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Another Art Fair Bites the Dust - in Michigan, Where Else?

Posted by Connie Mettler on December 11, 2008 at 5:09pm

In October the University Cultural Center Association in downtown Detroit announced announced that it will not produce the Detroit Festival of the Arts in 2009 due to the construction of the Midtown Loop Greenway. The Midtown Loop is part of a two mile green-way trail following existing street patterns linking Wayne State University and the Detroit Medical Center and incorporating a variety of planting beds to separate pedestrians from vehicle traffic; help the community reclaim much needed green space; reintroduce native vegetation; incorporate public art along the greenway; and create an environment to help build a strong sense of place and community. The Loop will extend through a significant portion of the festival site. Any inquiries can be addressed to UCCA President, Sue Mosey at susanmosey@gmail.com. It is said the festival will return in 2010, but who knows? In 2007 the Greektown Arts Festival was also cancelled because of construction in the downtown. In its 20+ year history this festival has brought outstanding street performers to the city, headlined wonderful urban musical groups, held Shakespeare on the lawn of the Detroit Institute of Art and held author readings at the Detroit Public Library. A true cultural gem, I hope it will return when times are better. RIP, Detroit Festival of the Arts. Here is a link for more info: http://www.detroitfestival.com/08/

March 20-22 Art Fair Reports - Winter Park, etc.

Posted by Connie Mettler on March 22, 2009 at 12:30pm

When the big events are taking place there are always good articles in the news about them. Here is around up of reports on the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival: Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival - from the Examiner.com How to get around the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival, from the Orlando Sentinel. Award winners at Winter Park, don't miss this one. Everyone covets the awards at Winter Park, especially Best of Show for $10,000 that went this year to digital artist, Chris Dahlquist. Don't miss the video starring ArtFairInsider.com member Vicki Munn. Palm Beach Fine Craft Show - here is an excellent blog critiquing this fine event from the Barbara Levy Gallery in Palm Beach. Gee the gallery owners attend the art fairs! She profiles two of our members: James & Renee Engebretson and Alice McLean. Fairhope (AL) Arts & Crafts Festival - downtown Fairhope erupts with fun, art, craft, great food: Artists hopeful buyers show up at Fairhope Arts & Crafts Festival, from the Huntsville Press-Register An excellent article profiling artists at the Scottsdale Art Festival includes: jewelers Fred & Janis Tate, mixed media Mark & Karen Klay, potters Jim Williams and Penny Allen, fiber artist Jan Watterson. Next weekend in Tempe, AZ: Featured Artists at the Tempe Arts Festival

Call for Entries: Amdur Productions in Chicago

Posted by Connie Mettler on November 27, 2008 at 10:47am

This is a special edition of our Call for Entries. Listed below are twelve Chicago area professionally run art fairs by Amdur Productions. Headed by Amy Amdur, these events exploded on the art fair scene 26 years ago when the Port Clinton Art Fair appeared in the affluent community of Highland Park, IL. Taking her cue from this success she has gone on to create new events in affluent areas of the metro area. Her hard work coupled with a strong marketing outreach have enabled many Chicago area artists the ability to commute to their art fairs. The rest of us have, of course, joined the group and headed to Chicago to meet this good marketplace. Visit the website: AmdurProductions.com for full disclosure on each of the twelve events. Then, "think Chicago!" Info About The 2009 Applications Recognizing today's economic realities Amdur Productions offers: 1. No raise in fees for 2009 2. Reductions in fees for two events 3. Introduction of two new "bare bones" events to appeal to the bargain hunter in all of us, artists and patrons 4. Full disclosure on their website of site description and amenities 5. Optional fee payment plans to spread payments over time. 6. An Art Festival Boot Camp to sharpen your skills at art fair participation Call for Entries: Chicago's Amdur Productions 12 Art Fairs to Fill Your Season and Your Pocketbook May 30 & 31 Arlington Heights Promenade of Art To benefit Northwest Community Hospital 10 am to 5 pm 150 artists Amy says: A great show for experienced as well as new artists. Nice easy compact festival layout. Traditional themes do well.

