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Thought I would end 2014 on a very optimistic note.

Everybody dreams of selling out completely at a show and going home with an empty van.

It used to happen to some lucky people awhile back.

It was called, "Getting Moe-ed."

Read on, and enjoy.  Who knows, maybe there is another Moe out there for us  in 2015.

                                                   GETTING MOE-ED

Once upon a time in America artists used to make mucho dinero at outdoor art shows.

Especially during the "Miami Vice Era in the 1980's."

In Miami, one could get a little high just off the residue on $100 bills.  This happened at shows like the Original Las Olas  Museum Show, Coconut Grove, Beaux Arts and many large art venues along the eastern seaboard all the way up to Virginia Beach and beyond.

People were in very acquisitive modes.  Patrons snapped up multiple items from  artists' booth.

One guy,in particular, was the Legendary Moe.

If he liked your work, he would buy out your entire booth.  He'd pull out a wad of $100 bills, large enough to choke an alligator.  And then walk away chuckling to himself.  Later, an assistant would show up to take delivery of the art.

I know this for sure, because it happened to my neighbor at a Miami show.

Ask around, other old-timers have such memories too.  Heck, maybe some some of them will drop a quip onto the end of this blog in comments.

(Now, let us hold our breaths for about a minute or two and see if this really happens--one can only dream.)

So, I will tell you about the time with my neighbor, I was at the Grove show, must of been around 1985.

As was usual, there was lots of buying energy going on.  And, we all had our dreams.  In fact that morn before show opening, I said to my neighbor, a very fine printmaker, "Wouldn't it be great to get "Moe-ed?"

He just looked at me and grinned, "Sure."

Naturally I was pulling for me to get Moe-d.  But if that didn't happen I was pulling for my neighbor next.

In a short while, we both noticed this big old bushy-bearded guy in blue-striped overalls ambling our way. No shirt, hairy armpits, heck, hairy everywhere.  Had a short cap on backwards.

I said t myself,"H-mmmm, that could be Moe, or not.

Had never really seen him before, but sure heard a lot about him.  He was a regular modern folk legend on the circuit.  

I had only been doing mostly the smaller shows at this time.  Getting into one of the biggies like the Grove was a new experience.  I had big dreams, even ambitions.

He ambled into my booth and checked out my imagery.  At that time, I was doing color images of art deco hotels and diners.  Lots of jazzy neons lit up on the buildings at twilight.  They were real eye-catching--and shazam!  They were sellers.

Anyways bushy-beard spent a long time in my booth, I could almost feel the fish getting ready to take the bait, drag that bobber underwater and fork over some big granola to yours truly.

Not.

He thanked me, told me how much he loved it and walked away.

Now he ambled into my neighbor's booth, looked around rather quickly, and exclaimed in an

amber-scented drawl, "I like them, pardner, I'm going to take them all."

My neighbor almost swooned on the spot, but quickly regained necessary composure. I think Moe's big wad of bills did it.

Moe reached into his bib overalls and pulled out an outrageous wad of money.  I had never seen that much cash in my life.

I tip-toed close to his booth trying to get a sniff.  I just wanted to smell that much money.  I figured the smell would ready me for the next Moe ever to come into my life.

Moe knew he had us all transfixed with that cash.  He grinned from ear to ear.  Let out a loud laugh and said, "Well, pardner, did I make your day?"

My neighbor just grinned and grinned.  And, he had the good presence of mind to quip,"Will ya be eating them here, or should I wrap them to go?"

Moe just roared with absolute delight.

"I'll have my assistant come around later and get them.  I got more things to see and buy."

And then he walked away.

That was the only time I ever saw him at an art show.

But, I did meet him years later at a party--at his house.

I had an old traveling buddy, Larry Lackey, a fun-loving jeweler from West Virginia.

We had met years earlier when I did my first Boston Mills show ( and no, it is not in Massachusetts, it is in Ohio).  

Larry and I were neighbors.  It was 10:30 AM on a slow Saturday morning at the show.  He heard me rip off a pop-top of a Budweiser.  He grinned big time.  He said, "Nails, you and I are gonna be good neighbors."  And we were for over a decade until he retired from the biz.

Anyways, one time I am visiting him up in Bluefield, West Virginia and he says, "Nails, put on your best aloha shirt, cause we are going to a very special party tonite over in Virginia."

I yelled back,"Are they going to have any good tequila there?"

"Hell yes--Nails--there will be enough tequila there to kill ya."

"I'm in big boy."  And off we went.

We arrived at this fancy condo, a very large one.  And there were people I knew from the circuit, and many I didn't know from the circuit.  Food and booze everywhere.  There was art everywhere.  Hanging, stacked on the floor, heck even pile high in all the closets.

I told Larry,"This guy loves art and more.  He has to possess it, not necessarily look at it every day."

"You betcha, bubba."

Then Larry grinned big time.  You know who's place this is?"

"Nope", I said, "But I sure like his taste in tequila."

Larry laughed.

"It's Moe's place."

"Sh---it!"  Are you kidding me?

"Nope, Nails, it's his place."

We had one hell of a time, crashed there for the night.

Well, I never saw Moe again.  In fact most of us on the circuit never saw him again.  He became a real Urban Legend.

But, in his time, he gave us all hope.  

"God, I hope I get Moe-d today."

Well, that's my story.  Hope it gave you all a good chuckle.  And who knows if there isn't another Moe around the corner in 2015.

Jump in with comments if any of you had run-ins with Moe.  Spread the cheer around for the New Year.

God bless, everyone.  Have a great New Years and lets start off cooking hot in 2015.

Aloha, Nels--or as Larry would say, "Nails."

Thanks to all of you who participated in the survey and shared it with others. Our second annual best art fair survey is all tallied. The purpose of the survey is to bring attention to the best shows in the country and promote "art fair tourism."

Artists have opportunities to share their best shows, but the people who attend don't. We sent out emails to our 50,000+ email subscriber list and posted it through our websites, Facebook and Twitter. Friends took it and shared it also. The results reflect the art fair buyers perspectives, a very component of our business.

The top 50 fairs have exciting quality art, fascinating artists and ever-changing venues in big cities and small towns, oceanfront and lakefront, it all adds to the diversity of your experience and keeps you coming back.

AMERICA'S BEST ART FAIRS - the Top Ten

Don't miss the entire Top 50 art fairs, craft shows and art festivals, including the Best Regional shows, the best urban show, and interesting demographic information: www.BestArtFairs.com

There are more details at that link about who took the survey, why people come to art show, what they buy, why they buy and why they don't come to some shows any more, including a lot of great tips for show organizers.

Learn even more in our podcast where we talk about more of the details and share statistics. Our guest Laura Berarducci, Marketing Director of the Ann Arbor Convention and Visitors Bureau talks about the economic impact of the popular art fair on the region.

Listen to that here: podcast-bestartfairs

Show directors, we are preparing a report analyzing the results of the survey that will be ready soon. Stay tuned, you'll be hearing more!

We recently hosted a podcast, "The No Mistake Mistake Art Fair Career: 10 Tips from the Experts"

Our guests were Larry Berman and Bruce Baker. Larry focused on getting into the show and Bruce focused on make the sale and connecting with the customer.

The podcast presented a countdown on the best tips starting at #10.

Our experts were Bruce Baker, a jeweler, who began consulting full time in 2005 sharing his retailing and business experience with a variety of groups ranging from Artists, Main Street Merchants, to Farm Market vendors. He has conducted over 600 marketing and production related workshops in the past two decades. His focus was on how to sell your work at art fairs and craft shows.

Bruce's Tips:

Top ten things to do to insure craft/trade show success

10. Brand your business

9. Send positive vibes always, without expectations

8. Post show follow up

7. Make your displays match your art, Find a unique look

6. Use your walls to display your work and promote your brand

5. Display your Art so customers don't have to work to see it
           Display for easy touch responses

4. Lighting. Have it. Focus it on your work

3. Create impressive work.
       Have an Impressive display

2.  Develop products that customers want to buy
          Pay attention to consumer trends

1.     Don't be afraid to sell your art

Listen to the podcast as Bruce explains each of these tenets for success.

Our other expert was Larry Berman, a photographer, who has has been exhibiting at art fairs for over 30 years and was one of the first to recognize the importance of digital imagery in the art fair business. and He has built a career improving jury images for artists and/or photographing their artwork. He has hosted seminars on jury images and does consulting with artists and art fairs.

Larry's Top Ten Tips:

10 – Choosing which shows to apply to

Research shows before you apply. Find out if it’s a good fit for your style or price range. Too often basic questions about shows are asked on the forums after the artist has applied and been accepted. 

It’s OK to apply to more than one show on a weekend to try and keep your schedule full. But choose your shows carefully to make sure they are worth the extra money if the shows you cancel do not have a refund policy.

9 – Understand how the shows you apply to jury so you can choose which images to apply with and what order to put them in. 

JAS uses monitors and the jurors see the images 3 over 2 on a gray background, large enough to see a body of work. The artist statement is centered in the second row between the #4 and #5 images. Some of the better fine craft shows include the artist name.

