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Here are a few reasons that craft fairs are so important to the crafters, the customers, and the community.

1. Craft fairs save dying arts by giving leatherworkers, woodworkers, textile weavers, and other artisans a venue to show their wares.
2. Crafts sold at craft fairs are made with love (not underpaid labor).
3. By purchasing goods at a craft fair, you are supporting people rather than corporations.
4. When you purchase from a craft fair, you can know that the product you are buying is unique.
5. Visiting a craft fair is a chance to meet local artists and appreciate their creativity rather than visiting a mall filled with the mass-produced merchandise.
6. Handcrafted items will usually last longer; in fact, they may become heirlooms.
7. By purchasing crafts at an art fair, you are fostering creativity in your hometown.
8. Crafts sold at craft fairs celebrate the diversity and culture of the community.
9. Purchasing from craft fairs supports local entrepreneurs and the local economy. By buying at home, you keep that money at home.
10. Buying goods at local fairs supports local art events and encourages your community to host more events like it in the future.

Share this list with friends and other crafters to encourage others to buy and sell local.

Art fairs can be a great way for you to greet potential customers and to show off your work. Not all of these shows are the same, however. Some fairs allow any artist or crafter to get venue space, as long as they can pay the required fee. These fairs may also be more general and include everyone from painters, jewelers, and leathercrafters. Other fairs, however, are juried and tend to be more specific in who they want. These fairs include a judge coming around and reviewing your art to see if you are allowed to be in the show.

Getting accepted to these fairs or shows is a great way for your work to be given exposure and for you as an artist to be taken seriously. There are a few guidelines to follow that can increase the chances that you will be accepted to the fair:

1. Understand the rules. The number one reason artists are not accepted into juried art shows is because they didn’t read or understand the rules, according to John R. Math in his "How to Get Accepted to More Juried Art Shows" article. If you study the rules carefully, you are giving yourself a much greater chance of being selected.

2. Don’t Ignore the rules. Understanding the rules is one thing. Actually following them is quite another. You might think that trying to go “above and beyond” is a good idea in order to try and impress the judges, or that neglecting one small aspect won’t matter. Doing these things almost guarantees rejection. What impresses the judges most is that you followed their instructions to the letter.

3. Know what you’re getting into. Your art may be beautiful and may even be in high demand, but if it doesn’t fit the theme or the look of the fair, odds are your work will not be accepted. And even if it is, you might not be able to make enough of a profit to make the fair worthwhile. Know before you sign up what the theme of the show is and whether or not your art fits.

4. Think about the business aspect. While it may not have any bearing on whether you are accepted to an art show or not, it is important that you ask yourself if it makes financial and business sense for you to be there. Consider the extra costs you may incur, including travel, booth rentals, and possibly even needing to purchase art fair liability insurance. Are the extra costs worth the self-confidence boost you would get by being accepted?

5. Don’t get discouraged and don’t give up. This may be the most important guideline to follow. If you are not accepted into an art fair, do not get discouraged. Do not put yourself or your work down. There are any numbers of reasons why the judges decided not to accept your work, and odds are good that it is not because they didn’t like it. Keep trying and keep submitting. If you persevere, you give yourself a much greater chance that your art will be accepted.

Once you have been accepted, the preparation begins. Part of that preparation includes taking into account the expenses discussed earlier. Travel and booth rental costs are pretty straightforward, but insurance coverage can be tricky.

If the venue site does require you to have insurance, you should consider an Artists, Crafters, and Tradesmen (ACT) Insurance. An ACT policy gives you the option of choosing liability coverage for only one or two shows or having coverage for an entire year. Both options are affordable and meet most venue requirements. To learn more about which option is right for you, please visit ACT’s Compare Policies page. Having insurance also gives you one less thing to worry about as you get ready to showcase your work.

Great Show.

The promoter for the Paso Robles Art Show, Steve Powers , has created an absolutely beautiful art show in the wonderful city of Paso Robles.

Imagine you are in the most fantastic and beautiful Zinfandel, Bordeaux, and Cabernet Sauvignon region of the State of California (Napa – Chardonnay – yum).

Imagine a weekend selling fine art in a beautiful park in the center of Paso Robles, CA.

I bring my Kinetic Fish sculptures ( www.kineticfish.com ) to the show, along with at least five pieces of my abstract sculpture – the people who own the wineries do come to the show, and do buy fine art.