June 5-7 - New! Chicago Eastside Millennium Art Festival downtown at Michigan Ave., on Lake & Stetson Sts. Fri. noon-5; Sat. & Sun. 10-5 150 artists Amy says: Originally founded as the New Eastside Artworks, this fair is reborn in the middle of this busy area just north of Millennium Park. June 20 & 21 Wheaton Cantigny Fine Art Festival Father's Day weekend 10 am to 5 pm 150 artists Show fee reduced from 2008 Amy says: Beautiful setting, very low stress. Middle price points do best. June 27 & 28 Glencoe Glencoe Festival of the Masters In cooperation with the Village of Glencoe and the Chamber of Commerce 10 am to 5 pm 150 artists Amy says: Held in a wealthy community near Lake Michigan where the average home price is 1.2 million. July 11 & 12 Lincolnshire 12th Annual Lincolnshire Art Festival Village Green 10 am to 5 pm 150 artists Amy says: All themes, all price points do well. Good for new artists as well. July 18 & 19 Buffalo Grove Buffalo Grove Invitational Art Fair Buffalo Grove Town Center 10 am to 5 pm 150 artists Amy says: All themes, all price points. Bright art doing well, crowd loves jewelry and wearables. July 25 & 26 Skokie North Shore Festival of Art Westfield Old Orchard 10 am to 5 pm 150 artists Amy says: In a highly visible location at this popular outdoor mall. Judaic art did well last year. July 31, August 1 & 2 Chicago Gold Coast River North Art Fair A Chicago tradition for over 50 years Along LaSalle Street, at the intersections of Erie, Huron, and Superior Fri. noon to 5; Sat. & Sun. 10-5 395 artists Amy says: Big show, best for experienced artists. All art, all prices. August 8 & 9 Glencoe Art at the Glen The Glen Town Center 10 am to 5 pm 195 artists Amy says: Great show, better for experienced artists. Big crowds, All art, all prices do well. August 29 & 30 Highland Park Port Clinton Art Fair Along Central Avenue 10 am to 6 pm 260 artists Amy says: Top fine art and fine craft only. Only for experienced artists. September 26 & 27 - new date + new concept Joliet Starving Artists Festival downtown 10 am to 5 pm 130 Artists Reduced show fees for 2008 Amy says: All art priced under $100 - a great end of season marketplace to clear your inventory. Artists and/or their representatives welcome. October 17 & 18 Highwood Last Call Art Fair On closed streets in the downtown 10 am to 4 pm 125 artists Amy says: Absolute end of season opportunity for you to sell off inventory at reduced prices. Artists and/or their representatives welcome. Apply: www.juriedartservices.com Learn more about these fairs: www.amdurproductions.com

My Apologies---

Posted by Connie Mettler on March 28, 2009 at 7:48am

It looks like a spammer joined ArtFairInsiders.com yesterday. I have removed the comments and banned her from the site and taking steps to prevent this from happening again. I'm sorry for the inconvenience. Connie

Government entity backs down - A temporary win for craft artists

Posted by Connie Mettler on February 2, 2009 at 3:00pm

And now for some good news: Thanks to Ralph Quick for this: I guess folks have made enough noise on this one... the Consumer Product Safety Commission has granted a one year stay on the enforcement of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. They will be using the time to figure out how they can protect children without putting all the crafters, etc., out of business, and without causing the libraries to throw out all their children's books. :-) CPSC Grants One Year Stay of Testing and Certification Requirements for Certain Products WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission voted unanimously (2-0) to issue a one year stay of enforcement for certain testing and certification requirements for manufacturers and importers of regulated products, including products intended for children 12 years old and younger. These requirements are part of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), which added certification and testing requirements for all products subject to CPSC standards or bans…. http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09115.html Read more about this issue at: http://www.artfairinsiders.com/profiles/blogs/more-legislation-out-to-get Thanks to Don Crozier, Best of Missouri Hands for this good news, www.bestofmissourihands.com