95% of the ZAPP shows use monitors for jurying, and for most of those shows the jurors work from home. The jurors see the images one at a time on a black background. So your first and last images should be the strongest for a good first and last impression. The jurors can spend time looking at your images.

5% of the ZAPP shows project the images for their jurors, and some of them are the top shows. The jurors see the images projected simultaneously with one image per screen. Therefore your presentation should be chosen to keep the jurors eyes centered. Your booth image should not have any distractions so the jurors glance at it and dismiss it as being professional. Jurors get to see your entire presentation for usually less than 20 seconds so the less time they spend looking at the booth, the more time they have to evaluate your art. 

8 - Black borders yes or no

It says on the ZAPP web site that black borders are no longer necessary. Because the shows that project the images haven’t changed how they jury since ZAPP started over 10 years ago, your images should always be uploaded at 1920 pixels square with black borders. If not, when you apply to the top shows that project the images, ZAPP will resize and add black borders to your images possibly degrading them. The more detail in your artwork, the more chance of the images degrading. Making a change to a JPEG and saving it degrades the image, no matter what quality level you save it at. 

The borders have never been an issue for ZAPP monitor jurying because the jurors have always seen the images on a black web page. The black borders are to make sure all images project the same size. Because JAS uses a gray background, if you want to use your ZAPP images with black borders, make sure they don’t distract.

7 – Good photography

It goes without saying that good photography is essential, especially if you’re in a competitive medium like jewelry. Good photography takes the photography out of the equation and lets the art work be juried on its own merit. Don’t be too creative with the photography because you want the jurors to say “wow, great art” instead of saying “wow, great photograph of that art”.

6 – Backgrounds should match and contain neutral tones and not introduce color. Gray, black, or graduated black to white work best as backgrounds. The artwork should pop off the background, not get lost in it or distracted by it. White background should be reserved for web sites or magazine publication. In a dark jury room white blinds the jurors and prevents detail in the work from being seen. 

2D work like paintings or photographs shouldn’t have any background. Crop to the edges of the art and do not include mats or frames. Your booth image shows the jurors your presentation. And don’t include signatures or any other identification on the artwork or in your booth.

5 – Photograph large or difficult to light objects under your white canopy. Your artwork looks great when set up at a show so why not use that same quality of light to photograph it for jurying. Hang 3 side walls and lay the fourth wall on the ground to reflect light back up. Just like using a 10x10 EZCube.

4 – Camera settings

Cameras are set wrong when new. Besides not being set to capture the most pixels at the highest quality, they are set to give shallow depth of field with a faster shutter speed so that pictures of your children or pets can be taken without blurring. The settings need to be the opposite to photograph art. Low ISO, stop the lens down for maximum depth of field and use a tripod so the camera can choose a longer shutter speed for the correct exposure. 

3 – Consistency in your body of jury images. Something I learned from listening to Bruce Baker when we’ve done workshops together – when you choose pieces to use for jurying, if you choose from pieces made at the same time they’ll look like they come from the same mind and they’ll go together. Also, not every piece that looks good to you will photograph well. Be prepared to photograph a few extra pieces so you can test which group will make the best presentation.

2 – In general, what sells well doesn’t jury well and what juries well doesn’t sell well. Artists tend to think their best-selling artwork is what they should jury with. Usually more commercial, popular, or cliché work sells well but experienced jurors look for something different. Something they’ve never seen before or something they’ve seen but in a way they’ve never seen it.

1 – The 3 deadly sins of jurying are sex, politics and religion. All three are topics people feel strongly about and are guaranteed to turn off at least as many jurors as are turned on by them.

I was all set to do "Best of the Northwest" in Seattle Nov. 14-16th. Sadly, I broke my left arm in an accident Nov. 2nd. Doctor has said not to do anything for 2 months. My left arm is immobilized. I immediately contacted them so they could fill my space. I had asked them to at least consider a partial refund if they filled it. They refused, saying it wouldn't be fair to other applicants, plus admin time. They filled it immediately the same day and received  another $400 booth fee. I am upset with their practices. I don't think this is ethical. I would like to know of any actions I can take, and your feedback.

Tip for writers on ArtFairInsiders.com -- readers too

"Why can't I find something I know is on this site?" "What happened to my show review?" "Where is that information about the best tent, show, lodging deal, funny story, jury tip, safety idea, etc.?

This site thrives on your participation and your stories, questions and reviews. Thousands of people thank you for your generosity. In the last month the site had 132,795 page views. As you can see the readers are here. 

How you can help them and get the most mileage out of your time spent sharing information:

1. When you write a post in the blog or start a discussion before you click on "Publish" add "tags" in the box underneath the post. Why? This insures that someone looking for that information can find it.
   
   Examples for this post: "how to make AFI work", "tagging", "helpful tips" 
2. Put each phrase in " " to separate the phrases and put a , between each phrase.
3. Also helpful are the "search" links up above, the tags will help you on your quest.
   
   

I don't read everything on the site but saw a recent comment from Mike Heilman that he had done a show review and wanted to know where it went. Mike, you'll find that on ArtShowReviews.com, right here. It did not go into the vast wasteland, we got it, we posted it. 

I just found this comment also:

I find it a little difficult to navigate around this site looking for just the right thread that I want to read. It's probably simple enough but it doesn't seem simple to me. This has become such an important repository of first-hand information for art fair artists that it is vital the data contained herein can be accessed swiftly and smoothly. I think it's a little cluttered and I have to hunt and peck each time I am looking to find information I am seeking on a specific subject. 

If we all add "tags" to our posts it will help a lot. Try it -- 

then when you go to look for something click on the "search" -- it works, and the more accurately you "tag" your post the more likely someone will find it.

nels%20booth.jpgIMG_1079.jpgIMG_1086.JPG For some reason you have to click on these, others show in my blog  (WTF! Connie)

Well, what a pisser, not only did my booth get destroyed, but this blog I was writing, (and I was halfway thru it) just mysteriously disappeared off my screen.

So, back to square one.

Maybe you saw a brief post of mine on Facebook about it, maybe you did not.  Here is the full Monty.

Ellen and I went to Bluffton,SC last weekend for the their Seafood and Art Festival.

It only has 100 booths all along seven blocks on a main drag with some houses, restaurants and bars on it.  They have police security at both ends of the show.  Nothing in the middle.  I guess they let some cars in, even after the show is over for the day, if they got biz on the street.

We shut down Saturday night with $550 in sales for the days and visions of crab cakes and wine that night.

Sunday morn I woke up with dreams of having some Starbucks robust roast coffee while reading the NY Times, and enjoying mouthfuls of savory Low Country shrimp and grits.

My darn IPhone kept ringing .  Three times it was a caller from NC.  I ignored it.  No voicemail, no foul, I aint answering it.

Finally, a fourth time there was a voicemail.

"Nels, you better get down here fast.  Your booth has been seriously damaged and mine is too."  It was my show neighbor, Kathy Oda, calling.

Well, I hurried as fast  as it took Ellen time to apply lipstick and makeup.  Never hurry a beautiful blonde, beautifying herself.  Some wise man told me that years ago.  I married one, so I took those words to heart.

When we turned the corner onto the main drag, I realized three things, pronto.

First, I would not be swilling any Starbucks that morn, two, I could forget about the NY Times and three, there would be no shrimp and grits in the future for  me that morn.

My booth was still there.  Just not in the condition I had left it the night before.

Kathy's booth had already been cleared away.

I had hoped I would be seeing just a panel or two pushed in, slightly bent, maybe a few frames on the ground and some scattered sprinkles of photo-glass calling from hither and yon.

Not.

In 40 years of doing shows I am used to seeing severely damaged booths.  I have seen ones blown over a bridge rail in Columbus.  I have seen some blown into the seawater at Images in New Smyrna.  I have seen booths blown and scattered apart all over the park in Vero Beach.  I know what nasty winds and pummeling rain can do to our temporary show rooms (Some people, not very smart ones, think that these show rooms are also our bedrooms at shows.).

Well, mine fit into anyone of those scenarios.  Without water.

As we like to say in the biz, "Parts are parts, pieces are pieces."

It was barely standing on one side.  Twisted and leaning like a mean drunk that had had 25 shots of tequila, and was going to have another 25.

Shards of glass pointed menacingly at us.  Bent frames stuck out under the tarps.

The roof was laying low as to say, "Thats it, Jack, I aint carrying this load no more.  I am taking Social Security and you are on your own.  Go get a pretty orange top.  I am out of here."

People stood around respectfully.  They were waiting for that IPhone moment.

SO I complied.

Whipped it out and shot pics of the damage.  I would continue to do it as different levels of damaged exposed themselves.

Obviously, this would not to be the moment to do the booth shot for Cherry Creek.  Although, if they had a Sympathy  category I was a lock to be in.

About ten artists and bystanders offered to help.

We gently unzipped the twisted front awning and tried to work our way back, panel by panel, truss by truss, while dodging shards and sharp edges.

Miraculously, none of my photographs were cut.  Mats were trashed, frames twisted and glass broke.  Some bins took a hit.  Same with a table.  It was not very pretty.

Finally, we had worked our way to the very rear and cleared all the damage to field behind me.

I profusely thanked all and then went about deciding what I could do that day to make some moola.

