Just got home yesterday, as we took a week off to get back to Florida very leisurely. Since I don't see another report on it, here's mine.
Location: show takes place in the Cherry Creek shopping district of Denver, an affluent neighborhood with many boutiques, restaurants, etc. 2 streets run E-W (second and third ave), while there are 6 cross streets running N/S, with 2 of those streets being food and/or sponsors. Layout is very nice, in that there is never any artist directly in front of you, so set up/tear down are much easier space-wise. Number of artists approx 240, competition is fierce with approx 10% of applicants being handed that winning lottery ticket to show. Award winners are automatics for the following year.
Set-up is determined according to your location, and I found it to be very easy, tear-down was just as easy for me and the folks in my area (booth 103 on 2nd Ave). There is a preview Friday night for a handful of folks, and I was not one of those, so I can't comment on it, though I heard, that they pretty much looked only at that time. Show runs until 8PM both Sat and Sun, and closes at 6 on Monday.
Weather was hot, for the most part. Temps in the 90's. Brief shower on Sat and a scare Sunday, as show people warned us of possible bad weather Sunday afternoon, which luckily, only was a few heavy gusts and a very brief rain. From what I have heard, this is typical Denver summertime weather.
Committee is very helpful, providing snacks and lots of water throughout the entire show. During the awards reception there was lots of finger food, but very small plates - tough to balance 3 plates and a beer as you walk to a table. They also arranged a very nice breakfast on Monday AM with pulled pork/hash browns and an egg with a little hot sauce. A real nice surprise was the breakfast, since apparently it was a last minute thing.
Sales: for me - excellent. Such was the case for most folks I spoke with. I did speak with some artists who, while content with sales, were not ecstatic. They were, typically, folks who traveled a long distance to get there. In my case, it was a 3 day drive one-way, but worth it! People here seemed to appreciate art across a wide variety and spectrum of styles. A modern, abstract painter two over from me, sold several pieces that I saw.
Overall - excellent, high end show with a great committee, appreciate crowds and good sales.
Comments
I had always hoped to make it to this show one day. I always heard such great things. Thanks Bert for your report.
Jacki B
Connie, for me, Saturday was by far the best, comprising about half of my total sales. Lots of unframed, but also 12 framed pieces. Monday was the slowest day. Also the heat really slowed things down in the afternoon. For a Floridian like me, 92 with low humidity didn't feel bad at all, but for them, it did. :)
Bill, some folks who had done the show in the past, were saying sales were down, comparatively, but what show isn't? I'll take it anytime!
Bert
Thanks for writing that. It's encouraging to hear that CC is still CC and it's not a show that was great years ago but but has slid downhill.
We were in it once and we keep applying. It was our best show to date and I found out later that our gross was twice the show average for that year. We were in shock for quite awhile after that. We haven't been able to get in since then, but we'll keep applying. I'd say more, but our experience for that year would be dated by now.
Thanks, Bert. I always thought the best booth spaces at CC were on the perimeter streets rather than on Detroit and Fillmore, but we could park behind our booth on Detroit and for some people that means whatever is easier or more convenient trumps exposure/sales. The fact that there is nothing else like this anywhere within 500 miles makes this a special event, but then Terry Adams and his staff do turn this into a special event for all.
Did you have steady sales all three days?
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