This was my first time doing the St. James art festival so I wasn't sure what to expect, I was pleasantly surprised. I was in the 3rd st. section but my space was actually on the corner of Magnolia and 4th st, intersecting four different sections. The setup and breakdown were a breeze due to the constant monitoring by the Louisville police, they kept the lanes open and traffic moving. The police were wonderful, polite yet firm and they really looked out for the artists, working alone I really appreciate that. Each section has different ammenities, my section provided breakfast, delivered boxed lunches & water, and boothsitters. The people of Louisville are very loyal to this show and turned out in droves all three days, even with the bit of rain on Saturday I still had people buying.
I managed to solicite some sales info from neighbors and friends (the names are withheld to protect their identity). In the inner court a first time woodturner did 5200. with the sales of his functional items (peppermills) but no sales of his decorative hollowforms. His neighbors, a painter & photographer didn't make booth fee. In my section a copper artist (wall art) did 2000, 1/2 from the prior year, fiber artist with large wall art didn't give exact figures but wasn't happy. Handmade clothing next to me did very well. I'm a jeweler (metalsmith) with prices ranging from 20 to 500, my sales were 5300. I'm not at all dissapointed with my sales but given the number of people at this show they should have been doubled, the economy rears its ugly head.
The pictures were taken from the back of booth, it's pretty much what my booth looked like all weekend.
Hopefully I'll be invited for next years show but if not I'll definately be applying again.
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