I had a Newtons Porto-Canopy, made in 1986.  It has eight display panels, wire, with four trusses that span the width,  Comes with a canvas roof, skylights in, and rear and front awnings.

Four of the eight panels were trash.  Same with two trusses.

I managed to cobble a booth together using four bent panels joined together, using bungees and duct tape.  I managed to put up one table with print bins, and one 16x20 print bin.  No roof, but I fashioned a shade awning off the rear to sit under.

During the day, I assiduously picked broken glass out of frames while conducting biz.

I managed to pull $1K out of the day.  A miracle in itself.

While this had happened, a fellow artist, Christine Reichart, took up a collection for me from my fellow exhibitors.  She presented me with a manila bag stuffed with fives, tens and twenties.  Enough to buy a new table and replace all my broken glass and frames.  What a doll! What a bunch of great fellow artists.  I was speechless and amazed.

I went around and thanked everybody at the show for their contributions.

We have a wonderful family of fellow artists.  We are so fortunate.

Then, the Art Association that helps run the show told Kathy and me they were going to reimburse us for new booths.  I was again, speechless.

I then had at least ten artists tell me they couldn't wait for somebody to bump into their booths.  Hmmmm.

We tried to figure out how this all happened.

Kathy says, that when she first got there, my booth was dragged into hers.  One of my John Deere anchor weights was a good 50 yards down from her booth.

Oh.  I guess I forgot to tell you.  Whoever hit my booth also stole three of my pieces off the front panel.

So here is our reconstruction of what may have happened.

Somewhere after 10 PM that night, a vehicle got let in by security and drove down the street.  My booth was near the middle of the show.

They may have been looking just for my booth to take some art they spotted earlier in the day. Isn't that so special.  I was chosen.

So the Midnight Rambler unzips and steals the pieces.

Then, when making his getaway, he snags one of my front anchor weights with his car.  Zoom,zoom, he is gone.  Bang, bang, our booths are down and gone.

They never caught the guy.

This event may cause them to consider putting security in the middle of the show next year.

So, I am now shopping for a booth.  Maybe a LightDome, maybe a Trimline.

In the interim, Lou Garofalo has graciously lent me a spare LightDome.

I get by with a little help from my friends.

My birthday is Saturday.  I turn a really big number.  I am happy.  I am married to a beautiful blonde, and she is a great artist too.  What more can a guy ask for.

Three weeks ago, while I was in Louisville, Ky, for the St James Court Art Fair, in the week preceding the show, my van was robbed and 3/4 of my beaded jewelry was stolen. I didn't realize it had happened because I wasn't using the van for driving around (I was there also to visit my son and granddaughter who live in that city) and didn't even notice it until I started out that fateful Thursday morning to go set up for the show.

Well, you can believe that I was devastated, in shock, thinking that somehow I had just misplaced everything and that it was somewhere else in the van than I remembered. I didn't actually start to cry until I got to the show, and after having torn open every box, told the show organizers that I had to withdraw from the show and blubbered out what had happened. The loss represented over 2000 hours of work and about a $30,000 loss.

I spent the rest of that day talking to the police, composing a flyer to hand out (like a lost cat), and going to local pawn shops with the few pieces that I had left to show them my work and ask for cooperation. Eventually, one nice lady at a pawn shop told me to not bother with pawn shops anymore as my work was beaded and beautiful, but they only bought precious metal and gemstone jewelry. My husband, back in Los Angeles, had contacted the local paper and written a press release for them. They then posted that on their blog and that connection became vital to the proceedings.

The next day, starting day of the show, I was armed with 200 flyers and went to the show, handing them out to every jewelry vendor at that show, thinking that they would be the most likely candidates to be approached if someone was trying to sell my work en masse. It's a huge show, 750 vendors, and I was happy to have an excuse to go and see ALL the booths. Just a side note: it is a real mix of the good, the bad and the also-rans. It was a fine day and I had a mission.

Talking to the other vendors was great therapy; they were wonderfully receptive and sympathetic and helped to ease my shocked nerves. Mid-day, I got a call from the local news channel asking for an interview which would air on the evening news. They had read the blog site for the paper! I drove to the TV station and did the interview; it went pretty well. Next day, I canvassed my son's neighborhood, a cute shopping/eating section of Louisville called The Highlands, posting and handing out my flyers to likely store owners and inside cafes. Many of those to whom I spoke knew about what happened from the newspaper and the TV news! I was amazed. I got a wonderful flow of support from them all and everyone promised to watch for my work if it surfaced.

Connie Mettler posted my sad story on this site and I got many emails from fellow artists with warm wishes, prayers for a good outcome and offers of help. The Louisville show organizer wrote to me to tell me she was refunding my booth rent amount in full with an open invitation to participate next year, should I decide to come back. CERF+ contacted me offering assistance in the form of a grant or loan to get me back to battery. The police even called me a few days later to see how I was doing and find out if I had any leads for them, which I didn't.

So, even though the situation was bad, I was bombarded with good thoughts, warm wishes and positive energy as well as actually help and advice.

Then something incredible happened.

This morning the Louisville police called me to say that they had recently been given a tip that someone had been seen entering/living in a vacant house near to where my son Cassidy lives. They went there to check it out and caught the fellow who had been squatting there, hiding up in the attic. A look-about showed them piles of stolen goods that this fellow had stashed, including my jewelry! It was all there, plus much more!

The officer looking over the confiscated goods saw that my jewelry was unusual in nature and so took one container-ful over to a little shop in the Highlands area, Edenside Gallery, 1422 Bardstown Road, Louisville, to get an opinion from the owner, Nancy, as she was known to this officer to be an expert on hand-made crafts and unusual jewelry.

She recognized my work instantly because she was one to whom I had spoken and handed out my flyer when I was canvassing that neighborhood after the theft. Nancy pulled out my flyer, showed the officer and together, they called me with the good news. It was only a few hours later, after some paperwork with me to finish up the business,
that all the jewelry was released to Cassidy and he is shipping it home to me tomorrow!
What a success story!

Oh, happy day!

Kathleen Caid

I just finish a set of seven shows in a row. Instead of making a review about the shows I found myself wondering about another issue.

I was doing a festival at Lincoln Nebraska. My rule is not talk about politics. After the first day I was wondering why my neighbor was giving weird looks all day long. I look around and it is weird to be the only color person in the area. Some how he mention to me “ a cowboy will always be a cowboy, a red neck will be red neck, a black will always be a slave and …… He is not pro Obama neither believe that none of parties care about the country. His view are very right wing. His good bye to me was good luck with your hand outs. I told him hand outs what you mean with that.

I explain to people if you was born in Puerto Rico you are an American Citizen. It is weird that people put all hispanic as criminals or untrusted people. It is hard for me to explain to friends that I got a mini van because when I was driving a cargo van I was getting pull over all the time I head south. It does not make any sense to travel the country in fear because of your color of skin. It is bad to explain to people why I do not do shows or hate traveling in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky, West Virginia, North and South Carolina and Arizona. This are the same reason why I do not pull over to fill up the tank if I do not see the gas station from the highway. There is reason why my wallet it located at the visor compartment while traveling cross country. Younger color people live in denial.

Are you are aware that all serial criminals are white.

When you listen to the news it makes me wonder why it this long for nation to start noticing all these things.

When see how many show artists are hispanic or color think I only can think of 8 that are friends and can all assume there is no more 50 of us in the circuit. This one more of thing that I think when I am selecting my art shows and traveling in this great Country.

I wonder as I finish the small statement if my sales will be better if I was not hispanic or look black?

This past weekend, I did a small, one day, art/craft fair, “Art in the Park”, in St. Louis, Missouri.  This is a yearly art fair with the proceeds going towards the maintenance of the park where the art fair is held.  This fair is held in Francis Park with the booths being along the two sides of a long, rectangular water lily pool.  The fair is held in late September and I have been told that for the past 5-6 years, the weather has been almost perfection, although this year, it did get a bit warm.  The cost is low and the artists are mostly local to the area and it is just a fun day in the park.

This year, I had a visitor to my booth, a young lady of age about ten.  She immediately was drawn to one of my larger images, a 20x30 inch flower printed on aluminum.  The piece was several hundred and she offered me about three dollars and wanted to pay it off over time.  Shortly thereafter, her mother arrived and said that we have to talk about this.  The lass offered to clean the yard of dog droppings for a year if she could have the image. 

After a brief discussion, the mother left and the girl remained and attempted to protect the image from all potential buyers for over an hour.  I had promised the girl that I would not sell it to anyone else but she resumed her protective posture for about another half hour before saying that she would be back. 

Again, in about a half an hour, the girl and her mother returned and more discussion occurred and again, the mother departed and the girl remained.  About a half hour later, the girl said that she was going to get her father and would be back. 

At this time, I placed the image in the back replacing it with another picture.  About a half hour later, the girl’s mother returned and was horrified that the picture was gone.  I told her that it was in the back and retrieved it.  Shortly there after the girl returned and the mother and an aunt split the cost between them.  I offered the girl one of my smaller prints as a bonus and she was one happy little girl.

