Hi all. Just finished showing at the Levis Common Fine Arts Fair in Perrysburg, OH. The event is run by the Guild of Artists and Artitsans in Ann Arbor, MI. As such, it strives to be artist friendly, and I think they achieved this. Set up and tear downs were well organized, booth sitters were available, and they even came around often to the tents with icy cold bottled water.
The event is held at an upscale outdoor shopping mall. Tents are set up along both sides of the main boulevard and along the median. They are on asphalt, and the standard spaces are a pretty tight 10’ x 10’, although there are options for many corner spaces. Besides the artists booths, there was some live music for a brief period on Saturday, and they had a small area set up to promote art for children. There was an artists reception table set up for coffee, donuts, and bagels, but otherwise, the artists had to find food from the business in the mall.
There were a good number of artists, although I heard that participation was down from a couple years ago. Apparently, a major road construction project two years ago had a huge impact on that year’s show, and many of the artists did not return after that. Anyways, near the very end segment of the boulevard, the tents were sparse and the show organizers were still seeking more applicants past the original deadline.
This year’s show had decent attendance, but the weather certainly did not cooperate. Saturday was pretty toasty and steamy, and brought a heavy downpour mid afternoon. But after the rain subsided, the crowd returned. Sunday started well, but also brought rain by early afternoon. This time, the showers were lighter but more frequent, and only a few shoppers lingered through the off and on rain.
I’m a painter, and sales wise, I didn’t do so great. Another painter across from me seemed to do about likewise. I sold one original, three matted prints, and a canvas reproduction. The booth across from me was selling metal sculptures and lawn art and did very well with sales - had people buying even in the rain! Another nearby booth selling glassware did ok, but told me their Saturday sales had slowed after the morning, and Sunday was slow for them, too. Another artist doing ceramics also lamented she had not done well.
Because of the showers, the organizers announced they were allowing a soft close a half hour before the official close, but many of the artists had been quietly wrapping up even before that. I think that under ideal weather conditions, this venue could produce a good size crowd; but I’m not sure how their buying patterns would be. My impression was that jewelry and lawn art did very well, though.
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