Cambier Park, in the center of Naples, Florida, hosted another new show this past weekend, presented by Artcrafters ans sponsored by Edward Jones Investments. The good news (or is it?) is that this group will be presenting a show every month from October to April. Here's a link: http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2011/nov/12/naples-artcrafters-naples-art-show-cambier-park/
What do you think? Is there a never ending pot of gold in Naples or is this just too much?
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If you have large enough visitors' base, you cannot have way too many shows (just my 2 cents). Florida has a decent turnaround of tourists - and IMHO most of the arts/crafts shows are pointed towards the tourists. Another well saturated with shows place is New Orleans - different customer base, but still many people there live because the tourists -they have a arts/crafts market every Saturday in different places. Of course, some of these are on the borderline with the flea markets, others are more aspiring, but here is a show every week, and this not counting the big events like the FQ fest, the Jazz fest or Essence fest.
The point is - if you have enough tourists, you cannot have too much shows. And many tourists will travel for their favorite show.
I am remembering 5 to 10 years ago we all were saying that Florida was oversaturated with shows (is that a word?). I wonder how many more were added since then.
Good point, Barry, about the constantly changing audience though. The tourists come and go, so there are always fresh faces and I guess just about any weekend Sally can say to Harry, "let's go to an art fair," and there will be one just around the corner. Also a good point by Martha that only a small percentage of those who attend the shows really differentiate between them. Do they care if ArtFest in Fort Myers is a top 50 show, or the Artcrafters showing up monthly at Cambier Park are local folks? Probably not.
I don't think Naples is the only market that is being over saturated with art shows. My opinion is that it is happening across Florida, and we've personally experienced the over saturated art show market in the Sarasota area. The average customer sees only a sea of white tents, they don't differentiate between a Naples National and farmers market. So they see just another show, just like last weekend, and just like next weekend and they really don't know the difference. As was said below, the are tapped out, over saturated. Too many promoters are putting on too many shows in the same location week after week, month after month, trying to suck a fixed amount of dollars out of snow bird pockets. Seems at a lot of these shows, promoters are the only ones making money any more.
As far as I'm concerned there are only a couple of those 52 shows in Naples, worth doing. The rest are borderline flea markets. Unfortunately, what happens is that the other shows dilute some of the customer base. The problem is that for us Northerners coming down, if you have an off weekend, it is better to do a show instead of hanging out at the beach. I'm going to add a second Naples show, just because I trust and like the person putting it on. Since I'm stuck in Florida anyway, my break even point is just the show fee. Looking at my sales from Naples from the last few years, most of my sales were from tourists and that changes from week to week.
Lol!!! I'm assuming that I am getting into Naples National. That isn't always a sure thing.
I started putting together a list of all the shows in the area, looking at AFSB, the Naples Art Association site, and I ran across this definitive listing:
http://www.southwestfloridatraveler.com/festivals-fairs-schedule-by...
Granted, the Naples Art Association and Naples ArtCrafters events are smaller, locals only, generally one-day affairs, but seriously, does Naples need all of these shows?
Add in Bonita, Estero, Fort Myers... it's getting pretty crowded. It doesn't bode well for making money in this market.
FYI, the Artcrafters shows are not new. They've been holding them for 42 years. But they are a local group. The Naples Art Association Art in the Park shows are a similar venue. And they run back to back. One is the first Saturday of each month, the other is the second Saturday.
If you're an veteran art-fair aficionado, there's something, maybe two somethings every weekend during high season, and that's not a bad thing. If you're purchasing something every weekend, though, come by my booth!
Jim: Hahaha, good one! Leave 'em laughing. . .
It would be pretty to think the pot was bottomless, but the economy hasn't yet turned around in SW Florida so I'm frankly pessimistic. Not only are there new shows like this one popping up in Naples and environs--witness Barry Witt adding a third, February show this year-- but shows elsewhere in the area seem to be abandoning early season dates in favor of the Jan.-Mar. "sweet spot" for snowbird visits.
Given how shallow the pockets are among year-round Florida residents, you can see their point. But at some point this dangerous brew of more shows, on fewer dates, with higher booth fees, and ever more folks seeking to enter this business after losing their day jobs, is going to spontaneously combust.
There are already too many shows in Naples. I have done four of them and only one is worth the trip and that is Naples National and even that one can be very dependent on where your booth is.