Hey all. I hope I am not posting too many questions here, but this question was on my mind regarding art fairs. Generally speaking, kids are ok at shows - they learned to not touch things that break (if their parents teach them well) or are just well behaved and help their parents find things to buy (those are the kids I love). However there is always the 1 - 10% where kids are not that delightful. What are some ideas on how you handled unruly kids at shows (whatever the situation might be)?
For me there aren't a whole lot of situations I can recall having to "take care of" a problem child - except those who like to take a TON of samples. I have witnessed kids from strollers pull down table cloths where items were broken and the same goes for hyper active kids and kids who cry - where no one will approach the booth with a 10 ft. pole if a screaming child is present.
Michelle
www.bythebaybotanicals.com
Photo is from www.weeklygripe.co.uk/a100.asp
As a former teacher, I have perfected "the look." You know, the one the teachers used to give you when you were doing something you weren't supposed to to. Usually it's the kids whose parents don't know that they are actually the grownup, so when I see a kid handling something too aggressively I just stand up and give them the look-sometimes accompanied by a slight head nod-they usually run scurrying behind a parent-they know they are not supposed to be touching breakable objects. If that fails, I say, "Please be very careful with that, it's breakable and costs $." That usually gets the parents attention if they know their pocketbook is in peril. Usually kids are fairly well mannered and touch lightly-after all they are just trying to feel their way through the world-oddly enough, most breakage is at the hand of aggressive adults!
Clair
I too have had this problem and decided that we are going to make a top for kids to play with or something of that nature. I do have a couple of signs posted for parents to please watch their kids that if they drop something the parent must pay for it. It seems to work. With wood if something is dropped on the ground, it will dent and I cannot return it. I have ended up with so many things that we give away because of this.
You mention an interesting point - what may work for one may not work for others. I have my own ideas, but I know they won't work for everyone. It is apart of being in business where if part of "your" target marketing audience includes mom's or families - even if it is selling at shows where these people are present - that something needs to be done to keep all at ease/entertained. The delima I see is that, generally, how can you "entertain" kids when you have only 10x10 space? Is it the parents responsibility? Is it part of our responsibility too? However you look at it, in my opinion, I think there is a trust issue between you, the parents and the kids when it comes to showing you mean business but are kid friendly too - or at least give the appearance that you are. Again 9 times out of 10 most kids are very well behaved: comfortable in a stroller, know that they shouldn't touch things without permission, and those who get the occasional sugar rushes tend to be on a short leash with parents and either the mom or dad stays with "junior" outside of the booth while the other shops. But that 1 out of 10, it is hard to figure out. Regardless thanks for your input - all of you.
Whenever a child comes into my booth I give them a small piece of fire polished glass and tell them this is the only thing they can touch while in my booth. The parents seem to like this and the children get a treasure from the show that most likely they didn't even want to go to in the first place. When I do a firing I just put some extra pieces of glass on the shelf for the kids. Kate
I know it's bad manners to just post links, so the short story is, finding ways to make kids feel welcome in your booth can go a long way to creating a good selling environment. It's not for everybody, and it won't work every time. But if you're looking for a win/win way to deal with it, you might enjoy the article.
I also think part of the issue is the quality of the show you're doing. You're going to have more "Looky Lou's" at a show with a carnival aspect than a juried art show. Re: people photographing your work, our culture has changed a lot with the advent of cell phones that take pictures. Most people who have done that in my booth were simply showing a faraway friend something cool they see at the show. We have a different outlook on that, of course, but sometimes it's less hassle for everyone involved to accept that for what it is (friends staying in touch with friends" and let it go. Not everything is a teachable moment! :^)
Creating work that is very textual, I have many children (and adults) that want to touch it. What has been most successful for me is having a couple of small pieces painted just for that purpose. I have a sign on them that says, "Okay to touch this one." And generally hand them quickly to those reaching out.
I don't know what to do about the people who want to take pictures of my artwork. And, I have no idea of why they do it. So, I have started asking them, if I can catch them before the click, what their plans are for their photo. "um...look at it," was the last response I received.
Christine Hauber said:
I am one who is too timid to say much. Luckily I have also been pretty lucky in not having a big issue with kids touching or pulling on table clothes. I have more problems with adults or teenagers who should know better then touching canvases or trying to take photos of my artwork. In these cases, I generally calming asked them to please not touch or to please not take photos of my work. (after saying this all weekend in Tulsa, Ok, I finally put up a sign next to the pieces most were photographing)
I am one who is too timid to say much. Luckily I have also been pretty lucky in not having a big issue with kids touching or pulling on table clothes. I have more problems with adults or teenagers who should know better then touching canvases or trying to take photos of my artwork. In these cases, I generally calming asked them to please not touch or to please not take photos of my work. (after saying this all weekend in Tulsa, Ok, I finally put up a sign next to the pieces most were photographing)
Replies
Clair
I know it's bad manners to just post links, so the short story is, finding ways to make kids feel welcome in your booth can go a long way to creating a good selling environment. It's not for everybody, and it won't work every time. But if you're looking for a win/win way to deal with it, you might enjoy the article.
I also think part of the issue is the quality of the show you're doing. You're going to have more "Looky Lou's" at a show with a carnival aspect than a juried art show. Re: people photographing your work, our culture has changed a lot with the advent of cell phones that take pictures. Most people who have done that in my booth were simply showing a faraway friend something cool they see at the show. We have a different outlook on that, of course, but sometimes it's less hassle for everyone involved to accept that for what it is (friends staying in touch with friends" and let it go. Not everything is a teachable moment! :^)
I don't know what to do about the people who want to take pictures of my artwork. And, I have no idea of why they do it. So, I have started asking them, if I can catch them before the click, what their plans are for their photo. "um...look at it," was the last response I received.
Christine Hauber said: