Last week it was painted bottle-stoppers and beer signs (Cape Coral), this week it was good paintings and signs of conspicuous wealth being spent on art(Bonita Springs).
Connie, in a related blog mentioned "ho-hum another art show in Florida this weekend" (referring to BS art festivals. But, as anybody knows who has done this show, it is not a ho-hummer.
True, not everybody makes a ton of money among the 210 juried artists, but most come away with a paycheck for the weekend that will pay a lot of bills and booth fees. At least right now in this economy, it seems all the money you make at a show just goes to pay another $400-$500 booth fee. Where is the money for me? But that is getting off the subject which I will pursue at another time. Back to BS.
First, here is the meat for those of you who haven't done this show. Back about a decade or more ago, Barry Witt, the only show director they have ever had at BS, left as director of the Feb. downtown Naples show and started up this new show at the Promenade Shopping Center in Bonita Springs. Initially, he invited about 125 artists (I was one of them) to come to his new show in January. It was a gang-buster, everybody made money. The next year he added more, and we all still made good money. Who doesn't need a good show in January in Florida?
Bonita Springs is actually north Naples and it is filled with a lot of wealthy folks, many from the midwest who call it their winter home. They love to go to outdoor art festivals and buy. We are talking a mostly fifties-plus age crowd with disposable income. Currently, the Promenade Center isn't filled up with leases at all the stores. In fact when I went by the Promenade, enroute to the New years Naples show two weeks ago, I noticed a lack of cars in their parking lot. But the Bonita Springs Art League who produces the show always brings in a big crowd, close to 20-thousand. They all pay a $5 donation to enter, it is a nice little fund-raiser for them.
OK, here is some more important meat. The show is held on the grounds of the shopping area, you set up your booth on a paved surface. You need weights. Booths are tight side to side, so don't expect to hang much there that can be seen. Most booths have ample room behind for inventory storage, even an awning. Barry runs a tight ship for setup and teardown, it is wise to follows his instructions to the letter. Everybody always seems to get out of there ok.
You are selling to a fifties-plus age group and most of them have very conservative tastes when it comes to art. Yes, yes. I know there are some who do very well there selling art from the heart. Most of them have a carefully crafted customer base to work from. So my comments are directed more to those of you who have never done the show. They like realistic paintings of boats, flowers, seascapes--you get the picture. The photographers who do Europe do very well here. Hotels in the area are not cheap and fill up quickly. On the CLC card I found a great deal down the road in North Naples for $65 a night. Your break-even point for this show is somewhere around $750-$900 depending on how much you like to eat and drink. Tequila costs a bunch and so does good fish.
One other important thing. This is a tough show to jury into. It is a fair jury run on the Entry-Thing system. Trouble is, most on the circuit know about the show and want to be in it to make some good moola in January. Those who make the waitlist, not many get called up, because nobody cancels. It is just the way it is. OK that is the meat, which is full of good stuff. Chew on it.
OK, WE TOOK CARE OF THAT. WHAT HAPPENED THIS YEAR? Well, I thought you would never ask.
First off, it was great weather weekend and huge crowds attended both days. By Saturday end, there were a goodly number of artists who did better than $5K for the day. Margaritas for everyone! I wasn't one of them, but I was happy. I made enough to pay a bunch of bills.
When I did my informal, non-scientific poll on Sunday morning. I got lots of feedback, with some doing $5K-plus and others barely making expenses. I probably talked to about 75 artists in many mediums. For example one well-known Florida glass artist absolutely killed killed them on Saturday. Friends who paint on wood and furniture had a killer day. They had people calling them on the cellphone to deliver it to their houses. We all should be so lucky. One well-known European photographer sucked so much money out of his double booth corner spot. that there was nothing left for his neighbors. I begged him to give all his neighbors a thousand bucks each to console them. He said he would earnestly consider that. A sculptor who does very artistic work had one guy almost buy him out. Being on a corner near the south end of the show where patrons come in, I was able to observe luxury cars pull up to the curb and have large pieces of art loaded inside. It happened all day. My informal survey showed that a number of painters who did art from the heart had mediocre days. Some didn't even sell $500.
Sunday, the crowds were slightly smaller, the weather was warmer, and the sales were toasty. It was another good show to have under my belt for January. I doubled what I did at Cape Coral. I know, I can hear someone out in the ether right now saying, "Hell Nels, if you only did $300 last week it wouldn't be hard to double that." I did alright, and the majority there did all right.
Well, it is Monday morning and it is raining like a SOB, no golf today.
One other aside. When I say we made a paycheck, I mean I probably doubled my nut for the show. Didn't make a lot, but it still pays a bunch of bills. Just thought I would give you a little perspective.
Comments
Great blog and history lesson! I was at the Von Liebig show the end of February. As we stood in line at 7:30 p.m. to get our check in packet the grumbling had begun. Never done a show in Florida before and in reality have not done an outdoor show in years and years. Had no idea we would be setting up in the dark even though we arrived a day early. There are no exceptions to anything at this show........... really NOTHING! I understood someone else had organized the show in years past and had done a bang up job but the new crew just wasn't getting "IT".
I have to say, Thank Goodness to the artists around us who really helped us set up our Canopy in the dark while trying to read directions. Bless them and the art gods blessed them as they had great sales as the weekend wore on.
We managed to cover our expenses and make a bit for dinner and drinks. The couple next to us, who were from CO. sold nothing the entire weekend. And yes there were angry angry artists packing early on Sunday and storming off the grounds. Artists from the grove area popped over to see if sales were any better on the street. Since I was working alone I never got out of the booth.
After carefully going over all expenses and general experience we have decided we would not do the show again. It was just not what we had expected. Also could not agree more that the area is saturated with shows! This had been billed as a fine art show and there certainly was some high end beautiful work but mixed in were artists selling nice craft work but not fine art. I didn't expect to see $24 mugs and $18 dip dishes and a fine art show.
Thanks so much for posting the history lesson because it sure explains so much of what we experienced.
The Bonita Show has consistently been a good show for us and I will have to say that last weekend it was more than good; it was great! Our sales were literally over the top and we are thrilled. Another great aspect of this show is the ease of set-up and tear down. Pretty much stress free and that is a true bonus.
Kudos to Barry, Susan and members of the Art League for a job well done. Looking forward to March.
Maybe it depends on which "heart" the "art" is coming from. I know for a fact that in this area, it is not only "fluff" art that sells. There are collectors (with deep pockets) who come to this event and purchase for their collections. Take a look at the artworks shown last weekend at:
http://artinusa.com/bonita/artist_gallery_jan_11.htm#gallery
this gallery is produced by the EntryThingy jury system: http://www.entrythingy.com/
PS: Nels, just to keep history correct, I directed the Naples National and the Bonita Springs National both in 2000 and 2001. Resigned from NNAF after 9 years in 2001.
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