Pittsburgh Cultural Trust to the Rescue of 3 Rivers Festival

Posted by Connie Mettler on November 27, 2008 at 10:07am

The very popular Three Rivers Festival in Pittsburgh that runs through three weekends in June has been struggling to keep its bills paid in recent years. The festival supports many entertainment venues plus three different art fairs, a different group of artists each weekend and is held in the glittering Golden Triangle in the downtown. Because of economic uncertainties the future of the event was in question. Now the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has stepped in to take charge. "The 2009 festival probably will be smaller," President and CEO J. Kevin McMahon said, citing economic troubles and the limited time the trust has to plan the event. "There likely will be less money than the $1.6 million budgeted for the 2008 festival," McMahon said, but he's confident the trust can raise enough money to produce the festival. Read the whole story at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

#2 Fine Art Fair, Where? Belleville? Where is that?

Posted by Connie Mettler on January 4, 2009 at 1:28pm

Once again the Art on the Square in little Belleville, IL, is highly ranked by Greg Lawler's Art Fair Sourcebook, and good for them! It goes to show what a small highly motivated community can accomplish. If more events were as community-centered as this one and their organizers had the manpower, energy and time to pull them together as excellently the newest generation of artists and art fair goers would see how this grand business got started in the first place. Ratings of events in the Art Fair Sourcebook are base on reported artist's sales. This is a pretty reliable source for finding out if you will make money. The only drawback is who reports and how truthful they are, but a good indicator of your chances of earning. Congratulations, Patty Gregory, your committee and the city of Belleville. Read the rest of the story at this link: http://www.bnd.com/372/story/600810.html Be sure to read the comments also, always a good insight into community attitudes and some times pretty funny.

Artist's Way Classes held at Casselberry Art House

Posted by Cheryl Jones Evans on March 27, 2009 at 8:48pm

If you are in the Central Florida Area and a Creative of any kind, I hope you will join us this summer for the 6th annual Artist Way summer. The Artist's Way 13 weeks of classes, beginning June 7, 2009. Members Exhibition August 3-31 2009 with artist reception August 15. See our web site for more info.

Artrageous Ranked #1 Art Fair

Posted by Connie Mettler on December 11, 2008 at 4:42pm

Okay, I think it's time I ran a contest to see what is the #1 art fair in the country. I recently received this notice: "Artrageous ranked No. 1 festival by AmericanStyle magazine." What is Artrageous? Where is it held? Why haven't I heard of it? Who is American Style profiling? What does this mean about the ratings systems? Do you care? Congratulations to Artrageous, obviously many people care about your event and you must be doing some very good things. Read more about it at: http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/article/20081207/WDH0101/812070657/1981

George Bailey, Meet Darwin

Posted by Jeane Vogel on February 2, 2009 at 10:55am

"Potter's not selling. He's buying! And why? Because we're panicking and he's not."George Bailey, It's A Wonderful LifeA room full of scared people trying to get their money out of a rickety, broken down, old Savings & Loan before all hell breaks loose. That's the image that comes to mind as I prepare for Art Fair Season --2009.Imagine the room filled with art fair artists. Imagine we've lost faith in ourselves ....Continue reading at Beyond the Art Fair, http://www.jeanevogel.blogspot.com

Call for Entries: Art & Apples, Rochester, MI

Posted by Connie Mettler on January 4, 2009 at 1:16pm

September 11-13 44th Annual Art & Apples Festival Rochester Municipal Park Presented by the Paint Creek Center for the Arts 250 Artists Deadline: February 27 Calling all artists! Paint Creek Center for the Arts (PCCA) invites you to be a part of the 44th annual Art & Apples Festival, Michigan's second largest juried fine art fair. With more than 125,000 festival-goers attending each year, the festival is consistently ranked in the Top 30 of Sunshine Artist Magazine's 200 Best in the nation! Interested artists may submit applications in the following categories: 2D & 3D Mixed Media, Baskets, Clay Functional, Clay Non-Functional, Digital Art, Drawing, Enamels, Fiber Wearable, Fibers Non-Wearable, Glass, Jewelry Metal, Jewelry Non-Metal, Leather, Metalsmithing, Painting, Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture, Toys, and Wood.

