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Hello

As a Wisconsin resident no one can blame me for spending my winters in Fort Myers, Florida. I am looking for Art Fairs from December 2019 to April 2020. 

An Art Fair that is more fun and casual be a good fit for my very colorful, whimsical art made out of recycled plastic containers. My artwork ranges between $35.00 to $450.00. I have my artwork in galleries  Sanibel, Fl And Key West, Fl, but would like to try the Art Fair route.  Any suggestion would be appreciated. 

Jan

For me, this is the best show in the nation for sales.

It is a five figure show for the majority of artists.

They get about 1400 applications and only 250 are picked.

Luckily, I have been in five out of the last seven years.  For whatever reason, I jury really well here. And, I have gotten in with 2different bodies of work.

Here are some of the basics about the show.

• It is held on Main Street in downtown—eight blocks long.
• Seven of the blocks booths are back to back in large tents supplied by FW. Artists set up their booths complete with their own side tarps and roofs.
• One block of the show is held in an open square. Artists put up their booths out in the open.  This part is called Sundance Square.
• FW is a four day show, starting on Thursday. Hours are 10 am to at least 8 pm.  You can open later if you wish. Sunday the show closes at 6 pm, but this year we stayed open til 8 pm. I will explain later.
• You need good weights to anchor, this is a mucho windy show. Some gusts roll off the downtown 40 story buildings at 30 mph.
• Oh, did I mention that a half million people visit this show.  And most buy something.

FW is a high rollers town. Lots of dinero from oil and gas. People here celebrate their cowboy heritage, big time.  You will see patrons sporting $500 belt buckles and walking in thousand dollar cowhide boots.

• This Show is promoted by the Downtown Fort Worth Association.  They market it well and have a tremendous volunteer support staff.
• Jay Downie is the show director and he runs a well-oiled machine.  
• They cover everything.  You have a killer artist oasis. There is a preshow dinner complete with free wine and beer.
• There is an awards breakfest on Friday and awards are handed out.
• Some artists get to setup as early as Tuesday nite.  Everybody can setup on Wednesday.
• Teardown runs very smoothly, and oh, free electricity for the booth.

This Show is consistently my best show of the year whenever I get in.  The bulk of my sales come in the $30-$150 range.  I am a photographer who has done outdoor shows for 45 years.  I am no spring chicken. But I can roar.  I love it when I have three people at once trying to give me money.

Ok, OK.  Enough of that, you can always read my past blogs, which are many.

So Nels how did this year go?

I thought you would never ask.

First off, I am going to do a Tequila Report. Most of you newbies do not know what a Tequila Report is, so I will explain. For many years when I have an interesting experience at a restaurant/bar I make TQ Report. Most Times They are humorous.

NELS will you get on with it!  

OK, do not get so huffy.

I woke up Saturday morn and hustled more work into my booth. Usually Saturday is the best day of this show.  It can be a $5-10K for many.

A friend walked by and yelled,”Nels, they cancelled the show today, lots of bad weather coming our way.” WTF! I was pissed. 

So I made a plan B. I would sleep in at the hotel.  At noon hustle over to Mi Cocina and consume tequilas and cervezas while watching the Masters Golf Tourney, Then take a nice long nap, get up and watch a movie on Netflix and go have dinner.  A reasonable plan.

Mind you.  The whole show was closed down.  No exhibitor tents open, no food booths open. Around 3pm I noticed a sliver of sunshine peak thru the dark clouds. It lasted about five minutes then back to darkness. Well, fueled by agave visions and peppered tacos I decided I would open up my booth and see what came along. 

There were a few people walking the street. So I peeled back my front tarps and pegged them to the corners. That way, in my figuring, an acquiring patron could get a glimpse at greatness. That is agave visions at their best when you do not have any magic mushrooms. Mind you, I was the only guy open.