Was rather nice to see someone like one of my images this much and especially so, someone this young.  Makes a person enjoy being an artist.  I am not getting rich from art fairs, but it is quite enjoyable to meet the public and see the reactions ones work evokes.  More sales would also be nice but money is not my prime motivator.

The initial post about this article got over 1700 views on AFI, without having the article to read. Now that I have permission from Sunshine Artist to put it on my web site, I want to distribute it as widely as possible.

A link to the article on my web site with example booth pictures I've taken:
http://bermangraphics.com/blog/photograph-your-booth/

A link to download the article which can be printed out and distributed by artists and art show staff:
http://bermangraphics.com/files/how-to-take-booth-picture-larry-berman.pdf

The full article

The importance of a good booth picture
How important is the booth photo? Besides the artwork images, the booth image can easily make or break an artist's career doing art shows by keeping you out of even the shows that are considered easy to get into. Some artists spend a great deal of money having their artwork photographed but don't even think of improving their booth picture until they start an application, if they even think about it at all. Like the art images, the booth image needs to be read easily without causing the jurors to spend even an extra second understanding exactly what they're seeing. They should glance at it, consider it professional looking, and then spend their time evaluating your artwork images. For the shows that project the images, the jurors are seeing all the images simultaneously for not more than 20 seconds and sometimes closer to 10 seconds. If you don't think that the booth image is that important, attend an open jury and view your competitor’s images, or attend a mock (image evaluation) jury and listen to the critques of the jurors.

Tips on how to take a good booth image
The best place to photograph your booth is not at an art show where you don't have control over the environment or the weather. It's better to set it up for the picture at home on an overcast or cloudy day so there is even lighting and no sun streaks which might draw the juror's eyes. Make sure not to have any signs, identification, ribbons and especially no people in the booth picture. I've seen booth pictures with so many people in the booth that you couldn't tell what they were selling. When asked why, the artist told me that they thought to have a better chance of getting in if their artwork was popular. I've also seen pictures of an empty canopy because the artist didn't understand that they actually had to show their artwork in the booth picture.

Setting the booth up
The canopy must be white and all three walls need to be seen in the picture. The sides of the canopy need to be in place so there is nothing distracting showing through the booth to draw the juror’s eyes. You can shoot two walls from a corner but still need to see along the third wall to satisfy the three walled booth picture requirement. The last thing you want is to be forced to create different booth pictures for each application. The floor must be clean of debris and leaves or put down a carpet.

Arranging the artwork
If you’re photographing 2D work it’s best to take the glass out of the frames to eliminate reflections before shooting. If you have multiple pieces on each wall, line up the tops of pieces on the top row so they are all at the same top height around the booth. It makes the booth look more professional and enables the juror’s eyes to flow. And a symmetrical looking booth reads easier and looks more professional. If you use bins to display unframed art, make sure to include bin(s) in the booth picture. The booth picture needs to be representative of how your booth will look at a show. If you’re photographing 3D work and are using tables, consider hanging large photographs of your pieces to take up wall space and make the booth look fuller. Think of it as a way to show the jurors additional jury images. If you use tables with covers, make sure the covers are wrinkle free. Consider using pedestals or desks from Pro Panels or Armstrong Display. Or at least raise your table height to approximately 40 inches. If posible, don’t have objects overlapping from the camera position and make sure everything in the booth faces the camera. Consider the camera position as the juror’s perspective, not how you normally set up the booth. If your booth contains mirrors, make sure that they aren't a source of distraction when the booth is viewed by the jurors. If your mirrors are for people to see themselves when trying on accessories or clothing, remove the mirrors from the booth prior to taking the picture. If you're selling mirrors as part of your artwork, either position them to control what they reflect or (what I do in the booth pictures I edit) use Photoshop to drop a gradual gradient onto the glass.

Setting the camera
Use a tripod. It eliminates camera movement and it's the only way to check object placement from the camera angle before you shoot. Follow these basic suggestions on how to set your camera for maximum image quality. Lowest ISO and stop down the lens for maximum depth of field using either Aperture Priority or Manual exposure settings. The tripod will compensate for the longer shutter speed. If possible set your camera to Auto Bracket at one stop intervals. That will give you three exposures for each picture, one lighter, one darker and one what the built in meter thinks as accurate. When using Auto Bracketing, some cameras require taking three pictures and some automatically take three each time you release the shutter. Slightly darker images edit better than lighter images. It's easier to bring out detail in the darker areas than to put detail back into areas that are too bright.

Taking the picture
Do not use a cell phone camera. They loose detail in the highlights which can't be recovered. Understand that no matter what camera you use, your image will still need editing for it to be accurate. Shoot wider than the canopy so the walls can be squared up before the image is cropped. Shoot the back and right wall seeing along the left wall to satisfy the three wall booth rule. The back and right wall booth picture acts as a right hand book end in your image set when the images are projected. That makes it a natural movement for the jurors eyes to flow back into your image set. Leaving the tripod in position, take the memory card out and pull the images up on the computer. Take note of everything that can be changed to improve the picture. Go out and make the changes, shoot again and check again on the computer. If you’re working remotely with a friend or consultant, ask for feedback by sending the pictures while you’re shooting, not after you break the booth down.

How I shoot a booth picture
I prefer to set up my tripod so that the camera sits approximately 56 inches from the ground. I use a camera with a 28mm wide angle lens. If leveled properly, there is no distortion. And using 28mm, I can shoot from a short distance in front of the booth, especially useful if it's at a show with narrow isles. I also carry something that can be held over the lens (which acts like a lens hood) to prevent stray light from hitting it and causing flare in the picture.

Summary
A good display picture is not easy and it takes time to get it right. If the jurors are distracted and waste even a second or two noticing something out of place, you might be losing 10% of the time they are looking at your work. Be careful of an overly bright white canopy because it's human nature that our eyes are drawn to the brightest part of an image or brightest image in a presentation. Crop most of the white canopy top off and crop in tight on the sides. They only need to know that it's an outdoor picture under a white canopy and need not see the entire top to understand.

Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100

I wanted to write reviews of the shows that I've done to help other artists potentially make decisions of whether they want to apply or not but its kind of a pain to get the shows onto to the reviews page so I thought i would just share my information on here.

Key Biscayne, Florida

Hyde Park, Tampa, Florida

Altamonte Springs, Orlando, Florida

Marco Island, Florida

Old town Art Fair, Saint Augustine, Florida

St Armands Key, Sarasota, Florida

Lawton Arts Festival, Oklahoma

Blue Dome Arts Festival, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Deerfield, Illinois

Hinsdale, Illinois

Wells Street Arts Festival, Chicago

Northville Arts festival, Michigan

Fountain Square, Evanston, Illinois

Salida Arts Festival, Salida, Colorado

Salida Riverside Arts Festival, Colorado

Downtown Aspen, Colorado

Beaver Creek, Colorado

Sloan's Lake Arts Festival, Denver, Colorado

Evergreen arts festival, Colorado

March -

Key Biscayne (Howard alan)

    I personally will never do this show again, I did terrible.  it was my first show so i was working out some kinks for sure and I cant completely discredit this show. The artists I spoke to who seemed to do well were glass or 3-d artists and miami artists.  A cuban/miami local who does pretty much only pop art style of cuban coffee pots and american coffee pots that say "cuban" and "american" I would have to assume did awesome because I saw those paintings walking all over. 

Its a very hispanic population so those who are fluent speakers also have an advantage, I speak spanish at a conversational level, but I'm not as confident "telling my story" or selling in spanish so I certainly had a disadvantage.  Anyways, there were a fair amount of people walking around, the show wasnt dead, it wasnt hugely busy though. Easy Friday set up but I will absolutely never ever do it again.  Overnight parking is in a park a mile or two away and there is a sparsely running shuttle to bring people from A to B. 

Hyde park (Howard alan)
     This show is in an awesome location in Tampa.  My target clientele is younger with money and this is who populates this show.  Its a Saturday morning set up so that's kind of a pain in the ass, but I did luck out on being able to pull right up to my booth to drop stuff off and set up.  I would entertain the idea of doing this show again, I think  a lot of people do well here. 

Altamonte springs

      This is in an interesting location north of orlando in an expensive town home development with a similar demographic as Hyde park.  A majority of Saturday got shut down because of a tornado warning but i think it would have been a pretty good show for me had that not been the case.  I would probably do this show again.  

April -

Marco Island (howard alan)

     This was the first show that I felt I did well at. now after having done months of shows my idea of "well" is certainly different than it was then but Marco Island was good for me.  I think it was a first year show of HA promoting it. I think some seasoned artists said there used to be a show run there but there have been a few years sans show making it essentially a first year so, So i would have higher expectations for this show in the future. 

Set up/Break down was cake.  you can drive onto the grassy area to set up. unfortunately parking is miles from the show, there is a trolly to shuttle people back and forth.  There are no bathrooms or any amenties near the parking, I walked over to the beach and poached showers at the hotels on the beach in the evening. 

St Augustine (Old town I think its called, its run by Lynne something)

      Same set up as Marco Island, in a big open field, you drive up to it, super easy.  Parking is right next to the show which is really nice and my family lives in St augustine so i was able to get a shower there.  The location isnt great, not a ton of traffic. I did okay because my grandma passed out the little art show promo cards provided free by the show to everyone in her neighborhood and told everyone if they didnt atleast come to the show and see me they would be off of her christmas card list. I'm not joking. haha. So that was a big help.  I dont think its a great show.  its a mediocre show at best but I will do it again because of my family. 