The annual Art & Apples Festival is a program of Paint Creek Center for the Arts, a regional non-profit art center located in Downtown Rochester. Since 1982, PCCA has been dedicated to enhancing life in the region by promoting, encouraging, and creating opportunities to participate in and appreciate the arts. September is a beautiful time of year to be in Michigan and Art & Apples is positioned between other well known events in the area, giving you a string of art fairs for your schedule with little travel involved. In the heart of affluent Oakland County, Rochester area residents are the demographic you need for your fine work. Not sure where it is? Click here. Download your application at www.ArtandApples.com. Each category entered requires a $30 application fee and corresponding images on CD-ROM. The deadline for all applications is February 13, 2009 (a postmark date), with a late deadline of February 27, 2009 (a postmark date), so don't delay - submit your application today. All late applications require an additional $30 late fee. For more information, please visit www.ArtandApples.com or call the Art & Apples Festival Hotline at 248-651-7418.

They Came, They Saw, They Shopped, They Bought!

Posted by Connie Mettler on March 2, 2009 at 3:37pm

Don't be sounding the death knell for art fairs in Michigan just yet.

Saturday morning I arrived at the Kalamazoo Country Fairgrounds for the Garage Sale Art Fair and to my amazement the parking lot was packed! I had to park in the last row. People were standing in line to enter and others were heading out of the building with armloads of packages. Money exchanged hands.

Inside it was a melee of people jostling others in the aisles and standing in line to buy pottery, photography, glass, paintings, etc, from one hundred + artists. What a happy sight.

My art fair shopping companion, Barb Burkhardt, and I came home with work from jeweler B.J. Jordan, pottery from Michael Kifer and Mike Taylor, a scarf from Dinah Morrison, fabulous glass from Earl James and there were two objects I wanted that others bought before I got back to buy them.

Yes, it is true, there are people in this region who do have jobs and will spend their money on art. Click your heels together and believe that! Turn off the news now and then and think good thoughts and meet me at the next art fair!

Congratulations to artists Bonnie Blandford and Michael Kifer who are responsible for putting the event together. Thanks, Bonnie! Put this art fair on your calendar for next year.

An Art Fair Director Who Gets It!

Posted by Connie Mettler on November 8, 2008 at 8:30pm

Good news out of Fort Worth this week when Main Street Fort Worth Art Festival's director Jay Downie announced to the applicants for their show that they had received more than the 1100 applications they had budgeted for and so were reducing their booth fees by $20. I was talking to Amy Amdur of Amdur Productions this week and she told me she was holding the prices on her events to last year's levels. In fact, she told me two of her shows were going to have lower fees. Many thanks Amy and Jay. Wouldn't it be great if this was a trend? Artists have felt very burdened by rising booth fees. It has to be a struggle for events to hold their fees down when they are, of course, faced with the same rising costs the rest of us are. Sponsors have been less forthcoming and it is a challenge for the events to balance their budgets also. I read an article in the Detroit Free Press last August about many Michigan events that were cancelled for 2008 including several that had been around for 20 years or more. Here's hoping for better days.

Please talk among yourselves :)

Posted by Connie Mettler on January 16, 2009 at 5:09pm

I am heading out momentarily for a five day trip to Washington, D.C., to participate in the inaugural festivities and will probably not be posting here for awhile.

While I'm gone, please continue to talk among yourselves and invite your friends to join us. It's been great to watch this site begin to take hold. Welcome to everyone. Don Crozier, I'll bet you have some good ideas for some posts and I challenge the rest of you also. It is freezing here in Michigan, I am thinking of good friends (like David Bigelow above) and the warm and sunny days of art fairs.