If you are needing or wanting a fine art show to do, Paso Robles, this is the show to do.

Jeff

Another Sedona Arts Festival done. Awesome!

Thankfully this year the weather was fantastic. The city was FULL of people, people coming in from all over the US, and many from the nearby Phoenix area looking for a weekend away from the big city. Sedona was jumping!

The show was beautiful – Fine Art Only (FAO), and very well done. I heard many compliments from the attendees on how good the art was – I agree.

I did very well this year, great sales both Saturday and Sunday.

Load in is easy – just select your desired load in time and get going. Load out is also good – once you are broke-down, you get a card to bring your vehicle in and load up. (I dollie'd out because it’s easier for me).

There are a lot of people in the Sedona area with a lot of money and little to do. The art show is a great place for them to drop a bunch of money on fine art for their beautiful homes.

My clients were from all over the US. A lot of snowbirds (back-easters with their 2^nd homes in Sedona or just out for a week in the high desert (4,444 foot above sea level))…perfect!

I saw many of my pieces go to homes in Sedona and as far away as Minnesota and Florida – and others.

This show is really beautiful. Set in Sedona, AZ at the high school baseball field. The music is “class act” defined. Local musicians with outstanding talent. There are great food trucks lined up with great fare.

The only thing missing is wine or beer – the high school grounds do not allow alcoholic beverages.

Consider the area for your artwork, or not. I bring “Native American” style artwork to this show. I did the show about 7 years ago with abstract sculpture – did not go well. While I was in Sedona I saw some Native American Shaman sculptures that inspired me and I made some for my home. An Arizona resident / client of mine came over to my home one day, saw my awesome Shamans hanging on the wall in my home, and immediately purchased them. This struck me as – hey, this is what the people of Sedona want.

I decided to make lots of Shamans for the next year’s Sedona show – and I never looked back. My Shamans are my break and excitement for my Arizona shows. Most of the time I am making my abstract steel artwork for California “desert” shows (La Quinta and Palm Desert) - (Modern and Contemporary Artwork lovers).

So, If you are looking for a show in Arizona, in October (beginning of their wonderful winter-season), the Sedona Arts Festival is the one to do. (No guarantee of the weather – sometimes it actually rains in the high desert, most times not (crossed fingers for 2020)).

I’ll be back…Thanks Sedona for a wonderful show. A special thank you to Lori Reinhart and crew for all your hard work to make the show a success.

Jeff

So, artists often complain about show producers not advertising enough to get people to their shows, I understand. I personally don't know how much promoting/advertising promoters actually do. Shows that charge a commission really should (NEED TO) advertise their shows aggressively – thus making them more money from commissions on sales at their events.

I’ve done some shows where there are large billboards on the highway near the show that advertise the upcoming show – excellent – it really does work and people do come because of the billboards (I asked people at the show and many said that the billboard sparked them go.)

Where a billboard cannot be used, radio advertising is an excellent avenue to inform people in the area of the upcoming event.

Television advertising is obviously expensive (I really have no idea what a TV ad costs), but this is obviously the best way to advertise a show. Everybody watches TV (I assume) and those that see an ad for an event on TV often come to the show – I asked my buyers. Often, the Chamber of Commerce can help with getting the event on the TV.

For smaller venues, TV, radio, and billboards are often out of the question – too expensive.

There is another way to advertise an event – even many weeks before the event... that option is simple door magnets that are placed on vehicles that drive around many weeks before an event containing all the pertinent information about the event.

Because many shows have volunteer groups lined up to help at their event, these groups could receive door magnets, supplied by the promoter, to advertise the upcoming event. Every volunteer would then also be a moving billboard advertising the upcoming event.

I’ve personally done this for events I’m going to be in, in my area. It’s a simple and very inexpensive way to promote an event that I will be at in my area. Because I have some skills with graphics, I can create any artwork needed for a door magnet advertisement. I design the art, go to Vistaprint.com, upload my file, and within two or three days, I have some door magnets advertising the event.

It’s simple and “cheap” to order door magnets. Just go to Vistaprint.com / Signage & Trade Shows / select Car Magnets, and go. A 10 x 20 door magnet is only $22 bucks. 40 door magnets is only $880 – the price of only one double booth! (In my experience). Imagine, 40 cars driving all over the city every day advertising your event!

Sample:

The image above is a “sample” of what any advertisement could look like.

NOTE: I am not affiliated with Vistaprint at all. I just use their services regularly. 

