Completed my first art show last weekend, the "Chastain Park Arts and Crafts Show" in Georgia, and it was a big success. My first show and I've made half of my Art Fair investment back, very pleased. I've also been accepted to the Duluth Art Fair in the beginning of June.
A big thanks for all the help from everyone and the general info on the site. I felt well prepared and didn't have any real hiccups during the show (knock on wood). Didn't stop me from freaking out on Friday during setup, but I got past it. I did get help from several artists near my booth, all of whom were very nice and went out of there way to be friendly and make me feel welcome.
From this site I used tips on:
Applying to shows
Booth Layout
Booth Photo
Picking out a good tent
Tutorial on tent weights
Pricing Suggestions
Credit Card Reader (I used Square)
Selling Art
Insurance
"What to Bring to Show" list
...and most importantly the confidence it gave me to believe that I could really sell my work at an art show.
Admittedly, I have been using the site for a year or two to prepare. I went from having almost nothing for a show to being prepared in a month after being accepted for my first show. So a rousing thanks to "Art Fair Insiders".
Matt Ganote
Replies
Great news! Congratulations and best wishes for continuing success, Matt!
Well, good for you, Matt! So great to hear we have been helpful. In fact, your listing is a primer on how to get started, an art fair 101, and it surely helps doesn't it?
A couple of years ago I attended the Old Town Art Fair in Chicago and I noticed a familiar name on the booth sign from seeing on this site. The booth was impeccable, the art work very nice and beautifully arranged with a smiling artist who looked like a pro. It was Sabrina Zhou and I asked her how long she'd been doing shows and she said it was her first one and she'd learned it all from this site. I see her name regularly on the good shows lists now.
I"d guess that your list above was from tips of many, many artists. May this just be your first good show and thanks for the pat on the back from all of us here. We appreciate it.
Those two shows are pretty far apart, so it seems you're not following our rule to start out in a 100 circle of where you live! It would be interesting to hear how you made those choices.
Congratulations on a successful first show!