Story for a Spring Day

Posted by Connie Mettler on March 20, 2009 at 4:39pm

The Team

It was early spring…..probably April, probably early April. We were headed up to the Mennonite community to pick up an order at Howard Habeggar’s store. It was more of a shop or a small shed full of hardware and sometimes Mennonite children. Actually Howard kept all the food orders in the house, but you had to go to the store/shed first. I think this was the hard sell for Howard, as hard as he could be was to direct you to the pots, pans, halters, knives, lanterns, nails (horse shoe and wood), buggy whips, sorghum and garden tools….and axes. It was one of those incredible warm sunny spring days that make Tennessee shine like a newborn. Full of new old promise’s and great expectations. Full of next and everything. The leaves were just begun on the trees bordering the fields. Only the early leaves like Beech or Oak, were beginning to pop. As we slowly drove down the old dirt road to Howard’s store we could see some dirt flying from the heavy disc being pulled by six big Belgium horses. Five were big working horses owned by Johan Gunther, one was Flatt’s daddy’s mare being trained in the harness with the other far more experienced horses. When I found out I had a picture of Hobarts mare working with the Gunther horses I made sure he got one from Flatt for fathers day Flatt and I are long time buds, years ago we castrated, de-horned and vacinated many cows and pigs together…..both of us learned better later. Getting beat up by large animals doesn’t pay well, and is usually reserved for the hell-bent farm boy mentality that we managed to not acquire. The dirt was flying because one of Johans son’s was working a big assed heavy disc over about a 15 acre field full of dirt clods and last years corn stalks. The fields he was working were rolling, not flat. The sun was high in the sky and the wind was blowing just enough to form a small cloud of plateau dirt around the almost grown boy who was guiding these incredible animals in a ritual of motion that required both harmony and control. This man/child Mennonite was driving 8 or 10 thousand pounds of pure pulling Belgium horses, and the lead horse threw his head, not in defiance, just sheer joy at the purpose of it all. The genetic memory that moves him to pull and lead the others, to work the old corn stalks in, to make the ground smooth and ready. The family tradition of working horses bringing joy to the man/boy Mennonite…him not knowing he will be the last of the horse workers in Muddy Pond. Change is coming. A big store with gas pumps and toys for sale. The women driving small cars with tape decks and the men in trucks, hauling cows or pigs…not too many horses. John’s wife will hold out and drive the buggy……she’s the last I guess. They work that field with tractors now…..I’m sure it’s faster and not so full of joy. Hobart died anyway, I guess Flatt had to sell his horse. by Jack Stoddart

West Coast Artist? Want Strategic Info on Jurying? Free Advice

Posted by Connie Mettler on November 25, 2008 at 3:13pm

Laguna Beach, CA - Festival of Arts Offers Free Photography and Jurying Seminar on December 2 Having troubles getting your digital images together? Need advice about jurying into art fairs? Have no fear the Laguna Beach Festival of Arts is holding a 2 and a half hour seminar on Tuesday, December 2, 2008 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Forum Theater on the Festival of Arts grounds at 650 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach. Read the rest of the details at: Market Watch of the Wall Street Journal http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Festival-Arts-Offers-Free-Photography/story.aspx?guid=%7B22FBDBAE-7887-4B25-B5E2-82DEB4FEDCB4%7D on Tuesday, December 2, 2008 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Forum Theater on the Festival of Arts grounds at 650 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach.

