Nels and Geoff, you have inspired me to come out of hibernation and post about my first show of the season, the St. Petersburg Fine Art Festival.
Across the bay from Tampa, I find St. Pete to be a charming city. This first year show was set in North Straub Park, flanked by Bayshore Dr. on one side and Beach Dr. on the other and next to the Museum of Fine Art. Beach Dr. is home to high end specialty shops, galleries, museums and restaurants and tons of foot traffic. Bayshore Dr. seems to be protected from the high winds of Tampa Bay by what they call ‘Yacht Basins’. The park has a mix of grass and sand and it is a location that is flat as a pancake. No staking allowed due to sprinkler system. The location is wheelchair accessible. Since it had been raining all week, it seemed to be rough going in the sandy areas but much easier in the grass.
Once you checked in and found your space, you dollied in and set up. Plenty of room behind for storage. Bring quarters to feed the meters. ‘cause there’s only metered parking in the area and it’s from 9am-6pm, 7 days a week. I may have gotten lucky in not getting a ticket when I ran out of quarters but I wouldn’t want to make a habit of it… For breakdown, you could either dolly out or we were able to drive in once we were broken down to load up. Overall, pretty easy. Artist parking on Saturday and Sunday was a couple blocks away in a $3 lot.
This is my favorite sized show. Right around 100 artists, I think. Laid out in 3 rows or so and small enough that folks walked the entire show. I specifically chose this show because it was in St. Pete. I’ve been trying to find my sweet spot in Florida and had previously done well in the area so wanted to see if I could repeat success.
Good communications to the artists, particularly around the logistics of the ongoing rain last week and how it was affecting the location. Lots of advertising was done for this show. TV spots, print, etc. and plenty of signage. Between the advertising and the fact that it was the first nice weekend in over two weeks, the people came out. More dog strollers than kid strollers. All age groups. I saw more small-medium size prints walking by than 3D but am not sure how others really did so chime in here and share your experience! I had a solid show and after so-so sales at my fall shows, I really needed this.
My sales? I took inventory with a price point of $115-$875. I’ve been hauling around this larger hanging glass piece for 10 months and people have been cringing at the price. Until this past weekend. I still didn’t sell that particular piece but thanks to some follow-up calls the last couple of days, I ended up with multiple ‘paid for’ commissions for something similar plus another commission for a smaller piece. Interestingly enough, I only sold 1 piece of glass off of my shelves and nothing under $400. These patrons were buying for their St. Pete homes. These were my people.
And I highly recommend eating on the patio at Red Mesa… really good food and margaritas as big as your head!
Comments
Realize this is old but wondered if anyone has done the show since it's first year. On the fence about doing this year. Seems like potential but...
Kathy, Thank you for the info. You write beautifully. I don't! :)
Did all that mulch turn things into a mess?
Great, Kathy! THANKS...you did a fine job.
I was there, booth #108 at the corner of the museum closest to Bayshore Drive. So I will add just a little bit of detail, because Kathy has given everyone the key information:
* Bill Kinney and his crew worked diligently with the museum and the city to get the grounds "workable" in the wake of a three-day rain that ended early Saturday morning. Bill said in a post-show communication that it was the most difficult setup Paragon has ever experienced. On Friday evening a dump truk arrived, bringing mulch, in an attempt to sop up the moisture and provide traction. Saturday morning was foggy and humid but precipitation-free, thank goodness. The show was crowded with knowledgable patrons nearly all weekend, from opening bell until around 4 PM on Sunday.
My sales at the show were modest, though profitable--in line with what I've been making closer to home. However, I made a $750 sale on Monday before I left town, and would have had another $1600 sale had I been able to meet with both prospects simultaneously ;-) . (As it was, I rescheduled the second for next month.)
Why didn't folks spend more freely at the show? Kinney speculated that the rough month in the stock market might have had a lot to do with it. I think it was the parking: downtown St. Pete is a busy spot, and the good parking locations go fast. Folks don't want to carry purchases long distances back to their vehicles, especially when they are getting up in years. And although the mulch made the show navigable for most, I saw many older customers with canes and walkers really struggle with it. I could understand if they were hesitant to give up their free arm to carry things around when they needed it for balance.
So the show was a wee bit short of a home run, perhaps, but Bill and his staff did one hell of a job working with the staff and the circumstances. I, for one, will look forward to this one next year.
Hey Kathy glad to have you blogging. You did a fine job.
As to the venue in St. Pete, here is the rub.
Before Bill Kinney another local promoter ran a show before Christmas in 2012 there.
Good artists, crowds came but sales sucked.
Bill Kinney did a hell of a job promoting his show. Friends who did it, said it was laid out well, crowds came, and sales still were small.
I just think St. Pete is a hard sell for fine arts. Even Mainsail which is held in April near this show location only does so well. St. Pete still has a long way to go for art sales, but here is hoping.
Thanks, Pat! I added the dates to the title.
Kathy, I enjoyed your review, but please include the dates of the show you are reviewing and the promoter. With so many shows in Florida, it would be nice to know that info. Thank you Linda for adding the promoter.
Was there also. Glad you had a good show Kathy. We thought we were going to have a good show because the crowds were good and there seemed to be a lot of serious interest in my paintings. However, we sold only small items, not enough to cover costs. I believe this was the first time Paragon has had the show at this location. I believe the other show that was mentioned above (which I also did) was put on by a different promoter. I love the location -- but not sure I'll come back to this venue as it hasn't been good for me. I will definitely try another Paragon show as I was impressed with Bill's advertising and communication.
I was there too, and appreciated Bill's phenomenal advertising and artist communication. Lotsa lookers, but a good showing for a first time event. Didn't do great, but good, and I feel it was a good kick-off to what will become a better event. Lovely area too!