Twenty minutes later, a father and son walked in.  They glimpsed and bought.  Shazam! A $150 sale. By then,I had attracted a fair crowd of fellow artists. They asked, “Nels are you having any luck?” I replied, “Took care of my Tequila bill and now I am working on dinner.” Minutes later the dinner bill got took care of. Sold another. I closed up and hustled back to Mi Cocina for more tequila and watched Tiger work his magic.

So How is that for a truly, true Tequila Report?

How I did at FW and maybe tell you about some of my experiences.

*FW is a long 20 hour drive for me. This year I took two and one half days to get there. I timed it so I got there early Tuesday morn so I could get a Prime parking spot in the garage. I was able to cart everything from van to my spot about 200 yards away. Got the booth up in gusty winds and went to bed.

Early Wednesday, I finished stocking the booth and got the lights up. That day we had 30mph gusts, it was a battle to secure things. The preshow dinner was a real hit. They had rare beef sliders and lobster rolls along with other fixings. Also a killer red Cabernet.

Thursday morn and we opened up to chilly weather with very mild winds. People bought at lunch and dinner time. If you make $1500 that day you are doing good.

Friday, it got fricking chilly.  Opened up the booth in 48 degree weather, I think it barely got to 64 that day. I am just glad I brought a heavy jacket with a warm liner. Mind you, I had four layers on, and a lot of the locals were waltzing around in Cotten tee shirts, just a Texas spring day to them.

Friday sales were very steady all day.  I stayed open til 9pm.  It was worth it. All along, we had seen the weather reports.  We knew it was predicted that on Saturday there was a 90 per cent chance of storms. Damn!  They were right.

So Saturday I did what I told you in my TR. I was not going to have zero Saturday at FW. So far, I had observed a few salient things. First, the crowd was buying much more Lowend.  Did not see a lot of big purchases go by. Second, most of them were carrying very little cash.  Rare for FW. Everything was on plastic. That said, I knew Sunday would be momentous day.

This is not a Monday Show. So I awoke, Sunday hoping for a truly great day, and hoping that Tiger would win the Masters. Don’t you love it when a plan comes to true fruition? Sunday was sunny and chilly, and people were out buying. I sold all days.  Had some flurries, with people lined up to give me money, This only happens at the best shows.  You have to be prepared.

Heck, I was an Eagle Scout with 55 merit badges, I have always been prepared. Most artists had a great FW in spite of losing Saturday. It is just a great show to do.

I hope one day, all of you get to do it. It will take your breath away.

Aloha, I am on to Mainsail tomorrow, gonna do some serious red wine drinking with my buddy Richard who l have known since we played Little League back in 1955.

I applied by accident meannint to apply to madisons show of the same name. I did notice and apply to madison but i got in to this lake forest one and Iam not sure to accept or not as the reviews i could find seem very old from 2013 and 2011 a friend sent me two others that where not great but had no date on it. If you have done or know if this show any more recent advice would help. thanks so much! I do 2D mixed media with lots of color btw.thanks again

The winners at the:

• Ranked#1 Fine Art & #1 Fine Craft Festival in the Nation – Art Fair SourceBook 2019
• Ranked # 1 Fine Art and Design Show – Sunshine Artist 2018 (La Quinta Arts Festival has been ranked #1 in the Nation for  five of  the last seven years.)

La Quinta Arts Festival
La Quinta, CA, a short drive from Palm Springs
March 7 – 10, 2019

Presenting 220 foremost contemporary artists in a spectacular outdoor gallery, this four day event guarantees patrons an unparalleled cultural experience. Amenities include music, performance art, and trendy food, refreshments, wine and beer.

With so much to see, you’ll want a Multi-Day Pass! Paid Valet and Self Parking available, as well as free parking throughout La Quinta village.

Jeweler Harry Roa

Painter Richard Hall

Glass man Mark Lewanski

Well, this happened at end of March, I am a little late, because I had to make 600 pieces of art for my next three shows, and Bayou is one.  Then I have Main Street Fort Worth and Mainsail.