St Armands (paragon)

     This show also has a fairly easy set up, you drive into the middle of the circle and drop off your stuff then parking is maybe a quarter mile away on the beach which is pretty nice. there are nice bathrooms there (they're locked at night) and beach showers so that's good. 

I didnt have a very good show there, one of my neighbors was a painter and he didnt do well either, but a jeweler that was near us did awesome.  Ohh and a guy who made crazy huge outdoor bronze sculptures killed it. He must have sold 3 pieces at 5-7 grand each. 

Bill Kinney, the promoter, comes by at the end of the show asks what your sales were and comes out with series of graphs by media etc and shows what the average sales of each were so that's really nice (assuming that they're accurate) according to the file that he sent the average sales were just under 4K per artist.  I did below that but I had not yet gotten my Trimline, so i was rocking an EZup and I think with the fancy vacationers of St armands. 

Also, Howard alan had a show close by that weekend and sent Helaine over to this show to try and get the vendor list, when paragon refused to give it to her she walked around and wrote everyones name down. I guess to discriminate against us? art show politics....

May- off to oklahoma!

Lawton -

    Wow, that's an interesting demographic there.  Fairly easy set up if you have a spot next to the road, less so if you're deeper in the park.  There are lots of food vendors here and the show certainly attracts a lot of people, a large portion of them are toothless, inbred looking carnival going turkey leg eaters. and the other side of that are Army people stationed at Ft Sill. 

I do hawaiian style art so many of them had been to hawaii and really connected with my work so I sold a lot of pieces in the 100-250 range. I dont think I had any sales from a higher price range, but i did sell quite a bit of pieces there.  A neighbor of mine that made wall sculptures out of square nails was NOT happy at all, but he has higher expectations than I do, he's been at it for like 30 years, and I probably did better there than him. 

its a 3 day show, set up friday am/midday and show is open friday like 4-7 or something then normal weekend hours.  The promoter was super accomodating and even set up for host families to stay with in town.  They also arranged for all of us to be able to use the YMCA gym, pool, sauna, and showers which is right next to the show. I was really stoked about that, and parking is a few blocks away at a library ergo free wifi.

The weather can be really unpredictable, there were tornado warnings on thursday, not terrible throughout the weekend until breakdown and shit got crazy windy. I didnt get any damage though. 

Blue dome in Tulsa

       So this show started as a boycott of local artists to Mayfest's policy of only accepting 10% local artists.  I was only able to do this show because my buddy is from there and we split a triple booth, which was probably the best location in the entire show right in front of the oldest bar in Tulsa. Most of blue dome is crafty or buy/sell low end stuff, which can go both ways, but i'd say it worked in our favor.

there are a lot of serious buyers in Tulsa who boycott mayfest because of the aformentioned reason and they had very little choices of fine art in this show, us being one.  So we totally killed it and were pretty drunk the whole time.  Also, the booth fee is like $100 for 3 days, so thats awesome. If its geographically convenient at all I will absolutely be doing this show again. It was a blast. I imagine Mayfest is lucrative for artists as well.

June-

Deerfield, IL

     I will absolutely not be doing this show again.  Its in a heavily jewish area so saturday was completely dead and sunday was not a whole hell of a lot better.  A few people did okay, but its not my crowd, nor was there a crowd at all. It was a fairly easy show to do, I met a couple who became my closest "art tour" friends who i subsequently did shows with for the next 2 months.

I also by crazy chance got my top collector there. He is a young guy and avid art collector but had no clue of the show. he had gotten off the train and saw the show so walked down in the last few minutes before closing sunday. He bought a small original and said he would be getting my biggest piece at Wells street show in 2 weeks which he did.  He has since bought a few more originals for me.  That made Deerfield worth it, but I wont do that show again. No one was really happy. I do not recommend it.  It is next to whole foods though which made me happy

Hinsdale, IL

    Not my cup of tea either.  I didnt really speak to anyone who had a good show.  Its in a hugely upscale area, but I did not see anyone buying expensive pieces.  Thats about all I have to say. ohh the breakfast they had was the best muffins I'd had yet at a show-they were from a local bakery

Wells Street - downtown chicago

     That show is a big drinking party. I was right across from Benchmark bar, which seemed to be one of the swankiest busiest bars.  I heard that some serious buyers dont walk to that area because there are too many drunk people, but I did really well there, partially because of my deerfield collector buying my biggest piece.  It was a good time, I will apply to Old town next year and if I get in I will certainly do that, but I would do wells street again. Set up/ breakdown has potential to be a complete nightmare. 

Northville, Michigan

    This is a 3 day show, which it probably shouldn't be, but its in a small downtown in an upscale suburb.  Friday am we set up then the afternoon was open for business. The weather sucked friday and I didnt sell a single thing, but I didnt really care, I was hungover and didnt want to talk to anyone anyways. So i just stood in my booth and painted all day as it rained outside. 

Saturday was a different story, weather was great and I killed it. It was another show that had a lot of lower end stuff so i think that helped me stand out.  That was a $100-300 price point show for me atleast, but I sold enough to definitely be willing to do it again. especially if i can do ann arbor which is only 2 weeks away i think. 

The promoter is new to running the show but she's so awesome. I asked her if there were any showers we could use near by and she offered her house which is only a block away so I showered there and then hung out with her and her husband for hours. 

I will definitely put this show on the list for next year if its geographically convenient.  Its a good filler show at best, but it was worlds better than other filler shows that I had done.

Fountain Square, Evanston IL

     I heard from artists who had done this show for a number of years that they keep changing it around and thats definitely affecting the show in a negative way.  I expected more from this show than I got. I had a last minute sale that took me to the number I wanted to make for the show just before breakdown, but... ehh.... I think this show is going down hill for sure.  I would do it as a filler show maybe.  I made money, but it just seemed like kind of a buzzkill. 

Lunch was catered by wholefoods though which was nice.  Parking is free, but is sort of far away and they said they had a shuttle, but that company is a shit show and no one knew they were supposed to even have a shuttle. an employee gave me a ride so it was all okay, but still, unorganized. and parking is miles away so its not really walkable before/after a show.

July

Salida Arts Festival

    This was a first year show so I had low expectations.  I didnt do well by any means but as it turns out, I did worse at a number of colorado shows. Jerry, the promoter, I think, worked really hard to promote this first year show which isnt in a great location.  Load in is harder than it should be for being in a park, in my opinion. 

I will not be doing any shows in colorado again probably, and the only person I spoke to who was stoked was this really amazing older Korean man who makes Cajon drums who sold on saturday alone 14 drums that are priced between $400 -$700. He did awesome. Salida is a lower income artist community, and also a place where other Coloradans come on mini Stay-cations So if your art sells well here, maybe entertain this show.

Salida Riverside

    This show is run by Danna Tullis and I will NEVER do another show run by this woman. this seasoned show was in a far better location than the prior and I did way worse, as did everyone.  The owner of an art gallery less than 1 block from the show came by and told me he had no clue the show was happening.  Danna does no promotion for shows, she just takes the booth fees I guess.  She also does Sloans lake in denver which was terrible and I will mention later.  DO NOT DO THIS SHOW.

Downtown Aspen (Howard Alan)

     I did not do as well as expected at this show, which is an understatement,  but I think many people did do really well. They put a few artists on this weird little off shoot of the show, I was not one of them, I had a decent location, but I felt terrible for them, they got no traffic. I also heard other artists tell me that the art galleries had united and had gotten an article in the paper discouraging people from patronizing the show, and instead, going to art galleries who pay taxes etc all year, rather than these foreign artists who just come in for one weekend. 

I was next to a knife maker who did awesome. His stuff was really cool and he and his wife were great and made a super unique product, so I can see why they did awesome, also a glass artist who I heard of and didnt meet until the following weekend did like 20K from one collector at the show.  Most of the people buying art here are on vacation. 

Also Mountain fair was going on the same weekend in carbondale, less than an hour away and I think that detracted from the people at this show somewhat.  This show can be good for some, it wasnt for me.  I think also that booth appearance is extremely important at these shows, as these people are accustomed to buying at high end stores.  So the fact that I still had an EZup probably hurt meas well.

August

Beaver Creek (Howard Alan)

    Set up can be a complete nightmare, although it wasn't really for me.  Same as Aspen where I think i probably would have done better with a nicer booth set up, So its on the agenda.

A neighbor of mine who did big abstract paintings and had a large tall trimline tent sold 2 pieces at 7k each and got a huge commission.  Across from me a fiber artist did pretty well selling womens sweater things.  the glass artist I mentioned from Aspen straight killed it here too. He has some really awesome stuff and larger pieces are in the 6K-7K range and he must have sold 5 of those alone among lots of smaller stuff. 

You also run the risk (probably 50%) of being stuck in an area thats a huge pain in the ass to set up as well so far of the beaten trail that it has little to no foot traffic. This can be a fantastic show for some though, that's for sure

Denver Sloan's Lake

     Also run by Danna Tullis.  Last year was supposed to be the first year show, but that was when Denver was having crazy floods so this was the first year.  Very little foot traffic, also more of a pain in the ass to set up than it should be.  I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS SHOW TO ANYONE. no one I spoke to did well.