Just my 2 cents…

Jeff

Fairs, festivals, shows, and other community arts and crafts events offer an ideal experience for everyone to see and learn more about art. However, as with many public events, there are a few common rules of etiquette that often get overlooked. As a result, the enriching experience of an art event is ruined for those who want to get the most out of it.

Having been to a few art fairs ourselves, we’ve noticed this lack of etiquette and want to share our findings in the form of a quick go-to guide. Listed here are some basic etiquette rules that we believe everyone should follow while attending an art-related community event, comprised into simple do’s and don’ts.

1. DON'T have your group occupy a high-traffic spot or viewing space needlessly.

   With nearly every large public event, there will inevitably be groups of people who will stop to chat with each other in places where people need to be able to walk freely on. If you plan to attend an art fair with a group of friends, we highly encourage you to be courteous to your fellow fair attendees by not blocking high-traffic walking areas. This also includes viewing spaces in booths where the artist is trying to display their products to passing viewers.

2. DON'T touch any of the products without the artist’s permission.

   Artists appreciate it when you show interest in their work, but that doesn’t always mean it’s okay to touch it. Artists would like to keep their products in mint condition for all potential customers, so some may not want you to handle their products. Even if you’re considering purchasing the item, be courteous to first ask before touching products.

   Keep this rule in mind especially when you view or are around items like these:

   • Fragile items like glass or pottery
   • Paintings, which includes the frame
   • Any kind of furniture: tables, drawers, couches, etc.

3. DO be mindful of the food and drink you carry with you to a booth.

   Foods and drinks are not only messy when handled carelessly in a booth, but they can also very easily ruin fine pieces of art. If possible, try to finish or put away your foods and drinks before entering a booth. But if you feel you cannot do this and you have to carry them, be sure you have complete control over its contents so as not to accidentally spill on the artist’s products.

   Additionally, be mindful to not purposely set any of your food or drinks on their tables, especially drinks. Even a small water ring from your cold drink can stain furniture or make a booth table look unappealing. And lastly, out of courtesy, take care of your own garbage. Do not ask the artist of the booth to throw it away for you.

4. DO be extra mindful of children.

   Children can be enriched by an art fair as much as an adult. However, they naturally tend to move around more actively and be curious enough to want to pick things up. Keep your children close by and under control as you view booths—and better yet, take the experience as an opportunity to teach them to look, not touch.

5. DON'T visit an art fair simply to critique the art.

   Artists are very unappreciative of people who come to view their products just to tell them that their work is amateur, or that you are able to do better, or other such criticism of the like. One of the purposes of a community art event is to learn about other people’s art, and going around criticizing other people’s work does not meet this purpose. “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”

6. DO make an effort to communicate with the artist, but to also be brief and specific.

   While criticism is frowned upon, artists do appreciate any questions you may have about their work. Feel free to ask them engaging and honest questions about their art, such as their technique, their tools of the trade, how many hours they put into it, etc.

   Understandably, there’s a chance you may end up connecting with the artist and want to talk to them about other topics. Out of courtesy of their business and other shoppers, try to keep your discussion brief and only on their art. The artist is still trying to work, and it would be impolite to keep them from communicating with other shoppers.

7. DON'T treat the fair like a flea market.

   An art fair isn’t meant to be an opportunity for you to haggle a cheap price on someone’s art. Artists work hard on all of their products, and though they’re aware of what prices people look for, they will do their best to match the price with the amount of work they put into it.

   A small exception to this would be to kindly (and perhaps indirectly) suggest a grouped price for purchasing multiple pieces of their work. It will still earn the artist good business to try and compromise a bargain price for a bundle of their work.

8. DO be decisive on your purchasing decisions.

   Artists like that you’re interested in their products, but it’s discouraging to hear from someone that they’re not considering buying right away. If you really like their product and can honestly afford it, we encourage you to make that crucial decision to purchase it. The transaction will not just provide profit to the artist, but it will also encourage them to continue their work.

   Similarly, only ask the artist to put a product on hold when you are serious about purchasing it. It’s also discouraging to hold a product for a customer who may or may not return when they can also try to sell it to someone else. Again, if you can afford it, go ahead and buy it.

In short: always be polite, mindful, courteous, and respectful of others and their work. Remember that there are other people wanting to enjoy the event as much as you, and that artists want to do their best to both market their products and engage with all of their customers. By following these etiquette rules, you’ll be able to enhance your experience of a community art event as well as keep it enjoyable for everyone else.

