Oh what a beautiful day it was on Sunday at Lincoln Park Civic Commons...Finally a break from the heat and the people started coming around 9:30 to look (show started at 11am) and tapered off about 30 minutes before the 5pm close time. Load in started at 6:30am since there was a concert the previous night. You had to dolly a short way to your assigned space and it was pretty orderly. Lots of volunteers around to show you where to go. Artist parking was in the closest parking lot to the show which was very nice. Coffee, juice & muffins for breakfast and volunteers were generous with the water during the day. The show director made it a point to go around and introduce himself and volunteers checked in regularly. An actual show survey rounded out the day and you can tell by the questions on it that they take it to heart.94 artists. A pretty balanced mix of mediums. Price points from low to high. The crowds were steady all day. I saw lots of pottery and small prints walking by. The jewelry artist across from me did a steady business all day. The jeweler I bought a necklace from was having a so-so show and the clay artist I bought a piece from was having an excellent show.This is an established show in a popular neighborhood. There are a couple of foods booths and some jazz but art is the destination here. People look forward to this show and the ages ranged from the stroller crowd to the walker and cane crowd. Two of my teenage nieces came to the show. They've been going with their parents since they were kids and I was now the 'cool' aunt because I was an artist in their favorite art show. My aunt saw a commercial or interview in the week leading up the show where they showed photos of the artist's work and talked about the show. There was also coverage in the weekend section of the paper.I work with glass and sold my two highest priced pieces, had two different designers bring clients through and have finalized the details for commissions from those and have an appointment to take some pieces to a client's home to see how they look in different areas of their home when I go back up next month.The people who came in my booth weren't particularly knowledgeable about glass and didn't really care about the technique. They walked up and were picturing it in their home and wanted to know how to light it, how easily it would break if the cats/dogs bumped it, etc. None of my lower priced work sold. Booth fee was reasonable ($160) which made it easy to make a tidy profit.This was my first year doing this one day show and I'll do it again in a heartbeat if they'll have me. Plus my siblings and their spouses plus niecelets, parents and aunts and uncles came by to see what I actually do so it was like christmas in the summer!
How great to hear of a well run show and one that was successful. Its good to see a few decent results starting to come in for the end of the season. Thanks for the rundown Kathy!
PS, I agree with one day shows - they can seem like a lot of work, but there is a sense of urgency amongst the attendees to actually get there and buy otherwise they might miss out.
I'll keep that in mind as well for next year, Nancy! Thanks!
On Saturday , Lincoln Park had a whole Wine and Jazz festival thing going on ending with a concert Saturday night. In talking with some of the volunteers, it gives the area something different to do over the course of the weekend rather than two days of art show taking over their neighborhood. The folks that I talked to look forward to the art show and know they have one day to attend and buy.
Oh, thank you for that info! I was hoping to try exactly what you did for next year – try to do them both since they are close to one another (not being too far from home for me helps too). Thanks again!
Since I have family in Dayton and I know how nice the venue is I wanted to do this show but it's a one day only show. That's an awful lot of work for a 2D artist (I'm a photographer) to set up, work the show and break down all in one day. Why a Sunday only show is my question? Too much risk and too much work for only 5-6 hours of show time.
I am very excited to read your review of this show! I found out about it way past the entry deadline and was wondering how it would be. My husband and I were planning on driving up there to check it out (we're just down in Cincinnati, so it's maybe an hour or so away), but we got sidetracked and ended up not making it. So I have it on my calendar for next year and will definitely try to get into this one.
I'm glad to hear you had a successful day there too. That is always nice to hear! Congrats and thanks for the report! :)
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How great to hear of a well run show and one that was successful. Its good to see a few decent results starting to come in for the end of the season. Thanks for the rundown Kathy!
PS, I agree with one day shows - they can seem like a lot of work, but there is a sense of urgency amongst the attendees to actually get there and buy otherwise they might miss out.
I'll keep that in mind as well for next year, Nancy! Thanks!
On Saturday , Lincoln Park had a whole Wine and Jazz festival thing going on ending with a concert Saturday night. In talking with some of the volunteers, it gives the area something different to do over the course of the weekend rather than two days of art show taking over their neighborhood. The folks that I talked to look forward to the art show and know they have one day to attend and buy.
Oh, thank you for that info! I was hoping to try exactly what you did for next year – try to do them both since they are close to one another (not being too far from home for me helps too). Thanks again!
I'm glad to hear you had a successful day there too. That is always nice to hear! Congrats and thanks for the report! :)