15 Life Lessons Learned at the Nation's Art Fairs

Posted by Connie Mettler on December 10, 2008 at 10:04pm

This post was so interesting to me and such a good example of the indefatigable spirit prevalent among art fair artists that I needed to repost it here so everyone could be inspired. Here is Barbara Sistak Baur's post of her first year at art fairs. "I purchased my very first display panels last spring from Connie. She is so gracious and she

asked me to “report in” on my first year in the art fair business. So, here it goes – “The Unforgettable Life-Lessons I Learned During My First Art Fair Season”. Ahem – 1. How when I saw the truck fully loaded with panels, chairs, the tent, tubs of equipment and a few paintings thrown in on top of it all, is when I truly grasped the concept of “overhead.” 2. How you shouldn’t make the 500-artist show your first show. By yourself. Far away from

home. ( I didn’t mean to, but I was “blown out” of my first, first show.) 3. What is feels like to be trapped under a blown-over tent and debris during a micro-burst. (Or, when someone tells you to take the artwork off the walls because a storm is coming, leave immediately.) 4. How easy is it to get a “free” charge card merchant account (and then find out how much it really costs you). 5. How heavy those weights really are. (And, I still don’t have enough of them.) 6. That 6 feet 7 inches is truly out of reach. (Even on my toes, no matter how hard I stretch.) 7. How little sleep you can get and still put up a display and talk to customers. (Note to self: don’t try that again.) 8. What a hard, 16-hour day really feels like. (It ain’t like the office!) 9. How April, May, June and ½ of July were a nightmare. (But how during the second half of July, August and Sept, I felt like a pro.) 10. The shock I felt when other artists started asking ME for advice (They must have mistaken my “finally, I know how to put this thing up in less than 3 hours” look for “seasoned.”) 11. How gratified I felt when the local museum purchased a painting. (It was the only sale that day but what a good one!)

12. How my fear of talking to people who came into my booth morphed into a steady sales prattle. (I don’t know how many customers I scared away!) 13. How (inwardly) irked I am when people comment to me, “how relaxing you must find painting.” (Yeah, right.) 14. How it feels to be not “just” an artist, but, rather, an art business entrepreneur. 15. Most unforgettable are the people that helped along the way. A very special thank you to Kathy Eaton, who been an inspiration to me and a tremendous friend and wealth of knowledge. She has gone so far out of her way to point me in the right direction, subtly let me know when I am being an idiot and has given me great advice and insights. And, of course, my husband, who -- I can’t believe it -- actually fixes mangled display panels, builds shelves for the art truck and encourages me to keep going. I hope to see and meet many of you next summer! " Barbara Sistak Baur, guest blogger

Call for Entries: Brookdale Park Spring Fine Arts & Craft Show

Posted by Connie Mettler on March 27, 2009 at 1:57pm

June 20 & 21 Montclair, New Jersey presented by Rose Squared Productions, Inc. 180 Exhibitors Deadline: as categories fill up In its 21st year, the Spring Fine Art & Crafts at Brookdale Park, will feature approximately 180 professional artists, photographers and crafts people displaying and selling their American-made, hand-crafted work. This longstanding show attracts a savvy audience with its furniture, jewelry, glass, fiber, pottery, oils, watercolors, serigraphs, photography, leather, sculpture, wood and more. Spring Fine Art and Crafts at Brookdale Park is located on Watchung, Bellevue and Grove Avenues in Bloomfield/Montclair. This is an affluent neighborhood only twelve miles away from New York City.

Rose Squared Productions, Inc., has built a reputation for turning beautiful New Jersey parks into exquisite art and craft boutiques for the weekend. Over the past 28 years, Rose Squared has amassed a public mailing list of more than 30,000 attendees and uses county property to place billboards advertising the show to bring in an admiring crowd. Each park is a lovely setting for the free two day event with a Friday as well as Saturday morning set up. One of five park shows, Spring Fine Art and Crafts Show at Brookdale Park, a high quality, juried fine art and craft show. pottery by Andrew Wender Rose Squared Productions, Inc., shows are known for their exhibitor friendly atmosphere with an extremely easy set up and breakdown. The other shows are listed on the web site: www.rosesquared.com For additional information please contact Rose Squared Productions, Inc. at info@rosesquared.com or call 1-908-874-5247 Applications available at www.rosesquared.com

Choosing to Participate in an Art Fair-Last Call!