Evergreen

    This was one of the most accomodating shows I have done, although Beth, the current promoter, did announce she was resigning this year.  They have a pretty awesome artist dinner on saturday a few miles away.  Some people did well at this show, not me though, nor one of my neighbors. Its in a park so they had to design the map around trees and such so I was in a weird offshoot which was a lower foot traffic area for sure.

This was the worst show I had in a long time, but people out here, especially these retired, upper middle-upper class just weren't into my stuff.  I think its worth doing for others, but i will not be doing it again. 

To be continued .....

Life it is about expectations. As we grew we are teach what a successful life should be. We define what a successful is a person it is by how much financial wealth that person obtain. I always wonder what next idea will come that will improve ourselves. One thing that we forget is the lesson from the last financial crash. We like to blame others for our problem but I just wonder if we had learned anything in the last few years. Are still living beyond our means. It used to be that only debt we will have was our home and cars. Everything else was paid in layaway or cash.

In the pass few years in art fair business we had see things go to the sour side. We had see the fine art shows becomes festival. Shows where showcase fine art only now they had become a fine art and craft mix. With time those shows carrying craft people the vendors became more wise and start introducing imports (profit). When a line  become successful, that means that line is no more  fine art. Does creating a work that target a niche it means that you had soul your artistic values?

Are we in the end of the art fair era? Are the shows will be like Wells Street Art Fair? Artists get angry about the buy and sell but I did not care because it does affect me. It took me while to understand even if I am in photography why I should care about buy and sale. Why should I care if another photographer sale his 8X10 image for 25 and I sale it for 50. I should care why a ceramics artist should not sale functional art in a fine art show. I should care that fine art show should only carry jewelry that you can not find in department store or how much it cost. I should care why they ask the range of your price points at my application.

I start to notice that I want to aim higher but I can not because our market does not allow it. Our promoters are bringing in low end buyers or simply people can not afford it (wages freeze, cost living increasing, medical cost keep going up, political fights, wars, etc). I will like to charge the proper amount of money for a art piece but that means that piece will sit for months and bills keep coming. I will to get a place where I ask for x amount and people do not ask for a discount. I notice that I need to underprice because to much low end merchandise at the art fair. When I see the list of artist I wonder where the high end  artist are. I walk a show and I see the same level of artist as me. I see very few artists with work that which I can own.

My expectations are so low at this point that people wonder how can you live like that. Those days where I will make work that mean something socially are gone. In these days I make work that is what I call commercial work. I believe that most photographers friends will understand what I mean and funny thing I was trying not be like you but I understand why we all became like that.

Okay. I did it. I've been in the biz forever. But this was my very first outdoor show with a tent and walls and all the concerns we all read and talk about on this amazing site. And although I had read and researched and practiced and planned, my insides sweated it out and I totally wanted to back out of the whole thing. By the time we arrived at our friend's beach house with a borrowed van the night before the show, I was already exhausted, and soooooo angry. At what? At whom? No one, really. I was just disappointed. I was disappointed that it wasn't more fun. I hated the packing and unpacking and spending way too much time preparing. I'd read all about grid walls on this site and decided to go with that. But they were so heavy and cumbersome. Why did I spend SO much money on all this? Why did I even think I'd want to do this at all? I'm too old for all this bother. What was I trying to prove?

And this was only Friday night and all that was going on was early set up the night before the actual festival.

My husband came with me to set up the tent and put everything in place. With a few festival neighbors to help, we got the tent up and were even offered four heavy-duty twisty dog ties for the tent legs which I hadn't known would be allowed. We'd put up the grid walls and placed the weights but we could NOT get the tent walls to meet, to close and it had taken so long - before I'd asked for help, that is - to get the tent itself to stand straight and sturdy, and then to get the weights and stakes in place that the sun had set and it seemed that all the tents were up, the artists were gone, but we were still there. I was living a nightmare and I felt incompetent and angry and embarrassed. It was now dark and the wind was howling and the walls were blowing everywhere. I wanted to take everything down, put it all back in the van and run away. I hated everything about the process. 

My husband, however, was amazingly patient. He was not about to let me quit. And then my inner artist warrior took over and I found myself making a decision. "Let's take down the sails and leave up the tent and grid walls. Batten down the hatches and let's get out of here!" 

I slept not a wink that night but literally watched the full moon turn orange as it made it's way across the window and out of my line of vision. Every gust of wind startled me while I tossed and turned. I wanted to get up and paint the scene it but everything was in the van. I thought "I should be working, painting, sculpting, not doing this crazy art show thing." I awoke angry and tired and hungry and didn't have time to eat breakfast or even shower. I wanted to run away and not set up at all. I figured we could run over there, take the tent down and leave. I'd send an email later. The artist warrior side of me prevailed again, though. As did my incredibly patient husband. (He had actually slept that night.)

That first morning, as we set up my paintings and my ceramic masks, I pretty much filled my mind with complaints. I had been amazed to see my tent and all the weights and display grids sitting upright and waiting for me. But I was still mad at myself. As I made my way through the bubble wrap, all my mind could focus on was how I hadn't bought shopping bags, I didn't get new business cards, I forgot to make price tags, I should have brought a cooler. I HATE THIS!

The weather was gorgeous and the crowds were quiet but pleasant. I didn't make a single sale and after this first 8 hour day of sitting in an uncomfortable chair, I felt justified in my disappointment. At the end of the day as I wrapped and packed all my artwork to drag back to the borrowed van - still couldn't get the walls to fit - I thought, why not just take everything down now and run away? I don't HAVE to come back tomorrow. I'm not in the Army, for heaven sake.

Oh, alright. It's only one more day. I'm fine. I'll come back.

My husband and friends went out to dinner after the show that night. I stayed in and went to bed. Confident that my tent and grid walls were securely in place and my artwork was bubble wrapped safe and sound in the van, I slept. Boy, did I sleep.

I awoke to the sunrise, had breakfast, took my shower and dressed like a proud and happy artist should. I even remembered earrings and mascara. I'd brought a better chair and went off to rule my day. I took my time, by myself, to set up my work on those walls and as the minutes went by people came in to watch, to talk, to admire, to compliment, to ask questions, and yes, to buy.

I made price tags out of my crazy out-of-date business cards and wrote my new info on the cards I gave out. I wrapped purchases in bubble wrap and twine. I had wonderful conversations with visitors as well as my fellow artist neighbors, enjoyed an ice cream cone from the local food truck and made new friends. And throughout the day, I sold stuff!

Before the first hour of the second day, I'd already made back my booth fee and had once again found my joy in talking with people about my work, selling with no apologies and proudly calling myself an artist in business again. "Oh, are YOU the artist?" "Yes," I beamed. "Yes, I am. This is my work." It had been so long since I'd been in the public eye and I loved hearing people tell me how "exciting and different" my work was. I even loved it when people said "Oh, these are kinda scary!" Thank you, I'd say with one raised eyebrow. Thank you very much. 

At five o'clock on that Sunday afternoon, four volunteers ran up to me and asked if they could help me with anything and I said "yes, thank you. I think I could use help with everything." They laughed and got to work. The volunteers had been there throughout both days to give us breaks and bring cold water or hot coffee. When my husband arrived with the van, everything was folded neatly on the grass and I found myself relaxed and smiling with an inner peace I hadn't felt in ages. It had truly been an amazing day, made even sweeter by the turmoil I'd put myself through leading up to that last moment of my first show.

What I want to say to you here is Thank You. Thank you for this forum. For tips you've all shared, and the booth photos for Newbies, and the experiences of all the different shows you've all lived through, both good and bad. Thank you for your input on walls and weights and tents and displays, even when you've answered the same question a million times before. And, oh my God, thank you for telling us about zip ties! But most importantly, thank you for making it alright to be scared sometimes. And for making it okay to admit that we've never actually done this before. 

Thank you for letting us understand that it's okay to ask for help of our fellow artists. And to accept that help graciously. And that the volunteers really DO want to be helpful. Thank you for giving me permission to say "Excuse me, but this is the first time I've used this tent. Could you help me?" 

How sad it would have been to have given up and never had this crazy experience. How helpful it was to come here to this forum every couple of nights for months with a question, or just an hour to read about things and then be able to actually use what I learned here. If I can pay it forward I would say this: Don't be afraid to feel your feelings but then get past the negative stuff and move on. Get a good night sleep, eat a good breakfast, don't forget your sunscreen. Drink lots of water and know where to go when that catches up to you - because it will. Ask for help when you need it, offer help where you see a need, be grateful and mindful of how lucky you are to live your life by your own standards, to spend your day in the shade of a tent surrounded by your own creativity and joy. Talk openly and happily with everyone you meet, be nice to people even if they say silly things and don't seem to "get" your work. And when things get crazy - which they will - stop for a moment, find your center, take a deep breath and just have a ball. The answers will come. Always remember that you are an artist and that's just an incredibly cool thing to be.

Thank you again.

