Went to visit the ACE today, having heard glowing reports. The work there was extraordinary!! By far the finest art or craft show I have ever seen.
But...
The energy was very low. Not a ton of patrons, and only saw two carrying small purchases (I always count bags in the crowd, can't help it). Artists seemed tired or bored or were reading their emails and kindles. Tried to ask politely of a few how it was going...received replies like, "It's okay, I made my expenses", and "Well, it's just an honor to be here.". Interpreted as, "I didn't sell squat today."
I hope tomorrow will be better for them. Is anyone doing this show?? Any reports from the inside? With a booth fee of $1500 to $2000, I hope they end up with more than warm fuzzies for being accepted.
If you are in the area, you absolutely must go to see these exceptional artists.
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I talked to a potter that did it this year and he said crowds were very thin too. He made a little bit of money but there were a lot of disappointed artists. I want to apply to this show but stories like this make me have second thoughts.
Is that really the booth fee? I came here today specifically to find out. Interesting that Juried Art Service doesn't seem to list that info anywhere on the application, only the $50 app fee. That's kind of messed up. Surprise!
I went to see it 2011. Same impressions I got. Great work, crowd was very thin. As a total novice, biggest thing for me was what a great place to see examples of how to do a hoity-toity booth display.
I'm very anxious to get reports. I did this show a couple of years ago and what you observed rang true for then as well. Jewelry and wearables did well, outstanding work, light crowds, demographic leaned heavily toward older women. I would love to see this show work well across the board for the high end crafts. It's only a one day drive for me and I didn't even apply this year. Fingers crossed.