Posted by Connie Mettler on February 1, 2009 at 5:37pm

Part of being an artist is weighing the opportunities that come your way through the year. Art fairs turn out to not be what they used to be so you do not return, then new art fairs appear to take their place. If you do not support the new promising events eventually your marketplace shrinks and your choices become more limited.

We, my husband Norm Darwish and I, have participated in many first year events--some terrific and others not, so. But when an event came along that showed PR moxie and professional staffing we knew it deserved a chance if we were going to continue to earn our living in the art fair business. We made it a part of our business plan to do a new art fair or two every year to keep us fresh and exploring new territories and to meet new customers. Most years we we included a first year show. We participated in the first ArtiGras in W. Palm Beach, the first Cherry Creek Art Festival, the first Arts, Beats & Eats as well as smaller events. I thought he was crazy to go all the way to Denver for Cherry Creek (who would drive from the Midwest for a first time show?), but happily accompanied him in subsequent years. The early days at Arts, Beats & Eats were fabulous, hitting five figures in sales in year one.

The Call for Entries below is your chance to help build a new strong event in metro Detroit. There will be good promotion for this first time event and lots of PR buzz, people will attend to see what it is all about. If the event only displays mediocre work not much will come of it, but if we present fine work a new show will have been born. Think really hard about joining us. If you live in a 200 mile radius of metro Detroit please consider quickly the Great Lakes Art Fair. The deadline is tomorrow.

Great Lakes Art Fair April 17, 18 & 19 Novi, MI Rock Financial Showplace 200 artists Deadline: February 2 Why you should be interested: 1. Great date and indoors 2. Organizers who know the Detroit marketplace and have the energy and financial resources to create good buzz about the event 3. A strong marketing team who market various kinds of events at this venue all year long 4. A quality exhibition space in a very upscale suburb of Oakland County, frequented by thousands just about every weekend 5. They are seeking to partner with arts organizations and charities to present an art fair that is connected to the local community 6. Classy amenities: gourmet catered food, landscaped gallery entry to showcase your best work, opening night gala where you are the guest, not the sales person, promo postcards for your patrons, hotel discounts 7. Fair booth fees

There will be a spring and fall art fair. These dates were recently vacated by Sugarloaf who has decided not to come back to Michigan. The Sugarloaf event had many loyal customers who will be very pleased to see this new incarnation of the event. In addition to that the Rock Financial Showplace managers are planning a more upscale event to fit the local clientele. Expect charity tie-ins, a show designer to make the venue attractive and low key entertainment to keep the patrons in the building and lots more. Visit: GreatLakesArtFair.com for more

information Apply today at: www.zapplication.org Deadline-February 2 I am consulting with the owners of this really nice exhibition space to help them create a classy event that will bring in the patrons. If you know me you know I've been involved in the art fair business for over 25 years, wearing many hats: artist partner, show director, art fair organizer and have participated in over 400 art fairs. I believe this event shows promise. Early applicants receive free electricity and a chance to have their images used in publicity. P.S. Do not listen to the news! I was in metro Detroit this week. There were cars on the freeways, parking lots full of cars at office buildings, two events taking place at the Rock Showplace. There is a lot of commercial activity going on. Yes, some people are not doing well - but most people have jobs. The upscale Somerset Mall is thriving. People still have money, love to shop and be entertained. Join us in Novi in April!

Clips from Coconut Grove

Posted by Connie Mettler on February 16, 2009 at 10:00am

Of course the Miami Herald cannot ignore the Coconut Grove Arts Festival. Click on the link to read all about it, see a video and some images from the event. Don't miss Duncan McClellan's fine blown glass, a fixture at the festival. This article by George Leposky of MiamiTravelExaminer.com gives some more background for the festival and what I liked even more, a fair number of images of the arts. The Festival gives out some 50 awards, but George and his wife, Rosalie, give out awards by sharing with you their favorite work. Good choices, George! Member of ArtFairInsider.com, Mark Glocke is included.

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