Robin

I have had several commissions and so far all clients have been pleased. I usually get 1/2 payment upfront, full payment upon delivery. I  usually have several emails and a delivery date; I've never been late. Three weeks after delivery of the piece at issue I just received an email from the client who " tried the piece in several locations and have decided that it just isn't going to work for them." This was a portrait of their baby daughter's feet (no one else wants this) done in the colors they provided. I  always say to numerous questions about my work that "I stand behind my work". I guess I was thinking about something being damaged or some issue with workmanship- not someone changing their mind. So here's where I need the help- Do I offer a full refund? What about my lost time and materials? I want a good reputation and wouldn't want someone to keep something they didn't love but should I absorb all the cost? That doesn't seem like good business. I welcome all advice and opinions- Thanks in advance.   

A friend asked that I post this. This is a great story of how you just can't keep a good guy (or woman) down. What started out bad finished with a happy ending. Plus, this story will alert you to why you need to always be aware of your surroundings, why you need to have a good inventory, and why a guardian angel can be very helpful.

Ok Everybody – have I got a story for you!  And if you have never believed in miracles before, I don’t see how you couldn’t change your mind after reading this. 

My husband makes beautiful, high-end gold jewelry.  Last weekend, we did the show at Lincoln Center in NYC and on Saturday night, after the show when we were getting out of our van at our hotel in New Jersey, 4 guys wearing masks jumped my husband, threw him facedown to the ground, held him down, and yanked the backpack of jewelry off his shoulder and jumped into the car they had pulled up right behind our van. I screamed and grabbed the door handle on the driver’s side, but he just gunned the car and took off, and left me lying on the pavement.  And there we were, stunned and devastated, our entire livelihood ripped from us in less than 15 seconds.

Of course the police came and we filled out a report, then spent a sleepless night just clinging to each other, too numb to even talk.  We still had about 12 pair of earrings and 5 bracelets which I had been holding in a separate bag so they didn’t get, and we actually opened the next day because I didn’t think we would be allowed to tear down early. 

Word spread throughout the show and the other artists were very sympathetic and even took up a collection of about $400 and we were touched and blessed by that. We had decided to be as positive as possible and were thankful that we hadn’t been shot, and I kept believing for a supernatural recovery, because I knew that’s exactly what any recovery would have to be.  Our whole church was praying for the same thing.

And guess what – IT HAPPENED!!!!!!!!   The following day, Monday, we were in the airport getting ready to fly home, when I get a phone call from a police officer in SOUTH CAROLINA, and in a nutshell, they had pulled over a car going down I-95, for some “irregular driving behavior”, and opened the trunk and there they found a pillowcase filled with a bunch of gold jewelry.  They confiscated it and tried to figure out who it belonged to – they didn’t know anything about the police report filed in New Jersey. 

My husband stamps the inside of his rings with his first name, but it’s extremely difficult to read because it’s so small – you really have to use a magnifying glass and even then sometimes it is illegible.  But they figured it out and googled him on line and FOUND HIM, and that’s when they called me at the airport!!!!!!! 

The stolen loot after it was recovered

Of course I was screaming hysterically with happiness in the middle of the airport. The officer said he wasn’t sure how long we would have to wait to go get it because of paperwork and whatnot but then he called a couple days later and said they were releasing it!  So we dropped everything, jumped in the car and drove till midnight to get there, and after spending most of the following day in the police station inventorying everything --- WE GOT EVERYTHING BACK EXCEPT THREE PIECES!!!!!!!!!

Not only that, there are more layers to this miracle.  Out of their entire police force of 127, those two officers are the only ones  on a special team called an “interdiction” force, and they are trained NOT to be just regular traffic policemen, but to specifically look for certain driving behaviors and other things they couldn’t tell me that alert them to thieves and drug runners and stuff like that, and THOSE two officers happened to be at the right place at the right time when these guys went zipping by on I-95 at 5:00 that Monday morning, and they pulled the car over for a “slightly irregular lane change”.  The Good Guys

One more layer – those officers were scheduled to work that evening from noon until 7:30, but they said they just had a feeling they would catch more bad guys in the early morning, so they came in to work at 4 a.m. instead.  Unbelievable.

And also, another little part of the miracle and a lesson to all of us about keeping a good inventory system:  up until about 3 weeks before this happened, our “inventory” system was a big unorganized MESS, but because we had gone about 2 months without doing shows, we had just gone through and taken pictures of every single piece and organized them into folders of Pendants, Rings, etc., and had made a new notebook where we wrote everything about each piece and its price.  That notebook was actually in the back pack that they ditched after they dumped everything into the pillowcase, BUT, we had made a copy!!!!  And with that in hand, we were able to identify all of our pieces to the police!!!!

When you think about the odds of us recovering that jewelry, especially in the way it was recovered, they would be astronomical – it truly is a miracle.

The Happy Reunion with the Recovered Loot

A few after notes:

- We donated the $400 that was collected for us at the show to C.E.R.F., and told them the story as well.

 -  We learned that the bad guys were part of a Columbian gang working with the drug cartel, and they were heading to Miami when the officers stopped them on I-95 that morning. 

The police made them open their luggage, and there they found the masks they used when they jumped my husband, one of those tools that are used to open a car by going in through the window, and – get this ---- they also found a GPS tracking device that they had used to track us!!  In other words, they had put some little device on our van, and with that GPS tracker that they had, they knew where we were even without physically following us. Very scary.

- And scariest of all – these guys are not in jail!!!  From what I understand, even though they had enough grounds to apprehend the jewelry, the police had to let the guys drive away because they claimed that they had bought the jewelry all in a big clump from a jeweler and though the police knew they were lying, since they didn’t actually have a victim at the time, and the guys said they would send a receipt (riiiiiight……), by law they had to let them go!!!!!  And even though now they have a victim (us), nobody has arrested them because they don’t know exactly where they are and the information I have is that “the investigation is still going on and they are looking.”  Isn’t that terrible???  I just hate it when the law protects the bad guys more than us!!!

I am in my second year of art fairs and have been using square since the beginning. This weekend in Chicago at the Highland Park Fine Art and Craft show I had a disaster happen. I had a $510 sale which looked like any good sale I've ever had. The payment authorized. The signature line was given,  the people signed, they declined to give me an email and they accepted a paper receipt. I pressed the "no thanks " for the receipt page and continue, and we were done. Off they went with the art. That evening I went thru my square payment activity and the sale wasn't there. I thought maybe because it was after a certain hour on a Sunday. I called square to ask about it, as it never appeared, and the reality is the horrifying part. The sale was voided apparently during the authorization process. Square said it could be an incoming call, a text or questionable wifi which may have faded for a brief moment and that's all it takes. The authorizing process failed but you won't know that until long after your buyer has left. I didn't do a good job on my end getting the buyers info which I should have done as a part of doing good business, but I didn't get contact info and now I have no recourse. There is no way to tell when a payment is voided. Square does not notify you. This is a truly sickening live and learn experience . I hope this information saves someone else a lost sale in the future. 

As you might expect from my previous post, I am being extra careful to be pro-active in the jury process.  I'd love to get feedback on something from other event coordinators and some artists.

Photographer  "___________" a talented artists regular in my events has some really cool prints.  I like them enough that I have purchased a few.

Then I found an identical image at Target on a cheaper substrate.

I ask. He tells me that he had licensed the image to Target for a short time five years back, and that it was no longer being licensed.

I tell him he cannot sell any image that had been ever licensed at the events I coordinate.  Simple enough.  It does not belong.  I am not showing his work to the jurors.  He is not eligible for my events. 

To be fair, I would like to try representing his thoughts.  He is welcome to comment on this post if he feels that I don't get it right. 

He says that "at least 20-30% of art fair artists license images or sell through- Fine Art America, GBC, Red Bubble, or Image Conscious".

He also pointed out that my prospectus does not specifically mention "licensed" art.

He is in some major fine art shows.  I won't mention them here.

Tell me event organizers, what's your thoughts on this? 

Artists?  I am confident that I am making the right decision. Your thoughts?

Many thanks to all the people who sent support to our Pledge Drive. We drew the first 20 names in a yesterday and here are the winners:

1. Kay Gallagher
2. Suzanne Krongold
3. Marianne Caroselli
4. Andy Shea
5. Ann Light
6. Jill Banks
7. Pamela Burgess
8. Carol Joy Shannon
9. Robert Johnson
10. Maggie Zielinski
11. Gloria Danvers
12. Lisa Fair
13. Robert Stein
14. Susan Hohman
15. Sue Kroll
16. Laurie Leonard
17. Janie Manaski
18. Bonnie Eastwood
19. Lisa Loudermilk
20. Brian Miller

Congratulations to each! Several of them were winners last year too.

To claim your prizes visit the Prize Page, choose your top 4 prizes and send me those choices: info@artfaircalendar.com, and I'll make arrangements for fulfillment. While many people had their eye on the top prizes, we don't like to choose for you. So which one suits you the best?

Please let me hear from you before the next podcast so I can set your prizes aside.

There are many more prizes than 20. On Monday, June 2, at 3 pm ET, "celebrity hosts" will be joining me on a new podcast. They will share some info about their event and then draw the names of the next segment of winners. Hope you'll join us then to hear your name called.