A variety of people come to art events and everyone may be looking for something different and they’re all in different phases. Some people come just to browse and other come with cash in hand itching to buy.

As an exhibitor at events, knowing what these phases are and how to treat people in different phases is crucial to succeeding in any business. The sales funnel that we are going to go over is not our invention. It’s been used for years with great success and this post should be used as a starting point to launch you into understanding more about what your consumers go through before they buy your product.

AWARENESS

At every event or art festival hundreds, if not thousands, of people come by your booth and look at your art.

HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU HEARD PEOPLE COMPLIMENT YOUR ART AND NOT BUY ANYTHING? A LOT, RIGHT?

It’s not that they don’t want to buy your art. It’s that before they saw your booth, they didn’t even know you existed and had no time to go through the sales funnel. Now that they know you exist, they enter the awareness phase.

The awareness phase of the funnel is easy to enter and leave very quickly. They just found out who you are and what kind of art you do and now, most likely, they move on and forget about you. So, how do you get that festival-goer to move down the funnel into purchasing from you?

Moving people from the awareness phase into the interest phase is all about presentation. This is when all that booth design comes into play. If they don’t come in to look at your arts or crafts, they definitely won’t be buying.

We won’t go much more into booth design because of how much material is already written on the subject on the web. Just make sure you do your research and be constantly improving. The sales funnel works like a real funnel, the more you have at the top, the more people trickle down and purchase.

INTEREST

This is the phase where the potential customer knows who you are and likes your product. They haven’t yet thought about buying but at least they like your stuff!

They are now ready to do some product research on their own. How much everything costs is the most obvious part of this phase. The consumer may also want to know what the piece is made of, what inspired it, etc. If it is a craft that has a function what is that function? How long will it last? Where in their house would it go?

This doesn’t mean they don’t want to buy! Just not today. If you don’t help them progress down the funnel then they may never buy. So in this step, it’s crucial to get their contact info! Their name and email at least. Giveaways work great for this.

Here are some ideas:

Put one of your pieces as a prize for a giveaway. To enter, they have to give you their name and email. You can easily do this with a tablet.

Another idea is to offer a 10% coupon if they give you their info. At the very least offer them some candy or a bottle of water in return for following you on Instagram.

This way you can email market to them when you have new art. Of course, this requires you to have an email marketing plan which is free if you use MailChimp. That way you can push them to your website or Etsy page when they are ready to buy down the road.

EVALUATION

Let’s say you have a newer type of art, whether it’s a unique painting or piece of jewelry, people passing by your booth have never seen it before. They leave without buying from you and they are very interested in your product. Now, they are at home figuring out where your piece would go or when they would wear it. On top of that, they are now researching artists like you to see who else makes what they want.

They are researching prices, quality, shipping times, etc. If you make an amazing seashell necklace and sell it for $150. A consumer will go online and see if they can find something similar to what you sell, but less expensive.

This is why getting their email is so important, so you can tell them what makes your product unique and worth every penny of that $150. Whether it’s because you handmake each one or they are all from the same local beach to which the consumer may have an emotional attachment. Or maybe you flew to Fiji because you can only find a specific shell there.

Without telling them this info how would they know? The traffic levels of many art festivals make it impossible to tell everyone all the details that you’d like.

DECISION

The consumer has now decided to purchase. At this point, people will start negotiating with you. Many talented artists fall short on the business sides of things and learning to skillfully negotiate will serve you in all parts of your business.

PURCHASE

In this phase the purchase is made; however, the customer journey is not over. You want thrilled customers that talk you up on social media and tell all their friends about how you are the next Michelangelo.

In order to delight your customers think about the following aspects of the purchase process:

How do you pack up your art?

Think of the best packaging you've seen. One reason it was so great was that the packaging was specifically chosen to fit the product. So, do you wrap your art it in a newspaper and then put it in a plastic grocery bag? Or do you pull out measured boxes that fit the product perfectly and tie a bow on it?

Some art can be big and/or heavy so how do you improve the delivery process?

Do you offer to help people take heavy or bulky pieces of art to their car? If you have a huge picture or a wooden table with the words “FREE DELIVERY!” on a sign next to it, do you think that would eliminate a consumer’s concern?

It’s the things after the purchase that work wonders to solidify an amazing impression in a customers mind leading to repeat sales and referrals.

