Results seemed mixed this year. Some artists were having terrific sales while others were disappointed.
Friday was quite slow for the artists in my area. I stuck close to my booth since sales were steady, but mostly for low end stuff. It was not the kind of audience one would normally expect for this show. Lots of bargaining and "Do you have this in a smaller size?" while holding up a fifteen dollar piece of a size I plan to get rid of as soon as the economy improves. If not sooner. Saturday was quite a bit better.
Friday and Saturday were perfect, weatherwise. Sunday sales started out very strong. The local weatherman happened to be on the stage behind me at one point and announced the expected rains would not show up and we could expect nice weather for the show. So of course the rain started around one o'clock and quickly became heavy. The show died at that point and around three thirty they announced we could start packing. People with phone radar passed the word it would be better to wait an hour instead of packing up in the downpour. Fortunately the winds weren't too bad.
I did not go to the award dinner and did not know who the winners were this year. None of my stuff got picked and I selfishly lost interest. The first judge seemed very interested in one of my barber shop photos until he learned I use Photoshop. Then he ejected. His dot lady wished me good luck with the show before scrambling to catch up. I missed the second judge.
Judge number two came by for a second time later in the day Friday wearing a vaguely desperate expression. When he got in my booth he reminded me of someone looking for a wrench the hardware store was out of. He left quickly. I heard later they felt they had not picked enough stuff.
A photographer who has been struggling with unappreciative crowds elsewhere came in at 6K, rain and all. An artist in front of me did about 1500 for the show, which was down from 6K two years earlier. The fellow who was selling hats did very well. I won't quote the rumors on his total take. An old time photographer who has done the show for years said the crowd was not what he was used to for that area. We're talking funnel cake vs foie gras type people.
An artist who does wonderful gourds was not having a good show. A painter not far from me got lucky when someone he'd never seen before bought thousands of dollars worth at one shot. Still another photographer reported disappointing sales.
My total was a bit over half of my 2007 sales. Had the weather stayed nice, it might have been off only a third.
Ann was with relatives in Colorado this weekend so I didn't have the time to talk artists who weren't nearby.
Setup was not bad at all and teardown was OK. Some people had to dolly, but it's a small complaint when you're in this kind of a show. I plan to apply again and if they take me back I hope the weather and economy will be better.
