Is there a good way to get information about average, or even total, sales for a given show? I know some ask for sales to be reported & some don't, but I doubt shows make that info public anyway, correct?
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Another good resource is Festival Network Online. They have one of the most complete lists of shows I have seen including many of the smaller fairs. For a reasonable annual fee you can get listings that include reviews, contact info., fees, dates, whether they are juried or not, etc. The listings can be sorted a number of ways: by state, date, month, radius from your home. I have found it very useful as I am more interested in applying to the lesser-known mid-level shows in my region where the quality is reasonably good and the chance of getting accepted is high. Their listings also include other types of festivals in case you feel like taking the weekend off and visit a music festival instead. They are also very open to suggestions on how to improve their listings.
Steph Mader > Sheila WissnerJanuary 7, 2011 at 10:20pm
Thanks Sheila,
I agree, that's a good site. Since I'm in Washington State, it's nice to have a site that has a lot of those smaller shows in the NW. At least you can see about what the attendance is, even though I imagine you take those numbers with a grain of salt. Last year I did the same sales at a show that reported 3000 attendance as I did at a show that reported 100K+. You just never know, for sure. That smaller show was in an area that has really good studio tours every year, so they have an educated buying public.
Thanks Phil, that helps a lot. Yes, I have a freakishly strong need for lots of information. Perhaps I was potty trained too early?
I do really appreciate the cautions from everyone, and I take all the comments in the spirit in which they were intended. I know that sales can varying wildly from artist to artist, show to show, etc. Human behavior is inexplicable.
Sure, all your comments make sense. And my meager 6-show experience says you know what you're talking about.
I come from a business background where every bit of information you can estimate, ballpark or guess at can be an advantage. So even though individuals' experience can be crazily different, you would be probably be able to tell which shows have a greater probability of being better, all other things being equal. The "just do a bunch of random shows and see what works" model maybe is not the very best way to proceed if you can get any information at all. That's why this site is valuable, right? Because members speak up and say whether they heard others were doing okay at a show or not, whether they would go back again, that kind of thing.
Probably the most accurate resource in terms of sales figures is by subscribing to the Art Fair Sourcebook. Greg's reviews are based on artist submitted review cards and he rejects them if they are touched by the show staff.
But the real or not real truth is that there is nothing that can replace personal experience. So no matter what you read in reviews on this or any other web site, or even in the Sourcebook, you shouldn't base career decisions on someone else's experience. Any review should always be taken with a grain of salt because everyone's artwork and experience is different. Artists who do well normally don't tell anyone because they don't want to create competition for their space in the following years show.
Another thing is that depending on your work and the level of shows you expect to get a fair shot at getting into, everyone should have a list of approximately ten shows they apply to each year no matter what because just getting in once to the better shows can be a career changing experience.
Average Sales for a given show... An average would include the artists having a grand slam show and those having a zero show so if you are the one with the zero none of the averages matter. Some artists make consistent money (or use to) anywhere, others do better regionally or at certain shows.
When you get show sales information it's important to know who it's coming from. Some shows have better 3D sales than 2D and vice versa. Even within 2D there are differences, I've been in some shows where the only 2D seeming to sell is Photography, or paintings are selling but only abstracts. When I read the blogs here to get an idea about sales at a show I always check to see what category they apply under. It makes a difference.
Many blog writers ask around for their reports, rule of thumb at a show is to always say "yah, I'm doing great" because often "your" attitude is everything when it comes to sales. Some artist routinely inflate their sales to seem more successful, others underreport hoping for fewer applicants less competition. Doesn't always make for the most accurate show report.
Replies
Thanks Sheila,
I agree, that's a good site. Since I'm in Washington State, it's nice to have a site that has a lot of those smaller shows in the NW. At least you can see about what the attendance is, even though I imagine you take those numbers with a grain of salt. Last year I did the same sales at a show that reported 3000 attendance as I did at a show that reported 100K+. You just never know, for sure. That smaller show was in an area that has really good studio tours every year, so they have an educated buying public.
Thanks Phil, that helps a lot. Yes, I have a freakishly strong need for lots of information. Perhaps I was potty trained too early?
I do really appreciate the cautions from everyone, and I take all the comments in the spirit in which they were intended. I know that sales can varying wildly from artist to artist, show to show, etc. Human behavior is inexplicable.
Thanks everybody for being so helpful.
Steph
Sure, all your comments make sense. And my meager 6-show experience says you know what you're talking about.
I come from a business background where every bit of information you can estimate, ballpark or guess at can be an advantage. So even though individuals' experience can be crazily different, you would be probably be able to tell which shows have a greater probability of being better, all other things being equal. The "just do a bunch of random shows and see what works" model maybe is not the very best way to proceed if you can get any information at all. That's why this site is valuable, right? Because members speak up and say whether they heard others were doing okay at a show or not, whether they would go back again, that kind of thing.
Probably the most accurate resource in terms of sales figures is by subscribing to the Art Fair Sourcebook. Greg's reviews are based on artist submitted review cards and he rejects them if they are touched by the show staff.
But the real or not real truth is that there is nothing that can replace personal experience. So no matter what you read in reviews on this or any other web site, or even in the Sourcebook, you shouldn't base career decisions on someone else's experience. Any review should always be taken with a grain of salt because everyone's artwork and experience is different. Artists who do well normally don't tell anyone because they don't want to create competition for their space in the following years show.
Another thing is that depending on your work and the level of shows you expect to get a fair shot at getting into, everyone should have a list of approximately ten shows they apply to each year no matter what because just getting in once to the better shows can be a career changing experience.
Larry Berman
Digital Jury Services
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100
Average Sales for a given show... An average would include the artists having a grand slam show and those having a zero show so if you are the one with the zero none of the averages matter. Some artists make consistent money (or use to) anywhere, others do better regionally or at certain shows.
When you get show sales information it's important to know who it's coming from. Some shows have better 3D sales than 2D and vice versa. Even within 2D there are differences, I've been in some shows where the only 2D seeming to sell is Photography, or paintings are selling but only abstracts. When I read the blogs here to get an idea about sales at a show I always check to see what category they apply under. It makes a difference.
Many blog writers ask around for their reports, rule of thumb at a show is to always say "yah, I'm doing great" because often "your" attitude is everything when it comes to sales. Some artist routinely inflate their sales to seem more successful, others underreport hoping for fewer applicants less competition. Doesn't always make for the most accurate show report.