I am blogging at a sushi bar, a good one, outside of Shreveport enroute to Ft. Worth, hereafter called FW.

Bayou is a tough show to call.

For many it can be a big winner.  Especially if you have high-priced items.

If you sell in the lower, $30-$300 price range, then this show was a loser this year.  Mind you, last year I made double this year, in those price points. The rich grow richer.

I have done this show over ten times.  It is a long run from central Florida, easily 1200 miles.

Most years it has been acceptable to go that distance.  But it can be off in many years, and this one was one.

I have blogged this show many times, so go back to them about the basic guts of the show.  Know that you can turn down on Monday.

That said, on with the show.

I am getting older after doing shows for 47 years.

Formerly, I would drive 12 hours from Tampa to Lafayette, LA the first day. Stay at a Red Roof, eat either at Preajeans or the Blue Dog, Both real, authentic Cajun restaurants.

This year I gave into age.

I made it to Pensacola in seven hours from NSB, I live on the Atlantic now, go figure where this is, hint, right below Daytona.

Stay at the Baymont Inn, go eat at the Fish House.  Life is good, and the fish is even better.

Then, I made it to Beaumont,TX in another seven hours. Found a great liquor store, got some Knob Creek

and then went into a great Cajun restaurant.

Next day, I was into Houston in a hour in one half.

Checked in, and was setting up at 10 am.

Took my time.

This a three day show.

When I got done I headed back to our hotel, where Check-in is also.  Hampton Inn, great rate and a bus

ride to the show every day.

So for years I had spotted this restaurant called Bubbas. Always wondered what it was about.  Finally went in.

Well, shit on a brick, I had the most important alcoholic revelation of my life time.

For you loyal followers, let us call this portion a Tequila Report.  For the rest of ya, lazy-up and do some research on MY past blogs.  There is a lot of treasure there.

On with the Tequila Report.

”How I met the most amazing bartender, ever, who can do magic tricks with multiple bottles of beer.

There!

Gotcha.

So I went into a Bubbas after setting up.  I just wanted something cold and a little snack.

I was meeting Vic for dinner, so I just needed a little snack, with a libation.

Up walks my historic bartender.

I do not remember her name, but she was ample.

I ordered, one lowly beer and some food.

Next I know a pile of thirsty patrons rode in.  

Then, I saw history happen.

She got an order for four bottled beers.

She picked them out of the ice and pressed them against her ample bosom.

She took the bottle capper and went—pop, pop, pop, pop,! All in one second.

It was electrifying.

The another order came in and she did it again.

I make her to be the Wyatt Earp of Houston, Texas.

Regulars tell me they come in here all afternoon just to watch her beerly-eruptions.

Well, for me, that became the high point of this whole show.

I made 59% less then last year. Bummer.

During The Show I saw at least 60 high priced 2-d pieces go by me in the $3-$10000 range.

High priced art sold here, Houston has big walls.

Weather was a factor here and it kept the crowds down.

Oh well, I have Fort Worth this week, and it has never been a let-down yet.

Pray for me.  I need Devine intervention.

We all know it is all about the marketing. I'm on a bunch of show's mailing lists so I receive PR regularly. An art fair that has great communication skills is Artisphere in Greenville, S.C. I'm posting their latest email to inspire other show organizers.

Seems they haven't missed a thing. Right? Can you show me another show's emails that are as good?

9 Oatmeal PRO PANELS plus Oatmeal Desk.

Adjustable feet 

2 stabilizer bars

Only used once, in great condition.

$1000.

——————————————————————————-

 Trimline Canopy with extended telescoping poles for Gallery height exhibits.

$1000

Only used once.

Anyone interested I’ll be at the Cedar Key Arts Festival ‘this weekend, and at the Spring Arts Festival in Gainesville FL next weekend, April 6/7th

I can bring Panels and or Canopy to the show, or can be picked up at my home here in Gainesville FL.

please feel free to call my home at 352-373-6242.

Thanks Brian