Just a quick note to anyone thinking about exhibiting at the Palm Beach Contemporary show in March and / or the Palm Beach Fine Craft Show in February: do your homework!
The Fine Craft Show was a great show for many years, but it was sold recently to the group that does the big antique shows. They say they are going to hold the craft show "in conjunction with" their antique show in Palm Beach in February. They also decided to hold a craft show in Baltimore, also "in conjunction" with their antique show. Problem was, it wasn't. The craft artist (there were only 10) were stuck at the end of the building, near all of the low-end antiques, books and such. Their booths were not numbered, and they were not included in the list of artists on the map; and none of the signs at the show had any mention of them. All of the craft artists I spoke to were livid. "Duped," was the word used by most of them.
Now, about that Palm Beach Fine Craft Show: the show is not part of the big antique show. It's upstairs in a small ballroom, far away from the glitz and glamour of the antique show. The room upstairs has very limited electricity, so don't bother bringing any lights. If they repeat what they did in Baltimore, which is very likely, there will be zero advertising for the craft artists. They just assume people who are already coming to the antique show will find their way upstairs.
Now, about the other show in Palm Beach: the former publicist for the Palm Beach Fine Craft Show has launched a new show, and most of the best artists have committed to that show. It's called Palm Beach Contemporary and dates are March 10-12. He and his wife launched the new show after Crafts America, which produced the Palm Beach show for 13 years, told everyone they were closing the show and going out of business. Six weeks after the new show was announced, Crafts America decided to sell the old Palm Beach Show to the antique show group (Palm Beach Show Group) for $50,000. My understanding is that the former publicist was offered the show for 10 times that amount and said no. Long story short: do your homework and check out both shows before you decide. palmbeachfinecraft.com is the old show, and pbartshow.com is the new one. I'm leaning toward the new one.
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