This is the first time I've done this show.
We were greeted by a enthusiastic group of volunteers one of which used a golf cart to lead us to our booth. The site is on the green at Eden Theological Seminary at Webster College, private schools. The neighborhood is established and groomed, all well and good. The weather was horrible with afternoon temps in the mid 90's to near 100 along with the humidity. Attendance was missing until after 5:30 (the hours were open until 10:00 pm) and even then, thin, the buying was that, too.
Saturday and Sunday were the same.
Several of the smart artists left early. what was selling... just like another art and craft fair.... yard art on a stick, production pots, beer and cold water. Oh well everyone was friendly. My expenses were minimal thanks to a friend who put us up and two breakfasts at the fair.
Extreme weather always finds a way to keep customers away in droves.
2dimensional art was a hard sell for some reason. Even the jewelry booths set empty especially if prices were above cheap. Which most were for good reason. Glass and photography slow as well. really everything was off at this show,this time. We keep coming back for more.
You all have a good show this week-end, I'll be at a newish show in Olathe, Ks downtown and outside.
Replies
I was also at the show. It was by far the hottest show I have ever participated in. I am a glass artist and sales were a little different for me. Friday was great! I was thinking this was going to be a good one. Then came Saturday. So hot. For hours the crowd was sparse. At least the committee came around on golf carts and made sure everyone had plenty of cold water. Saturday at about 6 the crowd started coming back out. From 6 to 10 our sales improved but we just ran out of time. We could have closed at 9 but we stayed open until 10. I wish Saturday's hours were from 5 until midnight. Sunday was more heat and slow sales. Overall we did ok due primarily to a good Friday. Who can predict the weather though. We didn't do Art and Air last year. We did another show closer to home (which was a total bust) but we did the year before that. The weather was nice all weekend and sales were about the same. So go figure.
Thanks for the report Mark and sorry to hear customers and sales were slow. Seems to be a common thing recently. Hope that your Olathe show is buzzing!