Wrap Up

Understanding where your customers are in the funnel will you allow you to treat them differently and market to them more efficiently. While some people seem to go through the whole funnel within minutes and purchase. They most likely have been thinking for a while about getting something like your product and you happen to be in the right place at the right time.

One of the biggest challenges for artists and crafters is reaching the people who will want to purchase their creations. When it is properly used, social media makes the task of reaching and appealing to your customers simple. Here are four ways that you as an artist or crafter can make the most of your social media efforts.

1) Showcase Your Work

It doesn’t matter what item they are looking to buy, many people will begin their search online and often long before they purchase. This holds true for those who attend art and craft festivals. Posting images and videos of your current and past work will give your customers a good understanding of the unique style you have to offer.

Just like any other portfolio, your social media should be updated regularly and frequently. If you fail to maintain your social media, your customers will notice, stop following you, and you will lose the reputation you’ve worked hard to create.

2)Connect with Your Customers

It might sound obvious, but social media should be a place for you and your customers to connect. This means that as an artist or crafter, you need to not only produce things for your customers to view, but you also need to create calls to action that effectively encourage them to interact with you.

Of course, you can respond to comments, but there are bigger opportunities. You can use your posts to ask customers for requests, run contests, and—most importantly—get customers to visit you at the fairs and festivals you attend. In short, everything you post should be created to develop a relationship with your customers.

3)Build Business Relationships

While getting customers to visit you at a fair or festival and purchase the things you create is the end goal, there are networking opportunities on social media that you should utilize. As you post frequently and gain a loyal following, you’ll find that there will be brands and other creative professionals who will have business opportunities for you.

These opportunities may come in many different forms, and you shouldn’t hesitate to be on the pitching end of an idea either. Somethings you might consider include being a guest on someone else’s channel, hosting a joint giveaway, and inviting guests to your channel.

4)Have a Variety of Content

The type of content you post should always be relevant to your brand, but not all content is going to perform the same. Text by itself won’t usually perform very well, if you have a blog make sure you include pictures with each post and incorporate videos, create lists, or share feature stories into your posting plan.

Similarly, using a creative mix of videos, pictures, memes, and GIFs can help you make the most of your social media efforts. It’s OK to post the same content on multiple social sites, but if you can help it, try to have unique content for each outlet that you use.

We have many pieces of dichroic glass ready to be set in metal or just add a finding - at least 200 pieces.  Make me an offer.  
Send me your email & we will send a picture  - mackie-designs@comcast.net

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one thing that really gets under my skin is when an "organizer" "promoter" "director" or whatever doesn't have the decency to go around and introduce themselves at a festival. What is that about? Without them I would sit home. Win, lose or draw, I am grateful, wish hag they would let me share that with them.

First time exhibitor at this show. The weather was a big component to this years show. Setup was early Friday, starting at 7 AM, glad I got there early because by 10:34 it started to rain just as I had finished and was ready to leave. It rained throughout the day.

• Friday evening the show was to be open from 5 - 8 PM, at 7:45 the tornado warning siren went off closing the show for the night, which was pretty well finished anyway, too few people, too few sales.
• Saturday the show went from 10 - 5 with low numbers of people and no sales for this artist. It was expected to rain and looked threatening all day but it never did materialize.
• Sunday, 10 - 4 even fewer people at the show, some small sales, off and on rain all day, people stayed and meandered around in between the rain showers. The rain was supposed to be done by 3 so there was some hope that things would be somewhat dry for load out. The rain began again and in earnest at 4. Overall it was a bad sales show with low turnout and low sales.

Amenities were reasonable; coffee, bagels and fruit in the AM, lunch brought to your booth, pizza slice on Friday night and a really nice dinner on Sat at the "Castle" somewhere in Peoria Heights. The Arts Guild was well organized with volunteers and helping artists that needed it but Peoria doesn't seem to have the support for a show of this size. It may need to scale back to 100 artists and reduce the gate fee ($6 this year) to attract more people to the show.

Possible contributing factors to low turnout, Homecoming weekend, kids and parents all over town taking pictures but not coming to the show, Weather..., Apparently in years past one of the major employers in this area has laid off many workers and that may also be a continuing contributing factor.

Would I do this show again, probably not, having read reviews from the recent past it seems nothing has changed, low attendance and low sales. Also, it is too far to drive for too little compensation. Not worth it to me. The only consolation, as I was only 2 hours from Chicagoland I was able to add in a visit to my sister.