Which, of course, also means that if you haven't pledged yet you have more time to help us support our websites. We really appreciate each and every pledge, no matter the size. Here's where you can do that: http://www.artfaircalendar.com/art_fair/pledgedrive.html

Tuesday - May 27, 5 pm ET

Hope you'll join me and Internet marketing guru, author Scott Fox (my son) as we celebrate 10 years of informational websites about the art fair business. We're doing a countdown on the Ten Most Informational Links on ArtFairInsiders.com with the stories behind them.

This site has hosted some fascinating writers over the years and we'll highlight their helpful info. 

AND we will begin the drawing for the Pledge Drive Prizes. 

We have 65 prizes. We will not be giving the prizes directly, but we'll announce the list and the winners can choose their own prize. Of course, the first name called will get first choice, etc.

Will you be a winner? Odds of winning are very good, maybe 2.5 to 1! 

Will you call in and tell us your art fair story? Has this site been helpful to you in ferreting out the best shows, staying away from the bad ones, finding the best resources, making some friends? If so, pledge and also call in to the live show. We'd love to hear from you. We're old friends by now.

CALL IN NUMBER: 805-243-1338

Picture imperfect
Taking aim at stealthy intellectual property theft at art & craft shows

by Gregory Strachov

This article was published in the current issue of Sunshine Artist magazine and is reprinted here with the permission of the publisher, Nate Shelton, and the author Gregory Strachov. Photos by Gregory Strachov.

In recent years, many professionals on the art & craft show circuit have noticed a conspicuous activity that poses a threat to the copyright of their intellectual property. Specifically, the issue involves professional photographers who are appearing at some of the nation’s most-noted art festivals — and we’re not speaking of shutterbugs who juried in.

Rather, these photographers carry expensive, sophisticated cameras — often two — as they stand in front of exhibitors’ booths. They boast  lenses that require no tripod to stabilize and high-resolution digital equipment that can pick up the detail of an artist’s signature from 100 feet away. And they usually pretend to focus on the ground or the sky while keeping a firm eye on the display. When the artist is not looking, though, or when the crowd in the booth thins down, these still-life paparazzi quickly photograph as much work as possible.

When confronted, they are often aggressive and use some variation of the excuse that, “This is a public place and a free country.” Unfortunately for them and fortunately for art & craft professionals, copyright laws only make an exception for works in the public domain, which comes into play once the creator has been dead for 70 years. It’s true that artists’ booths are in a public place, but the property within these booths is still private intellectual property that cannot be photographed without the express permission of the author.

Furthermore, no gallery or museum permits photographs to be taken of the work on display in those venues, although they too are public places. This is copyright law 101 — and an issue that every artist and craftsperson should be aware of before they head to their next show.
 
Spy games
Artists in general know that copying someone’s work is unethical, and the public generally knows this as well. Moreover, courts have found photographs of paintings to be copyright-infringing derivatives of the original. The only reason an artist would permit a stranger to photograph his or her work is for known reasons that the artist alone would determine as allowable. If the artist verbally expresses or posts a sign stating that his or her work must not be photographed, there should be no debate about it.

Nonetheless, stealth photographers who appear at the shows are insistent, pervasive and relentless. When confronted, they are often argumentative and offensive, because they know that an artist’s hands are tied as he or she attempts to remain professional and in good standing with the festival committee. No artist wants to be blacklisted by an event, and some shows would prefer to get rid of one troublemaker than consider alternatives. The photographers understand the show environment very well and use this to their advantage.

There are also “artists” who market their work in completely different venues than ours. For them, it is cost effective to go to a prominent, national show, walk into a booth filled with work that is selected by an educated jury and photograph it. They can easily gather multiple market-proven and edited ideas that they then bring to their studio, copy and send to markets that we never see. At the end of the day, they know that our venue does not provide the kind of income needed to afford an $85,000 legal fee to attempt to bring justice to the case.

Photographs are taken in a variety of ways at shows, too.   One common method involves asking if one can photograph a child in front of a booth while using a wide-angle lens setting. Another method is to set a digital camera to record video as the photographer does a panoramic sweep through the booth, and this can also be done with a cell phone. Most photographers use sophisticated equipment, though — some even use wand scanners that can immediately send images to an external party.

Take a recent encounter I had at a major Northern show. An Asian show-goer was photographing booth after booth. Her focus was on ceramics as well as on displays of blown glass. I went to follow her with my camcorder in an effort to document her activity. When I got to within 50 feet of her, though, she turned as if she’d been alerted to my presence in the crowd. I noted she was wearing earphones similar to a security agent.

As soon as she spotted me, she disappeared between two booths and was gone. When I turned, I saw two Asian men standing right behind me. They had the same kind of earphone and mouthpiece as the female, with wires leading to a small box attached to their belts. These certainly were no ordinary tourists. And it is worth nothing that China has shown a repeated interest in the reproduction or cloning industry, and that interest has been cited by the media as being a major concern of both the tech and fashion industries. It is should also be a concern to artists.

At another national, well-known show, in Denver, a man appeared and photographed all of the booths in the painting category. I approached him to ask what kind of cameras he was using. He responded as though he had a severe mental impairment and spoke as if he could only utter some sounds.

The following year, the same man appeared near my booth. He had the same two cameras and field jacket that he wore the year before. I said hello, and he replied in clear, spoken English. I went back into my display to ask him why he was photographing. But before I could say a word, I saw that he had a wand that he used to scan my painting with a methodical sweep. I asked him to stop. He smiled, said that it was “already sent” and quickly left.

Now, I always have “Do Not Photograph” signs in my booth. So I looked for someone who worked with security, but they were nowhere to be found. I felt helpless because my better judgment told me to apply serious restraint and avoid an incident that might damage my reputation or disrupt the show. But the fact is — and as many other artists and craftspeople can attest — these were not isolated incidents.
 
Solving the problem
I have spoken to various show directors about this problem, and the reactions fill the spectrum. On the proactive side, the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival made an informative sign two years ago to warn the public that the art on display should not be photographed. The show committee announced that these signs could be used by artists on a voluntary basis. Two members of the committee also made every effort to inform the exhibitors of the availability of this sign.

Regardless, too many artists knew nothing about it, and the lack of uniformity diluted the intent as well as enforcement. When photographers were spotted at the show — and there was one who stayed most of the afternoon, posing as an “official photographer” — nothing that I know of was done to stop him.

Even more frustrating, several show directors I’ve spoken with did not seem interested in the matter. Many of them simply wanted to ignore the issue primarily because they knew very little of copyright law and did not want to make an error by enforcing laws they knew nothing about. Some said that the matter is up to each individual artist; however, this does not offer enforcement, since the artist alone cannot be effective in getting the message across without creating a disturbance. Other directors expressed interest but felt that their boards would not agree with taking any action.

Therefore, it appears that many show directors need to be informed about copyright laws regarding the copying and photographing of artwork. They should also have a plan implemented to help safeguard their exhibitors’ intellectual property in the same way that they have plans for medical emergencies and other human needs. Finally, committees need to know that they have a legal right and perhaps an obligation to have some plan in effect.

In short, they need to understand that having intellectual property in a public space does not make it part of the public domain, and that acting as if it does is unacceptable behavior with potential legal consequences.

The solution might be as simple as a commitment on the part of shows to inform their public, not only by posting rules but providing an education regarding this matter. This could be done very gently in the show literature as an ethical and moral understanding. Rules posted by the show would also arm exhibitors with an official stated fact if a confrontation occurs. And since promoters gain revenue from exhibitors, it would benefit show-runners’ relationship with the arts & crafts community if they elected to promote and enforce rules that inform the public about copyright law and the artist’s right to protect their private intellectual property.

Furthermore, by having these rules well publicized, the public might act as police simply by the default of peer pressure. The public does not get hurt, the artists will benefit and the show will reap goodwill benefits.

In the worst-case scenario, there should be some security personnel available to enforce the rules by escorting violators from an event or permit the artist to file a legal complaint. Most artists that I have spoken to are very aware of this situation and are angry, but they feel helpless because frequently no action is taken on the part of show committees to effectively address this problem. And make no mistake: Photographing art without permission is theft!

Everyone knows how to act at weddings and how to dress for a funeral. Yet the general public knows little about our industry. The few films that depict Van Gogh or Pollock are hardly the representation needed to inform the public about fine arts and crafts and the dedicated individuals who create them.

However, the public can be educated about behavior that would be appropriate and respectful at a show. They can and should be better exposed to the seriousness and commitment that creators have for their work, in that they devote their lives and travel thousands of miles for the opportunity to make a living with their artistry. What these artists certainly did not agree to, though, is to provide an opportunity for photographers who are assigned to steal their work for the various markets that would benefit at the artist’s expense.

We, as working artists and craftspeople, should all be hopeful that our community and industry will agree to address this problem, and leave this sort of intellectual property theft on the cutting room floor — where it belongs.

Click on this link to print out the "NO Photography" sign pictured at the top of this article: DoNotPhotograph.pdf

Gregory Strachov has been a full-time working painter for over 30 years, during which time he has received numerous industry honors and awards. He can be reached at strachovstudio@gmail.com.