Non stop top notch Indian entertainment didn't  keep folks from wandering the isles and buying.

As more of a "specialty" art show, it has a more narrow criteria for artists. Lots of really great art, and some of which may fall into the craft category. Randy's policies for buy & sell are strict, but can be hard to tell with some jewelry and other art. At least nothing real obvious.

We'll likely do this show again in 2012, both for probably ok to ok+ (maybe great) sales, and wholesaling. On the subject of wholesaling, we are looking forward to getting off the art show gerbil wheel and spending our time and travel to build steady accounts. We've done wholesale in the past, but just couldn't produce enough and maintain accounts and keep up with shows. If we take just a portion of what we would pay for shows in 2011, travel around our region, maybe combine with some R&R overnights, we figure we can do at least as well, if not better than doing art shows this year. Guess we'll see.

Did anybody do the Indialantic Art Festival?  How about some reviews of this show?  We'd all like to know how things went.

Jacki B

Hi, Im fairly new at the art fair scene and recently did my first art fair as far as Florida. I am very amazed at poeple who come out there and pretend to be making the art they are selling. I walked around and found a few artist that had work that I can get at home from one of my suppliers. I couldnt believe someone would have the guts to do that. A few of the other jewelers also noticed and it did get reported to the staff. The guy had actually taken the first place ribbon .but after finding out about him he was asked to leave and did not recieve the cash prize for it. I find the fault here was that they had one judge for 108 artists. It seems to me that one person cannot be an expert in all fields. I did suggest that to them at the end of the art show so perhaps they will learn from that.

     The show was not good for me,which I was sad about. However, after walking around and talking to the other artists I found out it was not good for them either. It was a smaller show and people said this year no one seems to be buying. For my first show out of Michigan it was a bummer. but the more I read on this web site that seems to be the risk we take as artists.  I guess Ill keep on creating and keep on going. 

Marketing,marketing,marketing...my sister who lives in Paris just Facebooked me how great the recent pics looked of us. Of course, I assumed that she meant of our recent anniversary trip out of the country, which we posted on fb...no, she said, the photos of the City Place art show! An aha moment,knowing that she probably won't hop on the next plane to Florida to art show shop, but,"the who you know, not what you know"helps each and every one of us to be seen...without HAE team creating this online venue, Sharon would not have seen it.

Okay, the juice of the weekend.Don't let the wind or chill scare you too much- weather comes and goes, and so does a crowd- wind creates fear within a person-no matter what show you are doing.The Palm Beach crowd can pick and choose where and when they go anywhere.So, that being said, they showed up with bells on to shop on Sunday- we zeroed on Saturday-not happy campers, but still prepared to perform what tricks were necessary  for all people interested in our work on Sunday..we never let them see us sweat, rule #1- bills due,college tuition, mortgage etc...we all can relate.We try to make our work important enough in our eyes to help appeal to our potential customers- visualization is everything- we ask alot of questions about their space so that they can visually "see" it there(Thanks, Dale Carnegie sales course) We were successful in selling two major pieces with a strong possibility for another one in February.Howard and Debbie, once again, pulled in the crowd..I don't need to see the advertisements to know that they job was done.

We are renting in Daytona for many months, so we are relaxed knowing we don't have to make the twice monthly excursion back and forth to Cleveland for three months...and thanks to Debbie Alan for placing an ad for us on facebook to make this all possible- who knew that a show promoter could also be a real estate agent...thanks Debbie.

City Place is the new kid on the block- give her a chance- she wants to "play" for years to come!

Well it was good for me and I’m very grateful for that since I really needed a good show.  I was beginning to get a little discouraged.  It wasn’t good for others.   One person near me zeroed and another didn’t make expenses.  I talked to others who were not happy on Sunday morning however I wasn’t happy on Sunday morning.  I didn’t start selling much of anything until about 2:00 on Sunday afternoon and then everything changed and I ended up with a nice profit.

There were definitely issues.  Please promotors, resolve this year to make friends with the fire marshall and include them in your planning!  This is the second time I have seen a fire marshall throw a monkey wrench into a show.  This one consisted of 10 booth spaces that needed to be relocated early Saturday morning.  Extreme kudos to the security staff who went above and beyond their job to do what they could to resolve the situation since they were the only ones on site.  The layout of the show was rather convoluted and relocating 10 booths made it even worse.   

Setup and breakdown were not bad for me but the layout was pretty tight so it might have gotten bad closer to the center of the show.  There was plenty of space behind my booth.  Porta-potties were sorely lacking (4 total) and at the opposite end of the show from me.  The coffee shop near me was very gracious with their bathrooms.  Artist parking was a long way away.  According to some artists that I talked to there was some buy-sell there.

Compared to the museum show in Boca, this is a more mid-range show.  I didn’t do well at the Boca museum show with mid-range work and high-end work didn’t seem to do well here.  Attendance seemed reasonably good but very slow in the morning for both days.   The weather on Saturday was chilly and grey.  Sunday started out very cold (by Florida standards) but turned into a nice day.