Well, Images went to an official three-day show this year for the first time. Last year it was a voluntary setup and sales on Friday.
All I can say is, "Its a big waste of time for the majority of artists there.
New Smyrna Beach is a mellow Atlantic coast town below Daytona beach.
It has gotten more developed over the years with better shops and restaurants popping up everywhere.
I lived there 1981-85 while I was in the photo program at Daytona Beach. I was doing shows and Images was one of them.
New Smyrna has grown in population over time. The show has always been around 250 artists (which is too many for the numbers attending). Making it a three-dayer is a mistake, but the powers that be want it, so tough toofskis if you don't like it.
They run the entire show on paved streets. You need weights. Most people have ample storage behind the booth. Some get room on the sides. Corner booths can be bought for extra.
You are dealing with a conservative crowd, mostly older, that likes the usual suspects of images.
The guy across from me with the cut wood images was selling all day long. They love the birds, flowers, boat and coastal scenes. Not a lot of real art from the heart gets sold here.
So here is the rundown for this year.
Early, Friday morn, we could set up booths anytime after 6 am. Show started at 1 pm and went to five.
It was fricking frigid, never got up more than 52 degrees with icy winds blowing thru especially on the booths on Canal Street.
The show has good volunteer support and is there when you need them. Nice booth sitters, good artist food(with Sat. nite dinner and then awards.)
So, we were all set up on Friday waiting. With the chill conditions there were not a lot of people walking around.
It continued that way until 5 pm. I think most of the artists,like me, did not even do $200 in sales. There is a good Patron's Purchase Award program there and I did see a lot of Patron Ribbons on booths--that was probably the high point of the day.
Saturday, it was much warmer with the sun shining, and we were all hopeful for sales.
They were pretty slim, especially for 2-D art. I did not see many frames or canvases going down the avenue. Mostly just people carrying small pieces in little bags.
I had a slim day, a lot less than what I did last year.
Sunday morning was a little overcast and slightly chilly, but as the day progressed it got nicer and nicer. Can't say the same for sales. It was pretty lackluster.
I ended up being off by 30 per cent over last year, and that was after having an extra day for sales. A lot of my fellow artists were in the same boat.
So who knows? Maybe this was just an off year.
I think Images is one of those shows you just have to try to see if your audience is there.
Comments
Sorry to hear about this show.
You guys thought it was cold down there. We have been in a deep freeze up north now for a month with more snow promised by Tuesday night. 57 degrees sounds good but, I know not for a good art show.
it seems functional work does well here. A wood turner friend of mine who specializes in exotic wood peppermills, with a pretty high price point, did EXTREMELY well by anyones standards , even on Friday. His space wasn't even on the main street.
It was cold and wet in the 80s when I did a documentary on the Images Art Fair. Nels is actually in that program. If you'd like to see it, the video is on YouTube at this address:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q16q5Ju_pBk
I have never done THIS show, but I've done others in the NSB area.....I don't think it's the time of year, as I've done shows there in the spring, fall, and summer. I sell nautical shadowboxes that I design using black coral (sea fans). For ME, you'd think that it would be "my type" of selling area, being so close to the ocean, as well as a "touristy" type area.....not so. I can't put my finger on it....wish I could. I always barely break even, and I live just right up the road. I have many vendor friends who live close by also and barely break even....others do fairly well. North or south of that area, and I'm golden....but I just apply for other shows when the ones in NSB roll around. Nothing against any of the promoters....everything is well advertised, and the shows are run well. It's just not MY area....
how true.
We did it once. (read between the lines and you know what that means)
I believe it was at a different time of year. It fit in with the rest of our Florida schedule and was a paycheck weekend before heading North. We were lured by the quality of the other artists and amazing prize money. There was so much of that it seemed you couldn't miss getting some of it. We didn't. The weather was okay but the patrons just weren't interested in what we had to sell. The artist awards dinner was wonderful. High point of the weekend. Easy set up and take down. Now can you take those few points to the bank?
I'd surmise from what you said, Nels, that it is too big and too long to make this nothing but a "making the booth fee" show.
Alison. A little history about the "weather and date of this show."
When I first did it in the early 80's it was always held on the last weekend of Feb. They then moved it into Mar. for a a while and finally where it is now.
ver the years, this show has been continually plagued by bad weather--no matter when they hold it.
Our own John Leben did a video story of this show--and it rained like hell.
This show seems to get a lot of bad weather. It is a shame.
I did Images three times. Each time it was too cold for an art show. I came in one morning to find frost on my tent poles. If the sun doesn't come out during the day you can expect very poor attendance. I always did okay because I was local and had low expenses but never great. I think they should move this show to about a month later. Be careful of booths near the bridge (if they still put them there). There was always wind damage to those booths at sometime during the show.
Thanks for the review Nels. It was nice meeting you but too cold to stand around and talk much!
We have passed through New Smyrna over 20 times on our boat and never managed to stop. After seeing the town, we fell in love and wished we had spent some time there before. Staci even began to talk about what a nice place to live it would be when we become dirt dwellers again. As the weekend progressed we changed our minds.
We got into the show off the wait list and were very excited. We were on Riverside around the corner from you. We froze and sold nothing on Friday. Even our propane Heater Buddy did little to cut through the chill. Saturday while a little warmer but by the end of the day we were still sitting on zero. Sunday afternoon we managed a $180 sale and that was it.
The jeweler next to us was disappointed (down 50% from the year before) as was the mixed media artist on the other side. We saw small bags going out but no more than a few big framed pieces.
An artist once told us, "it's all about the shoes". We didn't see many nice ones. Our water perspective may provide some insight.
Just north of NSB is the lower reaches of the greater Daytona area. From the intracoastal waterway, you do not see too many high rises and the waterside residences are not the glitz that you see in South Florida. As you leave NSB heading south, you quickly come to a series of fish camps just to the north of Mosquito Lagoon (sounds nice, huh). These camps include cheek to jowl single-wide trailers.
Bottom line, I would guess that there are monied folks in NSB, as evidenced by the great patron program, but beyond the confines of the immediate area, the show attracts people out for a day and a stroll with the dog. (A observation offered without comment on the patron program - I could be wrong but it seemed to me the patron ribbons were hanging disproportionately more on the jewelry and leather (bags/purses) booths than on 2D or 3D. I'd love to see the statistics on this.)
One final observation - from where we were shivering, we saw very little ethnic diversity at this show. Certainly not the wonderful richness of cultural difference/diversity that you see at many other Florida shows.
So, our Florida season so far seems to be up/down on alternate weekends. Las Olas was excellent, Boca was bad, Sarasota was very good, Images was not. Off to Hobe Sound - should be a great show based on the cycle so far!